Quick quiz: In the pro peloton, who else besides Lance Armstrong wears black socks and black shoes? Hard question, eh? Mark Cavendish and George Hincapie wear black socks but pair them with white shoes. So do other riders. But that’s as far as they’ll go. Black and white if not white and white. Black shoe covers worn in time trials by riders with Garmin-Slipstream don’t count.
I can think of only one pro rider who has the mojo to don what was popularized by U.S. Postal Service carriers. White socks lost favor with Lance during the middle of the 2004 Tour de France when riding for (you guessed it) U.S. Postal. Who knows if there was an affinity for letter carriers who deliver their appointed rounds no matter what weather conditions — or coincidence. But this much is true: Lance turned black socks into his footwear statement for our time, perhaps as much as he did yellow bands for wrists. More weekend cyclists wear black socks and shoes than you realize. Next time you’re pedaling, have a look around. It’s why going postal is the Wednesday Crave. Even if Lance has got to do it for a team promoting Kazakhstan instead of the U.S. The cancer fight, after all, is global, right? Livestrong. And happy July.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the info. I have black Specialized shoes, and just always wear black socks because I think it looks good. I’m glad that it makes me look like Lance, though!
Yaroslav Popovych wears black/black once in awhile. but not for every race. I can’t think of anyone else.
Well, I do the ultimate fashion/cycling/sports faux pas and wear anklets in lieu of ankle socks. I don’t like a tan line on my ankles! With that said, I just naturally wear black anklets sometimes. I never knew I was cool like Lance.
Let’s get a pic. By golly, if he does it during the 09 TdF, we have a winner! I know others did in 04 on Postal at the beginning.
Who knows about the black cycling shoes used by Lance Armstrong during the last TDF 2009?
Hi KONATE, I believe the shoes LA wore were Nike custom made; same for those Levi Leipheimer wore (white variety) in the 09 season.