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.
As the race progressed, and layers came off as the temperatures rose, it became clear that Vinegegaard had been opting for an extremely unorthodox strategy to beat the chill.
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.
On closer inspection it became clear that he was not only doubling up on shoe covers, but on the bib tights themselves, and had opted to throw a highly-modified set of team-issue tights over his usual cold weather gear to stay warm.
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 socks
- 1 pair overshoes
- 1 pair neoprene toe covers
- 2 pairs bib tights
- 1 base layer
- 2 jersey
- 1 pair winter gloves
- 1 pair arm warmers
- 2 jackets
- 1 gilet
- 1 neck warmer
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."
