• Specification

• Price: £185
• Sizes: XS-XXXL
• Size tested: M
• Colours: Black/red; black
• Website: Sportful

The jacket has an excellent fit – close and athletic – with enough stretch built in to avoid riding up while in an aggressive position on the bike. Faced with a grim road race, I wouldn’t hesitate to pin a couple of numbers on the back of the Fiandre. At £185 I might be miffed if someone wiped out in front of me, but it doesn’t feel a fragile item of kit.

At the heart of any windproof jacket is the zip, and Sportful have not under-specced the Fiandre Windstopper LRR. From the moment you pull up the waterproof YKK Vislon zipper up along the taped seems it’s clear the elements aren’t making it through here.

The LRR jacket itself can be rolled up to fit into a jersey pocket, but this needs a deep pocket – it’s going to be tight in an aero jersey. Even then it protruded enough from the top to make me a little nervous of losing a £185 piece of kit. It felt secure, but I’ll admit to more than one pocket check each time it was stowed.

Sportful have intelligently built reflectivity into their logos on the front and rear of the jacket, and usefully added striped decals where most drivers are likely to see it. The red and black contrast of our test jacket is also attention-grabbing, while there’s also a black version if that’s what you’d prefer. Either way, the visibility features compliment the jacket rather than dominate it, so it strikes a good balance.

Conclusion

The Sportful Fiandre Windstopper LRR Short Sleeve Jacket could become a mainstay of the cycling wardrobe for the three wetter seasons of the year.  This is a garment for riders who relish racking up quick miles in changeable conditions while their fair-weather buddies are still glancing outside through the windows, refreshing the weather app on their smartphone.

At £185 without sleeves it sounds expensive, but it’s adaptable enough to take the space of two or three other items of kit, and do the job just as well – if not better – providing you don’t slow down too much and feel the chill when it rains. In which case, a traditional long sleeve jacket may be more suitable.

Pros

• Very versatile for use in changeable conditions
• Windproof and (highly) water resistant
• Impressively breathable

Cons

• Not as much protection as a full jacket (obviously)
• No zipped pocket