The Art of the Cycling Jersey: Iconic Cycle Wear Past and Present

by Chris Sidwells, Chris Sidwells

With a foreword by the Editor in Chief of Bicycling magazine, The Art of the Cycling Jersey celebrates the cycling jersey in all its forms. Cycling enthusiast and author Chris Sidwells explores the most important designs in cycling history, as well as the teams, riders, and races where each piece was worn. Organized chronologically, this is the story of the cycling jersey from the first simple garments that early cyclists wore in the 1900s, to the technology-laden jerseys top riders and Tour de France winners wear today.

Cycling jerseys represent many different things. For a cyclist they must be functional. For team sponsors they must stand out and increase brand awareness. For cycling fans they help pick out their favorite riders and identify a race or competition leader. Jerseys show who is a world or a national champion, and in some races, jerseys represent a competitor’s nationality.

But cycling jerseys have evolved into something bigger. They can evoke good times or bad times, success or failure. Above all, jerseys mark the great occasions of cycling and speak of its history, personalities, and style. With more than 200 color photographs and insightful commentary, The Art of the Cycling Jersey is a great gift and must-have book for any style-conscious, road-racing enthusiast.

Genres: Cycling, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published June 13, 2017

Reviews

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history of cycling jerseys is generously partitioned, with all decades through the early 2000s represented in a mostly chronological order. The history of the jerseys is really also the history of sponsorships, as jersey changes were tied to sponsorship changes throughout the years. There are a number of photos of jerseys, and about as many photos of the racers. The stories are generally about the sponsorships and about the history of the racers, although there are occasional forays into jersey technology, especially concerning fabrics and the move over the years to manmade fabrics optimized for racing and comfort. I am a recent fan of cycling, and found the constant barrage of names and sponsors a bit overwhelming, with only a couple that I recognized. I was a bit disappointed when the author described how the jerseys had become more colorful after the 50s, but didn’t seem to include any more color pictures than in earlier parts of the book. And the action shots seemed to focus on the racers, not on their jerseys, not what I expected. Overall, a nice casual reference to some of the race jerseys of the past century, and the stories of sponsorships and the personalities of racing.