Sidi Genius 5 Pro Mega Road Cycling Shoes £160

At a glance At a glance High-end, top quality road shoe with a ratchet closure and a super stiff sole, designed for wide feet

Tested by
Jonathan Manning, tester for the bike list

Value

Performance

Throughout my teens and twenties I was saved from footwear fashion faux pas by dint of my big, broad Anglo-Saxon feet and high insteps. Regardless of my Imelda Marcos style lust for sleek Italian footwear, slip-on loafers and even winklepickers, my G-width feet restricted me to Clarks Desert Boots and Doc Marten's.

Sidi Genius 5 Pro Mega Life as a road cyclist has been just as frustrating. I've never managed to squeeze my plates of meat into those neat, dainty race shoes that sit like baubles on bike shop shelves. Even my Shimano MTB shoes are two full sizes too big to achieve a width fitting that doesn't involve the amputation of my little toes.

Then Google threw up a eureka moment. Premium shoe manufacturer Sidi made shoes in both standard and Mega (wide) fittings. Suddenly Italian footwear became a possibility for the first time in my life.

And so to the Genius 5 Pro Mega, officially a 'mid-range' performance shoe, but with close to a top end price. It's specifically designed to accommodate wider feet and higher arches, and while shoe comfort will always be subjective, specific features should suit all feet. The padded tongue and broad instep closure system, for instance, distribute pressure right across the foot's arch. Two further Velcro-tightening Sidi Genius 5 Pro Mega Micro adjustment straps allow further width adjustment further down the foot, and they work. When my feet swelled and started to ache after 90 miles of this year Tour de France etape, loosening the straps delivered instant relief.

What's more, the calliper buckle on the instep strap allows micro-adjustment via its ratchet for tailoring the fit to great precision, while a reinforced heel cup helps to keep your foot securely anchored in the shoe.

The Genius 5 is made from Lorica, a sophisticated leather that's soft and flexible. Sidi claims it won't tear, split or scratch, and after nearly 2,000 miles my pair show only the muck of the road. The leather is surprisingly breathable, and perforations and mesh panels further help to keep your feet cool. When the weather turns, however, the shoes offer relatively poor protection from the rain, and I've returned from riding through short downpours with wet feet.

At the business end of a ride, however, they perform brilliantly. The super-stiff Millennium 3 sole feels as if it transfers every ounce of effort into forward propulsion. Sidi Genius 5 Pro Mega Sole It's a Nylon unit with injected carbon fibre for superb rigidity from the tip of the toe to the base of the heel, and allied with Look Keo cleats and pedals there's a real feeling of the entire foot driving the crank around. What's more, the designers have added an alignment scale to the sole unit to assist the precise fitting of cleats.

The sole's exceptional stiffness does mean, however, that they're murder to walk in. I'm now resigned to taking them off and walking barefoot for any more than 20 metres (including to drink stops on sportive rides). At least the non-slip polyurethane heel pad is removable, so the shoes should genuinely last a lifetime.

My pair are glacial white, as dashing as Ronaldo's football boots, and if I've had to wait half a lifetime to find a pair of stylish Italian shoes that really fit me, the wait has been worthwhile now that I can gaze down on the Genius 5 as a I pedal.

Buy from: www.wiggle.co.uk

Sidi says:

A classic road shoe, the Genius 5 Pro is used by many professionals by choice and comes together to offer the rider the superior quality and comfort that is SiDi.

Millennium 2 Sole: Light and aerodynamic, Millennium 2 sole does note require the use of adaptors to fix the plates.

Mega Last: Studied and projected for those who have a high arch, wide or high-volume feet. It is properly shaped and proportioned for larger feet.

SL Buckle: Allows locking in two different ways; by taking up a number of clicks with one sweep of the lever, Or engaging one half a click at a time for a quick micrometric adjustment. The two red flaps may be pressed together for complete unlocking or alternatively to slightly loosen the shoe during performance.

Soft Instep Closure System: The rigid polyurethane part has been reduced and coupled to soft, thermo-formed Eva and it is anatomical. The system eliminates the need for the High Instep Extender. Increased comfort and performance.

Velcro Security System: High security Velcro with integrated locking polymer teeth that engage onto each other when the strap is closed. This feature makes the closure more secure and the Velcro becomes unmoveable.