Benefits of tight shorts and jersey?

[djconnel]

On the one hand, you have David Millar getting a mother of a friend to modify his Cofidis skin suit to have no folds (before he won the prologue the next day, winning the yellow jersey).



On the other hand, you find stuff like this: Emma Pooley winning 3 climbing stages in this year's Giro Rosa, two of them wearing this GPM jersey:



What's up with that??? The organizers couldn't even provide a jersey to fit a small woman?

[HillRPete]

The European sizes are 1 (at most 2) sizes (based on the manufacturer) smaller than the American sizes.

I see this all the time in international forums, but can not confirm it. At 186cm height / ~74kg I am right in the middle of the "regular" BMI range. I prefer my Castelli gear in M, except bibs in L. Some Canadian made outdoor gear I have is in M too. Don't just go by provenance when shopping.

[xnavalav8r]

For what it's worth, I just finished a ride in some bibs I was given as a gift. They don't fit as snugly as those I normally wear and I had some discomfort during the ride due to friction. I finished the ride and discovered the chamois soaked with blood from chafing. It looked like someone killed a small animal in the shorts. Horrible! I'll stick to snug fitting bibs from here onward.