Stolen Goat Bodyline Lionheart jersey

Het wraaksein is gegeven, hij is hun tergen moe;
Met vuur in't oog, met woede springt hij den vijand toe.
Hij scheurt, vernielt, verplettert, bedekt met bloed en slijk
En zegepralend grijnst hij op's vijands trillend lijk.

(The sign of revenge has been given, he is tired of their bait;
With fire in the eye, in anger he jumps towards the enemy.
He tears, destroys, crushes, covers in blood and mud
And in victory grins over his enemy's trembling corpse.)

Thus ends De Vlaamse Leeuw (The Flemish Lion), the anthem of Flanders. It might have been written decades before the first Spring Classics were run, but the Flemish spirit lives on and is seen in the swashbuckling adventures of the hard men of cycling, nowhere more so than in Flanders. In tribute to the region, UK outfit Stolen Goat have produced this rather dashing jersey. Fittingly, it's made in Belgium by Bioracer, which also supplies kit to Philippe Gilbert, Marianne Vos, Tony Martin and, er, Kraftwerk.

Stolen Goat is a one man operation, run by Tim Bland. Since 2012 he's been selling niche cycling gear and some lovely bike-themed prints, and has now added his own-brand line of t-shirts, jerseys and musettes. The Lionheart jersey is the most distinctive from a range of eight designs, but if it's a bit too lively for your tastes it's worth having a look at the rest of the range which is rather more sober.

The lion design on the front works really well with the colours of the Belgian flag across the bottom. Some might feel that the further large design on the rear is taking things a bit far and that perhaps a more restrained approach would have worked better here, but cycling has a long tradition of the shouty jersey and I love the look of this one.

As I mentioned, there is a range of quite different designs, so let's look at the technical aspects which are common to the whole range. Pairing up with Bioracer was a great move - they really know their way around technical cycling wear. The fit on the Bodyline jerseys is top drawer; it's no exaggeration to say that it's on a par with high-end jerseys costing over £100. The sleeves are undoubtedly the highlight. Super stretchy fabric gives a tight aero fit on the skinniest biceps with a raw cut end - no seams. I'd never previously found myself irritated by a seam on the end of my sleeves, but raw sleeve ends are what the pros are mostly wearing and they're bloody lovely. Quite simply, they are the best-fitting and most comfortable sleeves of any jersey I've worn, at any price.

The torso is also a close aerodynamic fit which I found was very comfortable and not at all restrictive; again you can really see the expertise of Bioracer here. The fabric is UV-blocking and boasts that improbable characteristic, "4-way stretch". It's not as stretchy as the sleeves - that wouldn't really work - but has enough give to ensure a good fit, combined with side panels made from the same stretchy lycra as the sleeves. Breathability is decent, if (unsurprisingly) not on a par with the ultra lightweight jerseys that the likes of Castelli, Rapha and Adidas have produced recently for the hottest of summer days.

The details are mostly well-executed, too. The full-length zip is a high-quality cam-lock YKK, and the three rear pockets are well positioned and don't mind being loaded up. There's a fourth pocket; the increasingly standard water-resistant home for your phone, which is always welcome. Unusually the zipped opening runs down the middle of this pocket rather than at one edge. The front zip is kept separated from your neck with a zip garage flap, made of the same stretchy fabric as the sleeves. I found that it was slightly fiddly to get the flap to sit over the top of the zip - generally not something you give a second thought to. Conventional rather than flat-lock seams are used here, but I didn't find them bothersome.

Here's a very welcome approach - Stolen Goat offer all of the Bodyline jerseys in men's and women's sizes. It's refreshing to see this, rather than a token pink-highlighted womenswear range, and it's an approach that I think will be popular.

When we included the Lionheart jersey in our recent round-up of new clothing, it promptly sold out in some popular sizes. They've now got some more in with another shipment due apparently. We've had some pretty high-performance jerseys in for review this summer, some - like this one from Alé - really quite expensive. Obviously it's still a lot more than Aldi kit, and lots of keen cyclists would struggle to justify paying £60 for a summer jersey, but believe me, if you can afford it, this jersey is terrific value.

The only other jersey I can think of with a similar quality at a similar price is dhb's Goldline jersey, which Iwein reviewed earlier this summer. The Goldline is lighter weight than this Bodyline and would be a better choice on a really hot day. Both manage to deliver a pro fit for a price way lower than you'd normally pay. Wiggle have huge buying power and dhb gear is generally cracking value.

Stolen Goat have achieved something remarkable in bringing a high-quality product to market at such a keen price, without the economies of scale enjoyed by the likes of Wiggle. I heartily recommend it and look forward to seeing the other technical kit apparently in the pipeline from Stolen Goat.

Verdict

Eye-catching Flemish-themed jersey - fit is astonishingly good for this price-point