With the Giro d’Italia just ended, and the Tour de France looming over the horizon, we bikers (or this biker, anyway) start to pay more attention to the pro teams.
I like to see whether their team kit, to use the veddy British expression, has changed at all since last season. Some of the redesigns are forced because of sponsor changes — CSC to Saxo Bank, for example — and some are changed just to have a new look, like Columbia Highroad. They’re pretty spiffy, but would you ever deck yourself out in team kit?
A lot of bikers seem to think that dressing like a pro makes you a poseur — a wannabe — since we recreational cyclists can’t hope to match the performance of the pro tour riders.
But others say there’s nothing wrong with it. If it feels good, do it, etc. The comparison is often made to NASCAR fans who wear racing jackets covered with flashy sponsor logos. They don’t race, and probably couldn’t match the ability of a pro driver if they tried. Then there are fans of U.S. pro football, who wear replica team jerseys with the number of their favorite player. For some reason, no one seems to knock folks who do that.
Besides, a lot of the cycling team jerseys are pretty eye-catching. They’re generally made by prominent manufacturers, so you’re getting good quality items. I especially like oddball ones from defunct teams — they look the part, but maybe I’m less of a poser because the team is no longer active?