As a matter of fact, no, I hadn't forgotten how awesome I am.
A true leader rarely asks someone to do something for them; the best leaders inspire through their own example those around them to follow suit and join them in their cause. The leader is fueled by something that is not externally driven, it is born from within and appears in this world as passion and conviction. These qualities, in their genuine state, are irresistible.
Style is a special kind of art, it is not the kind of art that is hung on the wall and gazed upon by passers by; like leadership, it is not externally focussed but instead is something one uses to shape how we feel. We become a piece of living, breathing art. And then, hypothetically, after you spill some mustard down the front of your lovely, crisp shirt, the art might also take on an olfactory quality as well.
A foundational principle of La Vie Velominatus is the power of Looking Fantastic: of dressing up in impeccable, matching kit and climbing aboard a perfectly curated, cleaned, and tuned machine before setting out onto the road brimming with confidence and oozing morale. As Paul Fournel said, “To look good is already to go fast.”
There might actually be some science behind it, which I’ve never needed but always assumed there would be.
Research suggests that our own body language can alter our hormonal levels to the effect that they significantly change the way we perceive ourselves. (If you haven’t watched Amy Cuddy‘s TED Talk on Body Language, you should.) In her studies, she found that something as simple as adopting a high power stance for two minutes can increase testosterone levels by 80% (making one more confident and assertive) and reduce cortisol levels by 25% (making one less reactive to stress).
Both of these sound a lot like how kitting up for a cold, rainy ride in my Flandrian Best makes me feel; I will set out into the deluge brimming with confidence and ready to face the cold and risks that come as a part of not only riding a bike, but riding one in wet, poor-visibility conditions. At high speed. If standing in a bathroom with your arms in the air for two minutes can measurably change your hormone levels for the better, then I have every reason to believe that knowing that you Look Fantastic at All Times would have the same, if not stronger, effect.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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Speaking of Mapei, a photo of a young Paolini, sans neck thingie and assos glasses.
I would argue that the Mapei kits were the most "effective" of all time, as we are still talking about them 13 years after their last race. I liked that they changed it up every year, never the same. I liked the 1997 and 1998 versions the best. 2002 went a bit too far:
....and some just make it work (also note the dual computer rigging. you can never have enough data when training properly):
@fignons barber
Work it!
@chuckp
A masterclass in casually deliberate.
@frank
It's proof that Looking Fantastic starts within, attitude, calm, poise...then you can make nearly any kit look good. Nearly...except this one...no one could make the Polti kit look good. Digging Cassani in the MG kit though-
I took a look at the TED Talk referred to at the outset of this post. It is a fluent and emotively laden pitch by an earnest speaker, but the substance of the talk is hardly a revelation. The positive link between posture, the endocrine system and hence behaviour, is well recorded and historically long established. Its relevance, and hence useful transfer to cycling however, is unlikely.
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The assertion that, because I look fantastic, I feel better about myself and hence my performance improves, is a tenuous chain of associations, at best anecdotal and unworthy of serious empirical investigation. But that won’t stop me from pursuing the belief that it works for me.
@chuckp
Oh my eyes! They look like they fell in a bucket of sick.
@fignons barber
For the WIN!!! Holy smokes, this killed me. That sausage in hand with that pornstache in the prison cycling kit ... this is a cycling cosmic moment long in the making. Thanks for that!
@Buck Rogers
Well, I have to agree - 99%. The addition of Bilta almost ruins the jersey, just as Alpecin ruined the Giant jersey. Still, the Atala kit is still in the top 10 of all time. Mapei, one of the worst of all time.
As for the sausage, Urs just played an age-old Swiss joke and pulled that sucker out of his shorts with the remark "what, you think everything I have is longer than normal?"
And check out the tape and hoods on that Atala - pristine! and a Rolls saddle. We should all wear rubber wristbands with WWUD? on them - what would Urs do?
Been lurking for a few months and this header pic made me finally join as I can see this is my tribe. I'm old and fat and slow now, but this pic is from my time, when I not only fell in love with the bike, but in all the weirdness (like the Mapei kit) that came along with it. It was this sort of thing that showed the world that we were more than guys that ride bikes, we are cyclists, racers.
Also, if anyone has a pair of those Briko Stingers cluttering up a drawer somewhere, let me know.