Santini Maglia Nera Jersey Men's

We armchair DS's may spend much of our time parsing the efforts, form, and often imagined weaknesses of the riders at the peloton's pointy end however, the real beauty of cycling isn't only in the organic machines, the infallible heroes like Contador, Froome, and Quintana who make sustained 12% grades look like false flats. It's also in the guys who have to turn themselves inside out, the ones suffering outside of the limelight who appear every bit as human as we are. Santini's Maglia Nera Jersey celebrates the short lived tradition of awarding an actual black jersey to the guy who, against all odds, rode square shaped chainrings through the Giro's high mountains, suffering a thousand deaths a day simply to finish the stage inside the time cut while the race personnel were already dismantling the day's podium. Romantic suffering aside, the Maglia Rosa did have a comical element to it. Riders would reportedly rig the game by hiding out in cafes or among the tifosi in order to ensure that they, um, lost to their rivals. We've even heard of intentional punctures and a pair of cyclists performing dueling trackstands on the finishing straight in order to secure the prize. This type of mischief is largely responsible for why the jersey was only awarded six times in the race's 100 year history though we do take some pleasure noting that Nani Pinarello was the last cyclist to win it. For your own suffering needs, Santini builds the jersey with three different materials that target stretch and moisture management to ensure a comfortable, sleek fit. The celebratory aesthetics, complete with the Giro's Endless Love tag line on the breast, strike a nice image for group rides, but they'd definitely give you away if like some previous black jersey aspirants you try to duck unnoticed into a bar to cement your ignominious victory.