This Sunday marks the typical beginning of cycling's Holy Week; the eight-day period that is bookended by the two biggest Monuments of the year. It starts with the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour of Flanders and, in the pre-COVID era, would be capped off with 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Paris-Roubaix. 

Unfortunately, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Paris-Roubaix has yet agaiဣn been affected by the pandemic - the third time in 12 months - and so༒ an even greater level of importance lies on the Tour of Flan✱ders' 263.7km route between Antwerp and Oudenaarde. 

As the weekend approaches, one thing that remains certain is that 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Mathieu Van der Poel will line up with the number one on his back. The defending champion took a huge scalp in his 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:eternal rivalry with Wout van Aert in a two-up sprint to the line, after their only other breakaway companion, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Julian Alaphilippe, crashed out after hitting a motorbike. 

The thing that remains uncertain, however, is which colour shorts Van der Poel wil♓l opt for on his race suit. Will he go with the con♛servative and subtle aesthetics of black shorts, or the garish and bold stylings of white?

• 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Best cycling shorts: Brilliant bib shorts ridden and rated
• 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Best cycling jerseys: short- and long-sleeve jerseys for year-round riding

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Short colour is a hot topic among cycling fans. Each year, the AG2R team sparks the so-called brown-shorts-debate when launching their 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:latest design, but white is considered by many to be somewhat of a cardinal sin in cycling fashion. ♈;

With that said, over recent years Van der Poel, Bradley Wiggins, Peter Sagan, the entire Groupama FDJ Team, and former UK national champion Adam Blythe - a on the subject - have braved the backlash and proven that white ca🍸n indeed be worn to varying degrees of success. 

According to 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Alpecin-Fenix's kit sponsor, Kalas, Van der Poel "likes to try different combinations," and has previously been supplied with race suits with black, white and even blue shorts - a colour he is𒆙 yet to rock on a race day. 

As for the rules, short colour is an area in w🐈hich the UCI is uncharacteristically relaxed. According to the team's press officer, Ward Callens, "There are UCI regulation🌄s about the morphology of clothing, but not about their colours (as long as they are sufficiently distinct from world champions', UCI cup and classification leaders' and national jerseys to avoid confusion)"

So far this year, the Dutch road ch💫ampion has erred on the side 🍸of cautious black for the most part but has taken to white shorts in a few races, including Milan-San Remo, where they were paired with white leg warmers creating a wave of outcry on social media and prompting a story from , and more recently on Wednesday's Dwars door Vlaanderen, where he was also given a new colour-matching Canyon Aeroad. 

Van der Poel himself has spoken about the subject in an , stating his choice "depends on the kit above", however it was his father Adrie that pꦍrovided greater detail, claiming that the decision is largely a tactical one. 

Speaking after his son's 2019 ride at the Tour of Flanders, Adrie told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: "It was a consciouꦫs choice by [team managers] for tactical reasons. Theওy had seen in Dwars door Vlaanderen that in the helicopter images Mathieu was difficult to distinguish from the [then] Luxembourg champion Bob Jungels. With white bib shorts, they were able to recognise Mathieu much faster and give him the right tactical tips via the course radio."

Such was the furore around the debate at ⛦the time, Belgian bookmakers were even taking bets on his choice ahead of 💯subsequent races. 

No matter his choice of colour, we know that Van der Poel will be wearing the Kalas 'PRO 09 | Brios/SPEED' race suit, a short-sleeve suit that takes the same technologies from its Sonic time trial suit, but with road race-friendly adaptations such as the trio of rear pockets and an 'opening' between the upper and lower parts for easier𒁏 comfort breaks.&𓆉nbsp;

Little-known for its off-the-shelf product range, Kalas is better known for its custom offering, earning a place in our guide to the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:best custom cycling kit brands, no less. The brand has recently signed a new three-year deal with the team, has recently announced sponsorship of 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado's new 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Plantur-Pura team, 🧔and will also be represented at the Olympics by Team GB.