Cycling
It is that sport that lasts all year longbut that lives its big party in July, coinciding with the Tour de France.The Tour de France, the event that dresses up a country and stops half the world to find out who enters the legend.
The Tour de France
A narrow corridor and complicated to cross because only big names fill it, whose root is located in Paris itself almost 110 years ago. Generation after generation, we have all had our idols in the Tour. in a line of succession that now rests on the shoulders of a young Slovenian and smiling Slovenian, who stands out for being courageous and determined, named Tadej Pogačar.
And the fact is that the leader of the UAE Team Emirates is once again at the top of the betting charts for the best race in the world. At the age of 22, he has won two Tours de France in a row and is now racing to add the third to his list of honors.
21 days from Copenhagen to Paris
Ahead are three long weeks of competition full of difficulties and pitfalls, that sure to demand the best of Pogačar and his seven teammates. The departure from Copenhagen is the turning point towards the history the Central European wants to write.
There he will have some of them very dangerous, such as the Danish stages. and uncertain, or the arrival at the very threshold of Arenberg, in a stage full of cobblestones.
The mountains of the Tour de France
They will follow the usual canons. After an aperitif in a magical place for the double Tour winner, La Planche des Belles Filleswith an addition of dirt at the end, the Alps and Pyrenees will follow in this order, with the return of names that are cycling in essence: Galibier, Croix de Fer, Alpe d' Huez, Aspin, Aubisque and Val Louron. A time trial will put the icing on the cake, it will be 40 kilometers long, really long and 24 hours before the peloton lands on the Champs Elysées.
Clothes for the "French summer
With that Parisian avenue on the horizon, UAE Team Emirates will have part of its best team at its disposal to support the reigning winner and Tour favorite. Gobik will once again be part of history that we hope will have a happy ending.
“UAE's clothing planned for the Tour was already in the different batches that have been delivered to the team since the beginning of the campaign. As a great contribution to meet the needs, we have the time trial suit. Relativitya garment in constant evolution and tailor-made for each of the team members", begins Ángel Lencina, from Gobik's production department.
In this sense, he continues: "After each test, we carry out a round of impressions of the cyclists for the continuous improvement of the garment.. From the fit of the sleeve, to the cut on the leg, to the aerodynamic material on the back. Everything is taken note of and adjusted to the rider's needs. At the Tour, the eight time trial overalls used will be super-customized.”.
Remember that two time trials are planned for this Tour, in addition to the one mentioned at the end of the Tour, plus the initial 13-kilometer time trial in the Danish capital.
Although the Tour stands out for being a race marked by the heat, which, for example, tends to appear less in the Giro, it is also true that temperatures sometimes undergo significant variations. The base jersey is the Infinity, but each rider has the coolest version of the Carrera, the "Carrera Air", much lighter and cooler.
In the bibshorts, they opt for the Absolute WT Air "It's a lighter and lighter fabric with a lycra very similar to that of the jersey," says Angel. From chamois, always the K10 "with two densities for better comfort in the long run. Sewn with a carbon thread which improves breathability and reduces humidity".
"We detect that more and more riders are opting to race in the one-piece racing suit," he says. -says Ángel. Even Tadej himself is using it more and more in online stages. It's a suit that has a lighter, summer version.
Why do cyclists opt for this cycling suit?
"Well, I can't tell you a specific reason, I think they see it as a it more aerodynamic and more. That means, at the end of the day, a gain in watts. It's also very comfortable and not unfamiliar to them - they've already used it in races like the UAE Tour."
But you know, we're talking about France, a much more unstable climate than that of the Iberian Peninsula.with mornings in the Alps and Pyrenees that can be cool, that is when it doesn't rain. That's why the lot is completed with the vests Plus WT and as it happened further sleeves and the jackets Envy "much appreciated in the rain".
In total, if we do the numbers we are going to a quantity of pieces that we could summarize in about 75counting that each rider will have about six jerseys, seven bib shorts, five jumpsuits for online stages and three Relativity jumpsuits for the time trials.
Oh, and an added bonus, a vest for carrying water bottles to the head of the peloton from the car, rescuing an image that became famous not so long ago, as it allows the cyclist to carry refreshment for almost all the equipment of a trip.
Whether the Tour will end with a commemorative jersey on the Champs-Elysées, as last year, will depend on the fate of the race. The job is done, now let's show it off...
