My summer cycling clothing reviews took a little hiatus while I was at Eurobike, but this week will show the final two. Today, it’s the high class Road Holland Utrecht jersey.
The more I’ve thought about this piece, and the higher the mercury rose, the more I consider the Utrecht to be a fall/spring jersey. The fabric is a polyester/Merino wool blend that’s thicker than a traditional cycling jersey. Road Hollands raison d’être is to create classic looking gear that’s as good looking inside the coffee shop as on the bike, and the Utrecht pulls this off in spades. Where most of the other gear was skin tight, the Utrecht fits more like a properly sized tee…
It has three full size rear pockets and a small zipper pocket on the right. The reflective strip along the top of the pocket doubles as a style feature rather than just stitched in randomly. There’s no reflectivity on the front or sides.
The front zipper comes down 1/3 of the way with a small chin protector flap at the top. The collar is a bit taller than your standard performance jersey for a bit more formal, less racy look.
The rear half of the lower hem has a stretch fabric with gripper silicone strip to keep it from riding up. The Road Holland Utrecht jersey comes in this nice, bright Royal Orange, as well as Midnight Blue and Black. It retails for $120 and is made in the USA.
REVIEW:
Overall I really like the Utrecht, but not so much for the fast group rides. The reason? Sizing. I tested an XL and am 6’2″ and about 180lbs with a more muscular build than most pure roadies. Fit on this was good in places, the shoulders hit perfectly for me. And not so good in others…the bottom was a bit loose, particularly in the back, and it ran a solid 2″ to 3″ longer than most jerseys. For a performance piece, this extra length made hang too far down my butt in the riding position. For more casual rides, or when wearing shell shorts for commuting or mountain biking, it was fine. I’m guessing some of this could have been remedied by trying the size Large, but then the shoulders would have sat a bit high. My recommendation would be to order a size down if in doubt, the material has a good natural stretch.
During the middle of the summer, the material was a bit warm, too. Now that things are cooling off, I’m very much looking forward to spending more time in it. It’s super soft and looks great.
All that said, they offer a more performance cut jersey called the Hilversum with a full zip front and a higher polyester-to-wool ratio that might be a better summer jersey.
