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The GORE C5 Trail jersey is a long sleeve cycling jersey for women that is markedly different in style to other options. It’s comfy and breathable with a real premium feel but it’s a tad short in the body for cycling.

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This women’s trail jersey is a premium option at a premium price, just a penny short of £100 for the pink or blue options, with a tenner off if you opt for black. The materials used feel superb against the skin; soft and silky, they wick away sweat too and dry off quickly when you are working hard. 

The cut is generous rather than slim fitting, I’m a dress size 8 and wore a size small which fitted well. I liked the loose fit, it’s ‘airy’ rather than baggy and has a nice casual feel. The sleeves are a good length, fine for cycling and the long, distinctive, stretchy cuffs are great if you like to roll your sleeves up too.

The neckline is pretty large, it’ll reveal the straps of whatever sports bra you are wearing, I found it hard to find an underlayer to suit this jersey, with every base layer or t-shirt I wore protruding above the neck of the jersey, it just looks plain odd. I concluded that this jersey is meant to be worn on its own.

Despite the generous cut, I found the jersey too short for cycling, the rear hem is plenty long enough but the sides curve up, sitting too high on the hips and prone to exposing skin especially when worn with a pack. The jersey does offer a thicker hem around the bottom edge which goes some way to hold the jersey down but it doesn’t always win the fight!

Elsewhere the jersey has a hidden pocket at the rear which is big enough for some cash and a car key. The top washes very well and has retained its shape throughout the test period, as I said previously, it dries quickly too.

It’s a jersey that I wouldn’t necessarily buy for trail riding but would be suited to a casual commute, shorter gravel rides, or dare I say it, hiking, running or the gym! At £100 it’s hard to justify this purchase given the fit niggles unless you are after a casual, multi-purpose sports top. If that’s the case then this premium jersey will wear well and look cool too.

• www.gorewear.com

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