Click here to buy And Ride20_18 will currently get you 20% off the entire TICC range.

“You look like Mr Tumble on a bad day,” said the Mrs as I donned this for the first time. Cheeky. Admittedly it’s sat in my wardrobe for a while now, waiting for a special day. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to wear it, comfortable I am with being a bit of a show off. But I’ve had a few life epiphanies lately, deleting Facebook, deciding to eschew my Garmin, not giving a crap about Strava. I’ve also decided to stop giving any Fu**s. So, I don’t really care how the large makes me look, all I care is about how it makes me feel and how good it is at doing its job. And, to that extent, it’s a massive win for this jersey.

Noble words. Or, they would be if I cared. I’m starting to care about the ride, not how far, how fast, how high, how better than X, how faster than Y. If those things happen during the enjoyment of a ride, great. Otherwise, meh. But noble words still. Remember it doesn’t get easier, you just go faster. Oddly, ditching your Garmin can improve that, I feel stronger since I’ve done it, mentally sharper, more in tune with the RIDE and the world. That’s important. But, back to the jersey.

Hors catégorie is, of course, beyond classification. That climb so hard it defies belief, logic, sinews. That hardest of the hard. Hence the polka dots. You make it up, you’ve beaten yourself and that damn hill. You deserve it. I don’t mind wearing polka dots, it’s a bit better than the yellow jersey. It’s ok, as long as it’s just the one arm. Acceptable.

The jersey retails at £96 which I think is excellent. This is a premium product. Take 20% off and it’s bloody brilliant. There’s an attention to detail here which is Rapha-esque. It’s a striking design. Don’t like this and there are various other equally striking designs in the range. There are various models and styles but the overall fit is the same, i.e. racy and aero. I took a large, I’m within the measurements. It’s body paint standard. Again, I don’t give a f**k. It works fabulously well in really hot temperatures, and we’ve really had the run of that recently. If you want it looser, go a size up. But don’t. Join me in not giving a f**k. The zip is excellent, the waist gripper works, the front is mesh airy and keeps you cool. The collar is bang on right and on point. In terms of being fast drying, yep, there’s so little of it, that’s without doubt. If you are challenging on an HC climb this is about as light and airy as you’re going to get.

The sleeves are laser cut. No grippers, they just stay in place. They do require your arms (or rather the bit to your elbows) to be a certain length to not meet your elbow. I’m just about there. I’d prefer it if they were an inch shorter, or, rather, my arms (legs, torso) being an inch or so longer. In terms of sleeve length these are this season’s long socks. Whatever your preference they are oh so nice. They’re less meshy than the rest of the set up but still oh so cool.

You can see the combination of fabrics here. The front, meshy, the side panels, very much so, and the sleeves that smooth fabric. It’s all uber stretchy and the fit is perfect, not too long, not too short, just Goldilocks.

That main and asymmetric pattern continues round the back. Asymmetry is a bit of a TICC thing, as you may have noticed in my previous sock review.

The three deep pockets will swallow a phablet size phone and there’s internal reinforcement to make sure there’s no sag. The waist sits fairly high on your hips and for me it’s a perfect length. Getting into the pocket is perhaps a few cm higher than others but it’s not really an issue.

This is an absolutely cracking jersey. You need to feel confident to wear it as it is a bit lary but, just get one and don’t give, etc. It’s a bargain aero warm jersey at the price and even better with a discount. In fact, it might actually have become my favourite warm weather jersey. If there are any issues with it, well, it can be a bit see through, how could it not, given the construction.

So, I’ve been wearing it with their sleeveless base layer.

It’s about £35 which puts it in the mid echelon of pricing and it really is just a big string vest. But it parters brilliantly with the jersey. Indeed, you can see elements of it being visible through the jersey  and I actually quite like that look. There’s not a lot to say here other than it works well, keeps you cool, fits spectacularly and is just a really nice thing indeed.

But, you don’t have to stop there, either on the HoC or the asymmetry. So, I didn’t stop there.

I now own several (seven actually) pairs of TICC socks. They are perfection. They fit, they are cool, the designs are good and they are long lasting. They’re not cheap, but, discount. As you can see these are asymmetric too. I make sure the dots are on the opposite side to the dots on the jersey just to offset things a little more. There are a raft of different colours to add to a raft of different jerseys. Matching is cool. I don’t care if it screams full kit wan***.

Lastly, those arm warmers. They’re visible, superbly made, and just a bit out there. The fit on the large is good for me, don’t size down here. They’re just shy of £30 which is about par for the premium brand course (and way cheaper than some) and you can match them to most of their jerseys. They’re a bit warm for now (they’re the spring type, quite thick and not the summer screen type). But they are quite lovely things.

I’m really impressed. It took me a while to dig it out and try it. Took me a while to plump up the courage I guess. But it’s comfortable stuff with a nice design ethic. If you care about how you look it’s a great choice. If you no longer give a crap about anything then it’s a great choice. In the words of Gerard Butler THIS. IS. CAMBRIDGE!