The recent change of season sent me to the depths of my kit box for clothing that hadn’t seen the light of day for months.

Few sports demand so much, or as varied clothing as cycling, in the UK at least. Cold, rain, wind, and (just occasionally) warmth, make their own demands on the cyclist and his wardrobe.

With summer soon to be a distant memory and winter clearly having waited only  for the change of the clock to announce its presence, overshoes, jackets, merino base layers, arm warmers, windproof gilets and other items have been pulled from storage.

The blessing/curse of the bike journalist is the sheer volume of clothing that accumulates. With so much to choose from, however, garments that establish themselves as ‘go to’ items are worth sharing.

Here then, in no particular order, are the five winter garments that are the first I turn to.