Daniele Bennati is a former Italian road cyclist, who rode in the pro peloton from 2002 to 2019. He has many career accolades including winning the Giro del Piemonte twice, three stages of the Giro d’Italia, two stages of the Tour de France and six of the Vuelta a España.
Daniele is part of the Q36.5 not only as a riding mate, but also as a valuable asset to our R&D team.
We asked Daniele to tell us how cycling clothing has evolved over the years & which is his favorite Q36.5 kit for mid-season.
Do you think that the evolution of cycling clothing has had a relevant impact on contemporary performance, in particular autumn and winter clothing?
Absolutely, especially during the colder months both in preparation and in case of bad weather during the race. The progress in research and development of materials has often been crucial for the performance of athletes.
During your experience as a professional athlete, have you ever been in conditions where the clothing did not perform positively under the weather conditions?
Yes, of course, sometimes in very low temperatures and rainy days the result is often due to the poor quality of the garments themselves (fortunately I have also had positive experiences).
Which Items do you use most during the autumn and winter season?
In the region I live temperatures are rarely extreme, so in fall and winter I use clothing that is not too heavy. I often wear a long sleeve jersey with a good wind protection and then I play with the base layer, selecting it accordingly to the daily temperature. I prefer to ride with bib shorts, and I find that thermal bibs are the perfect solution to be combined with leg or knee warmers, when needed.
Perfect between 8-18 °C
Perfect between 5-15 °C
Perfect between 5-15 °C
Rain and cold