If you are going to test a new piece of cycling clothing, where better than at the Tour de France? This is what David Millar, founder of CHPT3 (Chapter 3), the British cycle apparel brand, figured. But as the style in question was a pair of cargo pants, it wasn’t likely that any of the riders would wear them. Although, had the 45-year-old Scot asked, there’s an outside chance some would have. Because David Millar is one of them – a former winner of four stages of the Tour de France (plus five of the Vuelta a España and one of the Giro d’Italia). He was British national time trial champion and British national road champion in 2007. In other words, cycling royalty.

In 2015, Millar retired from competition and set up CHPT3, representing the third chapter in his life: pre-cycling, cycling and now, well, CHPT3. These days his involvement with the Tour de France and other cycling competitions is as a commentator. He’s just finished giving his take on the Tour of Britain, and did indeed bring his cargo shorts to the French competition in the summer. There, he was joined by fellow ITV commentators Pete Kennaugh (former pro cyclist with Team Sky and Bora-Hansgrohe, and Team GB gold-medallist in 2012) and Ned Boulting (sports journalist and keen cyclist). All three donned CHPT3 Tech shorts and rode to work in them on their Bromptons, before spending all day so attired, broadcasting. And if their mode of transport raises the odd eyebrow, being a fold-up bicycle beloved of city commuters, Millar will point out that they were often cycling around 20km from their hotel to the finishing line, and then around the course itself. In sweltering heat.

More to the point, although Millar has elite athlete cred, he is no road-cycling snob. Instead, he is a true evangelist for the activity, one for whom all cycling is good – road, mountain, gravel and, yes, commuting. CHPT3 aims to cater to all of the above and encourage people to just get out on two wheels and have fun. To this end, the products reflect the broad church cycling is today.

‘If you want to wear high-performance Lycra on your road bike and go nuts fast, we have the kit for you,’ says Millar. ‘But we want to influence people to think differently. There are days when you may want the benefits of breathability, aerodynamics, stretchability and quick-drying in clothes that look fine if you get off the bike and go into a café or restaurant. Or even to work.’

This is why the Tech shorts are significant, along with a new T-shirt. ‘The shorts are made of a tech fabric based off some shorts that I loved that I used in events in Southeast Asia on my Brompton, which had stretch and quick-dry properties,’ says Millar. ‘We found an even better fabric that is bombproof. But you pick it up and it feels like you’re holding a tissue. You could wear them by a swimming pool in Ibiza and they’d look fine, but on a bike they work perfectly. You might look like you’ve just come from the beach or been for a hike, but in fact you could have ridden 200 kilometres.’ He recommends that if that’s what you plan to do, you should match them with a pair of CHPT3 liner shorts: ‘They’re super-lightweight, like boxer shorts with a lightweight chamois seat pad, and you wear them underneath, with the shorts over the top. You look like a normal human being.’

The second new addition is a Henley T-shirt that Millar says is amazing: ‘It’s made out of Tencel 37.5 tech, a molecular finish that bonds to the fabric and maintains your body temperature, ensuring it doesn’t go beyond 37.5 degrees. You wear it to the top of a climb and you don’t feel like you’re wearing anything. There’s no sweat. It feels a bit like merino, but it’s different tech from the usual breathable or lightweight stuff. I gave one to a friend in Spain, who came back saying “What the hell is this!” It’s a fitted T-shirt, with a bit of a tail, so you can walk into a café and look quite on point rather than wearing a cycling jersey.’

Millar explains that the shorts and Henley are the type of “bridge products” he wants CHPT3 to expand into. ‘I want to put the tech we know from racing into an aesthetic that is much more stylised – super-tech cycling apparel, designed to look like you’re just hanging around with friends.’

It’s a new departure for CHPT3, which thus far has produced products in collaboration with cycle brands (including Brompton). Now Millar is developing his own pieces, which, true to his cycling evangelist mission, perfectly combine the authenticity of the performance side with more real life-appropriate aesthetics.

chpt3.com