Louison Bobet Cipale 46 - Full Zip Light Jersey Criterium

The Louison Bobet Cipale 46 is a lightweight high-performance jersey that fits better than any glove and looks stylish too. It's very expensive, though, and only likely to suit the racier frame.

• Pros: Fit, looks, weight and breathability, people will touch you
• Cons: Expensive, pockets a little on the small side, best suited to the willowy, people will touch you...

Rather than pluck a name from the pages of cycling history and use it as a brush to create an instant image of heritage, the Louison Bobet brand does have a real connection to the post-war French pro cyclist and three-time Tour de France winner as the cycle clothing company has been created by the man's nephew and a close friend, complete with the full support of the family. Heritage – real, imagined or used as a marketing crutch – means little if the kit isn't up to the rhetoric. Luckily this Cipale 46 jersey is.

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The jersey is made from a bi-stretch fabric that's designed specifically for cyclists looking for the best in terms of competitive cycling, according to Louison Bobet, with light compression providing a second-skin feeling aided by the jersey's light weight.

The features on the Cipale 46 are exactly as you might expect from a quality cycle jersey. There are the standard three pockets in the rear with an extra zipped security pocket on the right hand side, the tops and bottoms of the pocket seams are double stitched for strength for when you're stuffing them full of your ride essentials, and the side pocket tops are slightly angled down to ease reach-around fumbling.

Added details are a contrast strip of fabric along the top of the pockets, and the middle pocket sports a reflective loop. The pockets aren't as capacious as on many other jerseys, the middle pocket in particular, which is thinner than the outer pair, which could be an issue if you're a habitual pocket hoarder. But as the jersey is best in high temperatures or fast-paced riding, the likelihood is you won't be carrying that much kit, be that extra warm layers or general pocket kerfuffle.

The full-length YKK front zip has a wind baffle behind it and a dock at the top to prevent chin rubbage. It's also incredibly smooth to use on the move, which is something a lot of jersey zips manage not to manage.

Of appeal to many riders will be the subtlety of branding and logos on the jersey: 'Louison Bobet' merely appears small above the rear pockets where only those on your wheel can see it, there's a large 'B' on the left sleeve, while on the right it quotes 'Riding with panache' in small cursive script, all of which details are subtly reflective. And that's it.

The Cipale 46 is available in five colours and this dark grey one with the white highlights of sleeve-ends and rear pocket detailing is a bit of a subdued looker. Cyclists whose names start with a 'B' might be particularly attracted.

The outstanding feature of the Cipale 46 is the fit. It's designed to be second-skin snug and offer a light compression, and the woven bi-stretch fabric makes sure that it very much is; it's as if they tested the prototypes on climbing goat Romain Bardet. I'm pretty much a standard medium across all cycling jerseys and, though I say it myself, am pretty lithe, and this medium is one of the snuggest jerseys I've ever worn, in a good way.

If you're carrying a little bit of midriff then definitely go up a size or look elsewhere for a jersey for fear of looking like a poorly stuffed saucisson – it's a top for the racing snakes really. But that shrink-wrapped quality makes it an absolute joy to wear, contoured perfectly to the body. There's no flap in the wind, awkward bunching up or jersey shifting.

Helping it keep taut to the body are the waist hem and sleeve ends, both of which are comfortably wide, and internally dimpled strips of fabric that ensure the jersey sticks aero to the skin with no movement or riding up.

The 78% polyamide/22% elasthane fabric is very lightweight and has quite a silky feel to it; people seem to like to stroke you with this on, or maybe it's just me. Its light weight makes it ideal for hot days, high-tempo training work or racing when you're likely to get a bit of a sweat on. Luckily it's also really very good at dealing with bodily fluids, being both incredibly breathable and fast drying. Even on the most glowing of days, the jersey never became damp with effort and any perspiration was merely apparent by a pattern of salt on the fabric.

The downside to this gossamer feel and close-fitting fit is that it's a little fragile as a fabric, with the odd thread pull appearing here and there, so if you're a rider who heads off into the wilds a lot or are boisterous with kit then you might want to avoid this jersey. But then this isn't the sort of use that the Cipale 46 jersey's designed for.

> Buyer's Guide: 12 of the best winter cycling jerseys

There is much to commend the Louison Bobet Cipale 46: from its subtle good looks to its lightweight fabric and race snug fit, it was an absolute pleasure to wear on hot days or for when the going got sweaty. The size of the pockets is a minor grumble and those who aren't overly slinky might need to shop elsewhere, but what's going to elicit anxious hand-wringing is the price. The most expensive short-sleeved top from go-to let's-whinge-at-the-price brand Rapha comes in at £145 and given currency fluctuations this Louison Bobet top hits about the same mark, so it has to be something pretty special. It is, it's a very, very lovely jersey to wear. Whether it's worth that price will depend on how much you value quality, fit and people touching you.

Verdict

An expensive but exemplary and good looking, skin-tight, high-performance jersey for fast and hot riding