Rapha Men’s Pro Team Gravel Jersey

The Rapha Men's Pro Team Gravel Jersey is extremely comfortable, about as cool as a skintight top gets and is well suited to the racing it's designed for. It's also fantastically expensive, awkward to get on and off, and sizes up small. If you're not racing seriously it's hard to justify.

That price. There's really no ignoring it – £175 is extremely high for a short sleeve jersey, and tops even the other premium stuff we've tested recently, such as MAAP's fancy gravel effort, the Alt_Road, at £150. And while the Assos Mille GT Jersey C2 Drop Head might not be gravel specific, there's really very little difference and that's lovely for £110.

> Buy now: Rapha Men’s Pro Team Gravel Jersey for £175 from Rapha

You really have a great choice of excellent summer jerseys for half this price. The Santini Gravel did very well in our review, for instance, and though the official price has since risen to £110, Santini frequently discounts its clothes; at the time of writing this was actually selling for £71.50.

The Endura GV500 Reiver S/S Jersey is also very good and costs £89.99.

With that out of the way, I can at least say this is a very good jersey – beautifully made, extremely comfortable and guaranteed to at the very least not slow you down. It's seriously not going to flap or even ruck up anywhere, and Rapha claims it's 'tested in the wind tunnel for aero efficiency at gravel racing speeds'.

Assuming this aero performance is at least partly responsible for the premium, it's a shame Rapha doesn't say anything whatsoever about how it actually did in the windtunnel.

Certainly it's designed for a very tight and smooth fit, and having tested a size beyond what Rapha's guide recommends, I actually wouldn't want to wear the medium my 100cm chest rates. In fact, I've got very little doubt I could wear an XL without any issue. This sizes up small.

The 'stability' hemband, there to keep the pockets secure even when the 3/4 zip is right down, doesn't help here. Unlike the rest of the jersey it's very strongly elasticated, and can make getting this on and off tricky – especially when it's all damp with sweat and you're knackered. I got myself trussed up like Houdini on his first day at work a few times until I figured out the technique.

Once on, though, it's lovely, and kept me comfortably cool even when sweating through the 30°C+ heatwave of the test period. The polyester/elastane main fabric is very thin, and the perforations in the chest and underarm area work well. (Note, they're not as see-through as our photos would suggest, either.)

The long sleeves and high-backed neck add a little protection and also sit with barely-there comfort, and still don't make this top feel too warm. It's probably the coolest jersey I've worn short of loose-fitting mountain bike ones that allow breezes directly across the skin, and naturally it's much more aero than those.

Technically you get five pockets for your food and gear, though really it's the traditional three with some slim, corner-entry extras on top of the outer two. These seem best suited to gels and wrappers, while the main three are secure but not the biggest, being barely a handwidth and not incredibly deep either. Still, for racing you'll want to be travelling light anyway.

The upside is the extra layer still seems to breathe well, and I never noticed my lower back getting especially hot or any more sweaty than the rest of me. Unfortunately, the stylish grey fabric does darken significantly when it's wet, leading to unsightly sweat patches. It's available in a Light Teal/Dark Orange option too.

Overall

This is lovely to wear – cool, comfy and unrestrictive – and very nicely put together, but for the price you might well expect perfection. And it's not perfect. It sizes up small, shows up sweat patches (in this colour at least) and can be a pain to get on and off. Also, while it's windtunnel-tested for racing performance, even Rapha doesn't say if it did well in those tests or not.

> Buyer’s Guide: 10 of the best summer jerseys

If you're serious about racing and going all-out for any possible gains – and can afford it – this is a very nice jersey for hot days. For anything less exacting, though, the price puts it out of contention.

Verdict

Very cool and very comfortable, but sizes up small and my word, that price...