Greg van Avermaet and his AG2R Citroën teammates will bring a bit of rock and chic to the white roads of Strade Bianche on Saturday, thanks to special edition denim shorts.
AG2R Citroën, and their technical partners Rosti, developed the new denim bib shorts during the off-season, and they’ll be worn for the first time by the likes of van Avermaet, Nans Peters, Andrea Vendrame and their teammates on the sterrato of Tuscany this weekend.
It'll make the team the first ever riders to appear at a race wearing actual denim.
According to a press release from AG2R, the shorts are made from stretch denim, which the team say is “a new innovation from Rosti for cycling clothing.” It offers freedom of movement for the riders as they tackle the iconic parcours, and the fabric is made from a “patented yarn technology.”
The UCI has granted the team special dispensation for the kit change.
Last November, Rosti unveiled its similar new ‘bib jeans’ at Rouleur Live in London, prompting initial speculation that AG2R might be about to ditch their usual look for the new denim number. However, when Cycling Weekly put this to Rosti’s general manager Marco Saggia he was coy.
“We’ll have to see,” said Saggia at the time.
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The bibs unveiled in the winter will now finally get their moment in the Italian sun - although not at the catwalks and fashion houses of Milan, but on the iconic white gravel roads of Strade Bianche.
The last time a design, similar to this, was seen in the professional peloton was in the 1990’s. Marco Pantani and his Carrera team mates wore lycra that had been printed to look like denim.
The design was eye-catching and has a cult following that has stood the test of time - you can still buy replica Carerra shorts today.
However, the Rosti AG2R shorts are the real thing.
Strade Bianche is a hugely popular race among the peloton, with riders previously calling for it to become cycling's sixth Monument. This was backed up by AG2R’s Andrea Vendrame, who said it “ticks all the boxes” to become one.
“Strade Bianche is always a special moment in the season. It is not yet a monument on the calendar like Milan-San Remo or Paris-Roubaix, but it’s a race that ticks all the boxes to approximate them. It is a special event, always full of twists and turns. This gives it a special charm,” he said. “It is for all these reasons that I like to participate.”
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Tom has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine.
Since joining the team, he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow. He has also covered major races elsewhere across the world. As well as on the ground reporting, Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and focuses on coverage of UK domestic cycling.
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