More than ever, winter is a time for sacrificing style for function, so it was with a slightly suspicious eye we viewed the Giro Alpineduro’s pretty boy, café-rider looks.

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Straight off the bat, it relies on laces, and these don’t have any kind of cover to keep out the mud and slush. As a result, it was our least favourite when returning from a nasty ride — painstaking lace fiddling with cold fingers was not fun, least of all when we had to scrape mud out of the way first.

Friction from the fabric runners also meant it was difficult to get proper tension in the shoe without working hard right from the bottom of the lace ladder.

Despite these practical drawbacks, the Alpineduro was a very pleasant shoe to ride in, with a decent mid-stiffness shank for power transfer and a waterproof and insulated upper that always kept our feet warm.

The tread was a little shallow for deep mud, but the Vibram Icetrek rubber felt pretty soft and offered good traction on wet rocks and roots.

Good warmth and protection, it’s just a shame the laces are so exposed to the elements.