Rapha's latest collaboration with Paul Smith sees the classic Grand Tour Gloves given a sartorial twist. Featuring the English designer's signature stripe, the multi-coloured pattern is used on the piping of these black leather race mitts. This limited edition piece was designed for the Favourite Shirts series of exhibitions, a celebration of cycling jerseys held at the Paul Smith store in Tokyo.
Carefully finished with double stitching in key wear points, the gloves have road-specific pads with extra reinforcement around the thumb and forefinger for riding on the hoods. At 2mm, the pads are slim and comfortable but offer unrivalled cushioning through super high-density foam, used in the shooting gloves of army marksmen.
The Grand Tour gloves are finished with durable stitching around all seams and edges. They are fastened at the cuff with a Velcro strap.
Leather gloves look and feel beautiful and they get better with age. Buy them slightly tight and they will stretch to the shape of your hands for a perfect fit.
"I think it was in Normandy one of the guys I used to race with back in the Belgian days came up to me and said 'Cool Gloves man… like Merckx!' You'd kinda catch people looking sideways at you or doing a double take when they saw them… I guess just 'cause they are so unlike the ones we see today! I actually had my doubts about them, being leather, but they are pretty impressive. Very comfortable, and actually get better with use. Plus they are suitable for me to use while driving my Morris Minor…"
Kristian House - Rapha Condor British National Road Race Champion 2009
