The supporter caps are back in stock and now available in black or white and in two sizes.
To get your hands on one visit the prendas.co.uk shop.
kit
Thanks to Prendas Ciclismo
All sponsors get a note of thanks and it’s time to show some gratitude to Prendas Ciclismo for their support over the last month and more. Their ad has been here during September and they’ll be visible again soon on this site as sellers of the INRNG cap, more info on this below.
The British bike shop specialise in clothing and have a range of stock including vintage and retro items. If you haven’t dealt with them before, you’ll find Mick and Andy very helpful and personable. I’d offer more praise but when they sponsored the blog last year a flood of comments from satisfied customers said it better.
Thursday Shorts
When is a shoe not a shoe? When it’s an elaborate Sidi trompe l’oeil. Look at the image above and it looks like a Sidi Wire but look again. Those ratchet dials are flat and it’s an elaborate shoe cover made to look like a Sidi. The next photo reveals another version, this time with perforations to help on a hot day.
2014 World Tour Team Kit: Blue is the New Black
Saxo-Tinkoff unveiled their new yellow and blue jerseys today meaning all the 18 World Tour jerseys are out and pictured in various forms above.
Tinkoff’s yellow and blue design prompted sighs of relief on Twitter after complaints about the trend for black clothing in the pro peloton for 2014, even Oleg Tinkov joined in. Yes OPQS and Trek Factory Racing join Team Sky with predominantly black kit but arguably there are as many team in green as there are in black and besides, blue is by far the most widespread choice. Are we mistaking a team jersey for a fashion item?
Win The Volta Leader’s Jersey
The Volta a Catalunya and its clothing sponsor Sumattory are offering readers a chance to win a leader’s jersey from race, signed by the race winner.
Just predict the winner of each day’s stage and you could have a signed race jersey from the World Tour.
The $10,000 Bike and The $100 Jacket
Was Gerald Ciolek the best dressed man in Sanremo? This isn’t about fashion but workwear because when it’s snowing and there’s a race on, your clothing can make all the difference. Some riders suffered wardrobe malfunctions and abandoned whilst others rode on thanks to a range of kit that went from improvised helmet covers to mysterious non-team issue black jackets. Of course the race results weren’t down to clothing alone but the right kit helps.
One thing that stands out is the way riders start a race with all sorts of aerodynamic advantages only for it to rain and they don a jacket that billows, flaps and creases to make them look like the Michelin man.
Italy’s backwards shoemakers
Bear with me a minute as I’m not saying Italians shoemakers are old fashioned. Instead here’s a quick explainer on cycling shoemakers Sidi and Gaerne and their surprising similarities.
National champion jerseys
With the 2012 season under way all the top teams have unveiled their colours. Amongst these team colours are the national champions jerseys. Just as the world champion wears a jersey with the “rainbow bands”, national champions get their special jerseys.
The winner of the annual national championships gets to wear a jersey that represents their country for the year. It’s usually a variation of the national flag or colours. For example you’ll see the French champion in a big blue, white and red tricolore jersey. But in recent years the design has started to change, moving away from a flag turned into a jersey into a more normal team jersey with just hint of national colour. Here’s a more detailed look at the how and why.
Review: Hincapie Elemental Rain Pant
I wore rain pants the other day. This is not the opening line of a joke, similar to “I shot a moose” but instead it feels like a guilty admission as I’d never have imagined wearing these after years of riding with lycra-based clothing. In my mind leg warmers or bibtights are used in winter and nothing else exists.
However if these hadn’t been on my radar before they’ve been useful and allowed me to ride when I might otherwise have stayed indoors.
Review: Hincapie George Signature jacket
Having agonised over the difficulty of giving the totally impartial review, I find the more I think about things the only possibility is to emphasise the personal experience. So with this in mind here is my take on the Hincapie George Signature jacket.
As reminder, I’ve been on a quest for a jacket that fits tight, that does not balloon up when riding. After all, rain is not a freak event and putting a shell jacket on shouldn’t mean you look like the Michelin Man just because it’s wet outside or you’re descending a long mountain pass.