AG2R Citroën to race Strade Bianche in denim bib shorts

If you thought the brown shorts were controversial just take a look at what Greg Van Avermaet and Co. will be gracing the Tuscan countryside with come Saturday.

AG2R Citroën have been granted special authorisation by the UCI to wear denim shorts designed by the team's clothing partner, Italian brand Rosti, at the one-day race famous for its gravel stretches this weekend.

The team posted pictures from pro cycling photographer Pauline Ballet of their riders undertaking a recon of the route earlier today wearing the eye-catching bibs which have already caused quite the stir online.

🇮🇹 #StradeBianche

Un cuissard @MaglificioRosti unique pour une course spéciale.

A unique @MaglificioRosti piece made in a new fabric for a unique race. #AG2RCITROËNTEAM #RoulonsAutrement #RideDifferently - © Pauline Ballet pic.twitter.com/aR29Anl2Kx

— AG2R CITROËN TEAM (@AG2RCITROENTEAM) March 2, 2023

And while some say they are a step up from the brown bottoms the team has become synonymous with, and perhaps even a respectable homage to the Carrera kit of the 1990s, others were left certain that crimes against fashion and cycling had been committed.

On the technical front, AG2R Citroën explained Rosti had developed the shorts during the off-season and made them from stretch denim, "a new innovation from Rosti for cycling clothing".

Made using a "patented yarn technology" the stretch denim will, the team says, aid movement, while one of Rosti's testers has previously said they had ridden 2,000km in shorts made of the material last summer to prove they do not chafe or retain moisture.

Rosti first set tongues wagging about the potential for AG2R to sport denim shorts in November when the clothing brand revealed the kit at Rouleur Live.

At the time, Rosti's general manager Marco Saggia explained to Cycling Weekly that the bib jeans were a mix of 48 per cent cotton, 22 per cent recycled polyester, 15 per cent polyester and 15 per cent elastane, although it has not been confirmed that the shorts the pros will wear on Saturday are identical to those unveiled last autumn.

What do you think? Another iconic set of bib shorts from the French outfit or are you begging for the brown back?