Tubular, leg warmers over the bib shorts, short jersey, or spare parts bag. Is Pogacar the best amateur cyclist in the world?

What would they say if you posted a photo on social media wearing a short-sleeved jersey, no gloves, a neck warmer, and bib shorts with the leg warmers on top? Surely many of the comments would label you as a "globero." However, that was the outfit with which Tadej Pogacar managed to win his 5th stage in this 2024 Giro d'Italia. A genius who doesn't care about appearances and who, despite what usually happens with champions who dominate day after day, has a magnetism that makes him likable to almost everyone.

You can win a Giro d'Italia stage looking like a "globero"

We are not going to delve into the infinite connotations of the term "globero," undoubtedly one of the most characteristic words of cycling jargon, which depending on the situation and who says it to whom, and a myriad of other situations, can be derogatory and even offensive or a term that carries a certain affection.

Today we are interested in the term "globero" not in terms of the behavior of a cyclist who cuts in or attacks at the top of a climb without having faced the wind all day, but in reference to those cyclists who do not follow the established norms.

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The term "globero" has usually been applied in this sense to those cyclists who wore clothes two sizes too big, went out in long sleeves in summer under the false belief that it would help them slim down, or simply did not match their outfit, mixing brands, designs, jerseys from cycling events, etc.

In recent days, our favorite "globero" is none other than Tadej Pogacar, who won the 16th stage of the 2024 Giro d'Italia, his 5th victory in this edition, with an outfit that many cyclists would question. The stage began with freezing cold and relentless rain after the initial part was cut due to snow in the higher altitudes. Everyone started the stage dressed in raincoats, gabbas, and other winter garments.

However, midway through the stage, we saw Tadej Pogacar had abandoned his raincoat and was only wearing the pink jersey and an undershirt underneath. Meanwhile, on the lower part, as is quite common among professionals, he wore bib shorts with leg warmers, but the latter were placed as if he intended to remove them at some point, over the bib shorts so that the team's advertising on this garment was not visible.

An outfit completed with the typical neck warmer to protect this area from the cold, despite wearing short sleeves, and, as is also very common among professionals, without gloves. However, on his feet, he wore overshoes to minimize water entry on such a rainy day. Nothing further from the standards of good cycling attire.

This is not the first time in this 2024 Giro d'Italia that Tadej Pogacar has sparked the "globero" comment on social media. Not long ago, in the second stage, his first victory at the Oropa sanctuary, after a puncture just before the climb, he got on the spare bike and didn't even bother to change the cycle computer. He didn't need watts to destroy the race and take a pink jersey that he will likely keep until Rome.

There was also talk about a kind of saddlebag that the Slovenian has been carrying throughout the Giro d'Italia. However, the organization quickly clarified that it is the transponder used by Velon to provide us with data on the efforts made by the cyclists, which they usually publish on their social media after the stages.

In any case, it should also be noted that the things that make someone be labeled as a "globero" have evolved over time and are generally something that pros don't care about, being mainly a concern of amateur cyclists, amplified by social media.

Not long ago, the cycling etiquette dictated that shoes had to be black and socks short. Nowadays, it's the opposite, with all kinds of shoe designs and colors, including white, which was inconceivable in the past, and as for socks, what can we say? Today, you get strange looks if you wear them short, and they have become an identity marker with increasingly surreal designs.

In terms of clothing, it was unthinkable to see someone wearing white bib shorts, a color that in lycra hides nothing. However, there we have Mathieu van der Poel proudly wearing white bib shorts matching his World Champion jersey without the slightest shame.

Let's not forget the bike, which had to be as clean as possible. The spare and tools were carried in the jersey if at all, as many preferred to rely on the "phone a friend" option in case of a puncture rather than carrying the spare on them or on the bike. Nowadays, it's accepted to carry a saddlebag, minimalist of course, and even accessories beyond the cycle computer, like lights, which have become a significant safety improvement.

Mudguards were banned, yet the useful "ass savers" placed under the saddle are now common on rainy days. And we can't forget the handlebar bag, an accessory born for bikepacking that we now even see on the bikes of professionals during their long-distance training. Of course, with them using it, amateur cyclists have lost the fear of carrying these elements without fear of being labeled as "globeros."