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AG2R Citroën to race Strade Bianche in denim bib shortsAG2R Rosti denim bib shorts (Pauline Ballet/ AG2R Citroën)

AG2R Citroën to race Strade Bianche in denim bib shorts

The team's kit partner Rosti developed the bibs using stretch denim
by Dan Alexander
Thu, Mar 02, 2023 17:36
5

If you thought the brown shorts were controversial just take a look at what Greg Van Avermaet and Co. will be gracing the Tuscan countryside with come Saturday.

AG2R Citroën have been granted special authorisation by the UCI to wear denim shorts designed by the team's clothing partner, Italian brand Rosti, at the one-day race famous for its gravel stretches this weekend.

The team posted pictures from pro cycling photographer Pauline Ballet of their riders undertaking a recon of the route earlier today wearing the eye-catching bibs which have already caused quite the stir online.

And while some say they are a step up from the brown bottoms the team has become synonymous with, and perhaps even a respectable homage to the Carrera kit of the 1990s, others were left certain that crimes against fashion and cycling had been committed.

On the technical front, AG2R Citroën explained Rosti had developed the shorts during the off-season and made them from stretch denim, "a new innovation from Rosti for cycling clothing".

Made using a "patented yarn technology" the stretch denim will, the team says, aid movement, while one of Rosti's testers has previously said they had ridden 2,000km in shorts made of the material last summer to prove they do not chafe or retain moisture.

Rosti first set tongues wagging about the potential for AG2R to sport denim shorts in November when the clothing brand revealed the kit at Rouleur Live.

At the time, Rosti's general manager Marco Saggia explained to Cycling Weekly that the bib jeans were a mix of 48 per cent cotton, 22 per cent recycled polyester, 15 per cent polyester and 15 per cent elastane, although it has not been confirmed that the shorts the pros will wear on Saturday are identical to those unveiled last autumn.

What do you think? Another iconic set of bib shorts from the French outfit or are you begging for the brown back? 

denim
AG2R Citroen
Strade Bianche
Dan Alexander

Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.

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5 comments

Avatar
festina | 1 year ago
0 likes

Forgive me if I am wrong but the Carrera 'denim' shorts were lycra printed to look like denim. These are actually denim shorts. Wonder if they are stronger in a crash.

Avatar
chuckd | 1 year ago
1 like

I did my racing in the 1980s during the advent of Spandex/Lycra but I miss the pure cotton jersies and T-shirts I wore on hot days. Always thought cotton got a bad rap (by those with an interest in selling synthetics).

I'd love a chance to try these out.

Avatar
lesterama | 1 year ago
0 likes

They missed an opportunity to go for brown denim. That would have got people talking.

Carrera denim shorts were class, by the way.

Avatar
Jem PT replied to lesterama | 1 year ago
0 likes
lesterama wrote:

They missed an opportunity to go for brown denim. That would have got people talking.

Carrera denim shorts were class, by the way.

Or maybe corduroy?

I like these denim bib-shorts and if they perform technically I could see them catching on?

Avatar
levestane replied to Jem PT | 1 year ago
0 likes

Moleskin?

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