Tinkoff-Saxo has posted pictures on social media showing Peter Sagan in his rainbow jersey and with a custom paintjob on his Specialized S-Works bike to celebrate his world championship win last weekend.

The Slovakian rider’s new kit was unveiled this morning when he took part in a photoshoot at the office in Milan of the Gazzetta dello Sport.

He will race in it for the first time on Thursday as the inaugural four-day Abu Dhabi Tour – organised, like the Giro d’Italia, by RCS Sport – gets underway.

According to UCI rules, "The wearer of the world champion's jersey shall be entitled to match the colour of his shorts to that of the jersey."

Each autumn, the issue of whether the new world champion will choose to wear white or team colour shorts becomes the subject of speculation.

Many purists insist that only black will do – a throwback perhaps to the days when most teams did wear black shorts, so pictures of world champions from bygone years will show that.

Mark Cavendish at Sky and Etixx-Quick Step's Michal Kwiatkowski both benefited from kits that had black shorts. 2009 world champion Cadel Evans meanwhile had shorts that incorporated both white panels at the side and black at the front and rear.

As you can see from the pictures, Sagan has opted for white shorts in the kit, made by Sportful.