Much like Campagnolo vs Shimano, helmets or bare heads, or team kit versus plain clothing, sock height and colour are issues which divide cyclists – remember Sir Bradley Wiggins taking flak for his long, black socks (presumably from people who favour short, white ones?).

Well, GCN were out and about at the Dubai Tour this week and put the question to the peloton, with the responses of riders such as Etixx-Quick Step's Mark Cavendish and his close friend and former team mate Bernie Eisel of Team Sky. Here's what they had to say.

In terms of black versus white (with a stylish dash of light blue argyle), we have both bases covered here at road.cc – you can buy our socks through the shop, although they're only available in one height.

As for the socks in the picture above – the gold shoes (and band round the top of the socks) give away the fact they belong to former Olympic road champion Samuel Sanchez.