New Gabba & Perfetto Join Castelli RoS Range
By Tom Ballard – 14 August 2019
Castelli’s famous Gabba and Perfetto jerseys join the RoS collection – the perfect cycling wardrobe, whether Rain or Shine.
Britain is well known for its four-seasons-in-a-day weather, so Castelli’s RoS – Rain or Shine – collection provides the ideal accompaniment to any ride where you don’t want to sacrifice performance in the dry or protection if the heavens open mid-ride. The whole idea is that you pick your RoS garment based purely on temperature, then let mother nature do its worst.
RoS has grown over the last couple of years and the biggest news for the newly-launched autumn-winter 2019 range is that the Gabba and Perfetto jerseys – both long-time stalwarts of peloton protection – officially join the RoS line-up with some significant upgrades.
Why's the Gabba such a big deal?
For those playing catch-up, the Gabba is the short-sleeve jersey that first proved performance could be preserved and even increased in cold or rain-drenched conditions – and the Perfetto is its long-sleeved sibling.
Made famous during the terrible weather of the 2013 Milan-Sanremo, where many non-Castelli sponsored riders bought Gabbas and took black markers to the logos, the Gabba’s slim, aerodynamic cut meant pro riders were no longer slowed by flapping capes or forced to sacrifice breathability for rain protection.
The new RoS Gabba and Perfetto jerseys
The biggest change for the autumn-winter 2019 collection is the use of new Gore-Tex Infinium fabric. A collaboration between Castelli’s research and development team and Gore, Infinium is exclusive to the Italian brand. It’s lighter and gives more water protection than ever before without compromising the garment’s ability to breathe.
Thanks to Infinium, Castelli is labelling the new Perfetto and Gabba RoS jerseys as ‘near waterproof’. Add in the taped seams around the shoulders, a new three-quarter-length storm flap over the zip and a lower drop-tail design to catch more wheel spray and the new RoS iterations of the Gabba and Perfetto boast superb rain protection. In fact, only the heaviest, most prolonged downpour should have you reaching for a full-on waterproof like the Idro.
Both Gabba and Perfetto now use body mapping dual fabric construction. The wind-facing front panels use Infinium 205 fabric, which is brushed for increased insulation, while the back uses Infinium 203 stretch fabric for comfort and breathability. The back of the jersey also features a wide reflective strip and two large, easy-access rear pockets. These were swapped in to replace the traditional three-pocket design at the request of Team Ineos riders to make grabbing flapjacks so much easier. Castelli has also added an integrated sleeve to help secure your mini pump while riding.
The close aero fit has been retained but Castelli has refined the shaping of the side panels for better freedom of movement. This also makes it more comfortable when worn over other layers. If it’s cool rather than cold, the Gabba’s perfect over a base layer while you might want to add a thermal layer if the mercury drops.
All-in-all, the Gabba and Perfetto’s induction into Castelli’s RoS range highlights the biggest shake-up in design since the Gabba first appeared in 2010. Back then it was envisioned for cool-weather training and extreme weather racing, nearly a decade on, it’s become the must-have outer layer for virtually any situation, offering sublime dry-weather comfort and unrivalled rain protection.
The RoS range doesn’t stop with Gabba and Perfetto. There are plenty of other RoS garments to enhance your dry and wet weather riding. Stay tuned for more on the autumn-winter collection or head straight to browse RoS now.
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