Mathieu van der Poel opted for white shorts in the Tour of Flanders “for tactical reasons.”

Even van der Poel’s father Adrie, a cyclocross legend and Flanders winner himself, said he was surprised by the decision to make the switch from his usual black shorts.

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But Adrie van der Poel has explained that the decision was a tactical move.

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The elder van der Poel told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: “It was a conscious choice by [Corendon-Circus team managers] the Roodhooft brothers, for tactical reasons.

“They had seen in Dwars door Vlaanderen that in the helicopter images Mathieu was difficult to distinguish from the Luxembourg champion Bob Jungels.

“With white bibshorts they were able to recognise Mathieu much faster and give him the right tactical tips via the course radio.

“That way they could quickly tell him when he had to move up in a group.

“I thought those white bib shorts a brilliant move.”

For many, Van der Poel was the rider of the day at Flanders on Sunday.

After suffering a bizarre crash and looking like he might have to abandon, the reigning cyclocross world champion rode through the bunch and into the front group.

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The 24-year-old then sprinted to fourth place behind Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates).

Many were quick to point out Van der Poel’s short choice on Twitter, while Burgos-BH rider Jetse Bol was ahead of the pack and guessed the exact reason for the decision.

White shorts are considered a cycling cardinal sin by many, mostly due to the fact they can be almost see through.

But despite the controversy, plenty of pros have opted for white shorts in the past.

Peter Sagan, Adam Blythe in his British national champion’s kit, and formerly the entire Groupama-FDJ squad have all braved public opinion.