Few sports require as much or as varied clothing as cycling, in the UK at least.

To simplify matters, you can bank on poor weather for nine months of the year at least, so invest in clothing that will keep you warm and dry rather than succumbing to the temptation of the sale rail and the lightweight summer team kit that inevitably appears there when sponsors change with the coming season.

While it’s possible to spend hundreds of pounds constructing a cycling wardrobe, an outfit of base layer, short-sleeved jersey and bib-shorts, paired with arm and knee warmers, gilet, and lightweight packable rain jacket should see you through all but deepest winter, when you’ll want to add gloves and overshoes and replace your short-sleeved jersey with a long-sleeved equivalent or soft shell.

For all other garments, choose mid-weight items: not the sub-100g jersey suitable for the lower slopes of Alpe d’Huez in July, or the windproof, fleece-lined, full-length bib-tights you’ll wear only for three days in January.