While the concern of many riders for their cycling footwear extends no further than appearance and comfort, the shoe serves a distinct bio-mechanical purpose: to hold the foot in a position that keeps it aligned to the knee and offers a powerful leg extension.

Many facets of the shoe help to achieve this goal, from the shape of the sole – specifically it’s off-set (more of which on the following pages) – to inserts that support the arch.

Wall and Hewitt say that the feet of riders in the UK are typically weakened by the Western lifestyle, where shoes are worn from an early age and many work at a desk.

Desk workers typically adopt a slumped standing position, Hewitt says. “We don’t really walk, or run, or stand up a lot anymore,” he explains. “Our shoulders become rounded, and so to balance ourselves we go into a slumped position. That position puts a lot of weight on the outside of our foot, so we never contact our first metatarsal and the foot gets weak and flat.”

Weakness in the foot can lead to it spreading, particularly for older and heavier riders. The result is the need for a wider shoe with greater support.

“In the West we’ve got weak feet because we don’t use them,” Wall adds. “One of the side effects with cycling is that we expect to sit on a bike for six hours, have the foot controlled in a plantarflex position [with the heel raised – more of which below] with no support and not have any issues.

“We get junior riders in, super fit, great power to weight ratio, but ask them to do a one-legged squat, and they can’t control the foot,” he continues.

“The knee drops in, and that’s where they’re getting the discomfort. That’s why it’s important to have the support in the shoe for most of us Westerners.”