Hush! Do you hear that? The sound of sleighbells jingling, the soft thud of Rudolph and the gang’s little feet landing on your roof? The robust man squeezing down your chimney, leaving his gifts at the foot of your Christmas tree and then, on his way out, glancing at the advent calendar on the mantlepiece, and robustly booming “ho–ho–ho, and what the hell is this?”
Fear not, Santa! It’s only the UCI Advent Calendar (€139.30 / US$163 / $250AUD), exclusively available via the organisation’s cycling apparel partner, Santini, for a limited time only! It is, the advertising copy promises, a way of “guid[ing] you towards Christmas with unique emotions and exclusive accessories, so you can live cycling even during the holidays … Every day a surprise, every window a piece of passion.”
What festive treasures have Santini and the UCI conjured up for the cycling aficionado this year? That’s simultaneously a great question, but it also fundamentally misses the ‘surprise and delight’ element of any advent calendar, where you/a child opens little boxes and receives a new little trinket each day until Christmas.
However.
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