The History of an Icon: The Musette

An iconic image of the Tour de France is the musette bag (or Feed bag) that riders grab from the side of the road and sling over their shoulders with their "Feed".

They grab these from The Feed Zone: a designated area where riders are able to receive food, fluids, and nutritional support from their staff.

Teams can allocate a couple of staff members to hand out a bundle of musettes for the riders to grab…or one rider may grab multiple to share with their teammates. These bags are stocked full of goodies for them to take on board for the remaining part of the stage.

This is the place to get most of their fueling needs because it can become a lot harder to get anything more than a bottle later in the stage. They’ll have a couple of bottles, gels, bars, homemade snacks and even paninis.

Now back to the Musette....

Some speculate the Musette skyrocketed in popularity after an incident in the 1935 Tour. Julien Moineau arranged for a group of friends to set up in the "Feed Zone" table after table laden with cold beer to distract the peloton while he continued to the finishing line…arriving 15 minutes ahead of the pack!

We believe this incident is what transformed the feed zone from a stop-and-go affair to the drive-ride-thru scenario that you see today.

Being that the original “feed zones” of the Tour were usually bars or cafes, where riders would rush in and down drinks and plates of food, this is certainly an efficient upgrade. There have been teams in the past that tried to redesign it (for safety or otherwise) but the simplicity of the musette has remained and stood the test of time.

Now, for the amateur, it may not be used in the heat of a race, but retains its fashion symbol of the sport. To celebrate the Musette, we have an upgraded Feed Musette from what the riders use once to make it reusable and better for day-to-day usage.

The Feed Musette

Our new musette is a technical marvel in that it features a much heavier fabric, a more padded strap, and most importantly, includes a full-length zipper – making it perfect for on and off-the-bike usage.

I'm a slight connoisseur of musette bags, and when presented the opportunity to make our own, it resulted in over a dozen prototypes to make it perfect. You are receiving a super premium musette that was a labor of love.

We love these bags for on-the-go snacking, traveling, and as a mid-ride grocery grabber in addition to their race-specific design.