Denim design bib shorts return to the peloton

AG2R-Citroën used in Strade Bianche the bib shorts with jeans design created by the firm Rosti, which supplies clothing to the French team. A bib shorts reminiscent of Marco Pantani's mythical race team kit but only for this race, although, unlike that one, made of lycra with an external design of denim pants, Rosti's bib shorts do use real denim fabric.

A wink to the past from AG2R-Citroën at Strade Bianche

The modest performance of the French squad's riders at the Strade Bianche meant that the special kit they wore in this race went almost completely unnoticed. For this race, AG2R-Citroën asked the UCI for special permission to modify its kit, a change that consisted of using the denim shorts that Rosti, its cycling apparel supplier, unveiled a few months ago.

We did see the AG2R-Citroën riders wearing this curious garment in the days leading up to the race where they were able to show on social networks the beautiful design of this bib shorts that brought an air of nostalgia to those who followed cycling in the 90s.

Obviously, all those who witnessed that cycling immediately remember the mythical Carrera team, the jeans brand that sponsored the cycling team in which Marco Pantani, one of the greatest Italian cyclists of all time, stood out and enjoyed some of the best years of his career.

In any case, AG2R-Citroën's publicity move has a trick because, although Rosti presented a bib shorts with real denim fabric, a detailed look at the equipment they used during Strade Bianche showed that it was not this model but a conventional bib shorts printed with the denim design, the same strategy used by the Carrera team in its day.

This is to be expected when functionality takes precedence over design when it comes to top-level competitive cycling. However, in its day the Carrera design caused a sensation among fans who longed to get that desired garment, the same objective that Rosti aims to achieve with this campaign.

Rosti was expected to put its new denim shorts on sale during the month of February but, for the moment, we will still have to keep waiting as, for the time being, it is not yet among the products available in the catalog of its website.