How to win friends and influence people

Centre of attention at the Vuelta

A key member of the Soigneur family is local rider and friend who goes by the Instagram handle @vegasjonny (as Roto-Vegas is the tongue-in-cheek nickname for our hometown of Rotorua).  It’s Jon who keeps our social media fires burning and more often than not answering questions that come our way via Facebook or Messenger.

Jon has just completed an epic cycling trip through France and Spain, with a difference. Armed with a bucket list of the 30 most iconic cycling climbs in the French Alps and Pyrenees, he worked his way down the alps and across to Spain, in a dedicated routine of ‘ride–drive–sleep’ on repeat. Almost every day involved at least one Hors Categorie climb, sometimes more.  He managed 26 climbs over 24 days, including a day on the Tourmalet watching the Vuelta ride by.

While we know our European customers can ride these places with relative ease and regularity, for us Kiwis down under such trips can be unobtainable or just once-in-a-lifetime affairs. The trip from Auckland to Geneva alone takes 3 flights, almost 24 hours in the air, and a lot of spending money.

Jon travelled alone but reports that the Soigneur jerseys he wore acted as magnets for attention. Time and again he would get compliments and questions about them. 

In particular, the Vuelta party that was in play at the Tourmalet summit saw him get approached no fewer than 6 times by people admiring his kit! This was no doubt also helped by the fact that Jon could wear the same jersey for the entire trip without needing to wash it once, such are the odour-killing properties of merino wool. Being our Bianchi jersey didn’t hurt either.

Jon tells us it reminds him of the time he went to the Tour Down Under and attended a shop ride hosted by a well-known brand of expensive cycling wear that might possibly begin with R – the host brand was largely ignored while he kept getting compliments for his Soigneur jersey!

So there you have it. Forget personality, charm, or Strava KOMs. Just wear a Soigneur jersey and see the compliments come pouring in faster than Sepp Kuss contract offers!