RAPHA EMBROCATIONS/CREAMS


2012 Rapha Embrocation

  • Item: RAP217
  • $27.00 6/$24.30 ea. 10/$21.90 ea.

Winter is a concept we all can wrap our heads around. Wherever we live, no matter how mild the clime, there is a period of cooler, inclement weather that dogs us and challenges our riding. Rapha Winter Embrocation is made for that weather.

Ventoux, the name stamped on the packaging, mapped inside the box, and evoked by the fragrance, is not only a mythic climb, but a place where you can bake or freeze in the summer. That's a fact of life at 1912 meters.

This rub is for your cooler and cold rides. We don't know where that temperature is. Rapha puts it at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and below, but it could be higher or lower depending on your personal thermostat. It should also provide five to six hours of warmth.

As with any warming liniment, there are two vital ingredients, Capsicum and Wintergreen. Rapha has added a third, Vanilla. Since heat isn't everything for embrocation, Rapha Winter has Arnica, a homeopathic remedy used since at least the 16th century to help improve circulation and heal sore muscles. And since the cold does more to your skin than chill it, the Winter Embro' contains Essential Oils, Shea Butter, Vitamin E, and Beeswax to protect it from the elements.

As the Winter Embrocation is of a piece with Rapha's Soap and Chamois Cream, you'll also find the same symphony of fragrances: Lavender with hints of Atlas Cedar, Pine Needle Rosemary, Juniper Berry, Lemon, Cypress, Patchouli, and Cistus.

The Embrocation has an Orange Sorbet hue. The consistency is thick, almost like an aerated Vaseline (don't worry; no petroleum products are included in the list of ingredients).

The Rapha Winter Embrocation tin is Black and measures 7.5cm tall by 5.5cm in diameter. The container is designed for up to 150ml of volume; the cream takes up 125ml. The tin is packaged inside a box containing a map of Mont Ventoux and the re-telling of a heroic exploit on the slopes of the fabled mountain.