What to put in your jersey, and where？

Most cycling tops most many come with three rear pockets plus, increasingly, a zipped ‘security’ pocket.

Right hip pocket

How you now arrange your pockets very much depends upon which hand you feel most comfortable steering with.

So if the answer to that is your left hand, you need to pack your right-hand pocket with the things you’re going to need regular access to.

On a long ride or a sportive, that’s most likely to mean nutrition, so this is the pocket that you need to put your gels, bars and other ride foods into.

You might also want to snip the tops off of any bars, too, so you’re not left trying to wrestle them out of their packets when it comes to topping up your energy levels. But don’t do this with gels as you could end up with a sticky bottom!

Middle pocket

Moving onto the middle pocket, this is where you’ll need to stash either your rain jacket or gilet, depending on whether it’s likely to chuck it down later or just turn a bit nippy.

With both items, it’s an idea to pack them unzipped so that when you do pull them out of your pocket you can put them on easily while you’re still riding if you don’t want to stop.

If folded correctly, there should also be enough room in this pocket for your CO2 cartridge or mini pump – should you not have a pump already attached to the bike.

Left hip pocket

Use the third pocket for items that you won’t be reaching for regularly. These include your phone, your credit card, and your ICE (In Case of Emergencies) card.

These days you can set this info up on your smartphone so it appears on the screen without needing to unlock it, or you can get cards made up for a few quid from firms such as icecard.co.uk.

Alternatively, see iceid.co.uk for a range of ICE bracelets, dog tags and helmet tags. Pack some money in this pocket, too – we recommend at least one plastic five-pound note, as this can also double up as a boot should your tyres have a bad day.