Café du Cycliste Audax collection

Zelie jacket £245, Marceline bibtights £284, Audax gloves £73, cafeducycliste.com

Audax is a niche corner of cycling that has been around for about 130 years. At its core it is a long-distance challenge within a set time limit where completion is more important than speed, and Café du Cycliste says it has created the ideal gear for such a challenge. Each item comes with an Audax pouch and a route card for Café du Cycliste’s open brevet, the Zinzins de Turini in southern France. To give you a flavour of the course, zinzin means ‘bonkers’ in French.

While the route might be crazy, Café du Cycliste says the Audax collection is not. The Zelie’s hood and three-layer construction affords it serious protection against the elements. It also has a unique pocket layout to give riders enough space for all the snacks needed to get them through their audax of choice.

The Marceline bibtights use a wool blend fabric. Café du Cycliste says this gives extra warmth and comfort, as merino wool retains its insulative properties even when wet.

Not forgetting those precious extremities, the brand’s Audax cycling gloves are reflective, thermal and have a reinforced palm for maximum comfort, making them ideal for the inevitable night riding that riders face during any audax.