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prendas/santini peugeot shell michelin s/s jersey

i used to be able to climb. obviously not anywhere near as quickly or as steeply as the professionals, but quicker than my sunday morning compatriots. in fact, in 2008, riding to paris as part of the hot chillee peloton, i summited before fellow scot, brian smith, a man who owned the british champion's jersey on two occasions. granted i bested him by a matter of centimetres, and he was still in the big ring at the time, but first is first, no matter the circumstances.

originally, i favoured the pantani method of standing for as long as those chris hoy thighs would survive, but, having once read that seated climbing was allegedly more efficient, i subsequently remained in the saddle for all but the steepest of gradients. and not that the sunday morning ride gathers anything in the way of an audience, but i tend to figure that standing while climbing is far more aesthetically pleasing for those cheering by the roadside. the fact that i have long sported a ponytail, only served to foster thoughts of emulating robert millar, and having twice read richard moore's biography of the diminutive scot, i cultivated ideals of grimpeurship rather than any other cycling discipline.

however, gravity is a hard taskmaster, and though i have a decent grade in higher physics, i'm still sure that it's a force that quite literally, weighs more heavily on the ageing rider than on the likes of youngsters such as wout van aert and tadej pogacar. so there's no point in my denying that on the onerous climb past the rspb farm at aoradh, aside from breathing through my ears, all that fills my blurred vision, is the rear wheels of the younger pelotoneers getting further and further from my front wheel. you try to bring them up proper, and then they just ride away and leave you.

whether you agree with me or not, status is everything within the peloton, a factor that is surely bound to diminish, the further behind i am on any given ascent. and though i have put in all the extra effort i can muster when the road eases upwards, i can but admit that it doesn't appear to be working very well. so, desperate straits call for desperate measures, a situation that has now been aided and abetted by andy storey at prendas ciclismo. this thoroughly decent fellow sent over a peugeot shell casquette a matter of weeks past, and has now excelled himself by following that with a particularly fine matching short sleeve jersey.

produced by santini, the jersey all but defines the word quality, with a full-length front zip, three generous rear pockets and a zipped fourth for keys or, more importantly, coffee money. however, for the aspiring grimpeur, unlike the previous and highly popular peugeot jersey available from prendas, this one features shell logos on the sleeves rather than my bp monogramme. and every single cyclist north of the border knows that millar's polka dots jersey in the 1984 tour, replaced his peugeot shell jersey in paris.

the best bit, however, is that i can now dispense with any thoughts of hill reps and specific climbing training, because this jersey confers immediate and superlative grimpeurship the minute that zip toggle is closed at the collar. so now i can sit atop any hill you care to mention, looking down (in both senses of that phrase) on the puny efforts of those who are trailing in my wake. (i might have made that bit up.)

all i need now, in these sub zero, wind-chilled temperatures, is a pair of peugeot embroidered bibtights. andy?

the santini/prendas peugeot shell michelin retro jersey is available in sizes ranging from xs to 8xl at a retail price of £69.99, a pittance of a price to pay for king of the mountains performance.

peugeot shell michelin retro jersey

sunday 07 february 2021