Sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and when the freezing rain descended for stage 4 of Paris-Nice, we saw riders pulling out all the stops to stay dry and warm, as much as that is possible given the meteorological conditions on the day. It was the fashion choices of stage winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) that really turned heads on Wednesday.
Nearly all riders were in full waterproof cycling jackets, big gloves, bib tights, and overshoes, with some riders, Vingegaard included, also layering up neoprene toe covers over the top of their overshoes.
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On the final climb, once his rain jacket came off, viewers saw the Dane with his bib tights’ straps over his race jersey – a forgivable faux pas for a beginner, but not something we’d normally associate with a multiple Tour de France champion.
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The second pair of tights was there from the very start, not a hasty mid-stage emergency wardrobe change (Image credit: Getty Images)
At the finish he was still quite layered up, ostensibly because there was no time to dress down. (Image credit: Getty Images)
The key modification is that the chamois pad had been – slightly messily – cut out, along with the waist being slashed, presumably in an effort to make them easier to take on and off over other layers, and perhaps to allow better access to the pockets and race nutrition. Removing the pad is a very sensible move, as doubling up could have effectively raised his saddle height by several millimetres thanks to the extra padding.
Not captured by the race photographers, but picked up by the TV cameras, we spotted a further hack: the eventual stage winner was wearing a second jacket beneath his outer one, worn backwards, with the front zip now at the rear undone. This would have provided an extra windproof barrier on the front, but maintained some semblance of breathability on his back, presumably with the aim of not reducing him to a sweaty mess.
Having removed both his rain jacket and the backwards improvised windproof layer, he opted for a gilet for a shot time, before jettisoning this again for the finale. Assuming he was wearing a base layer and a long sleeve jersey this puts his garment count for the race at the following, by our estimation:
1 pair socks1 pair overshoes1 pair neoprene toe covers2 pairs bib tights1 base layer2 jersey1 pair winter gloves1 pair arm warmers2 jackets1 gilet1 neck warmer
At the start of the day Vingegaard was layered up, but the cameras didn’t reveal the full extent until he started to get undressed. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Not a day for counting grams it seems, not least when each layer will absorb water and gain mass as it soaks up the elements. He may have intended to take off his outer layers, as riders often do, but with crashes and chaos ripping the race apart, there wasn’t a good moment to do so.
Regardless, it clearly didn’t hamper the Dane, who won the stage by 41 seconds, and at the finish he even remarked how he managed to stave off the cold to ride to victory.
“I think a lot of guys were freezing today. I personally didn’t freeze because I had a lot of clothes on, that was also maybe the reason I couldn’t take it off,” he said, with a little laugh.
Later he added: “It was just full gas racing, there was not even time to take clothes off. So maybe you can call me a trendsetter with the long pants, but there was just no time to take them off.”
Here’s the best look at the heavy tailoring that has gone on to make this situation work. (Image credit: Getty Images)