Inherently rigid telescopic protective cover

The invention relates to a protective cover, comprising a plurality of protective cover segments (1), which can be moved in relation to one another telescopically and which each have a covering leg (2) and a supporting leg (3), and comprising a connecting element or bellows (4). When the protective cover is telescopically extended, an elastic restoring element produces a torque (M) and transfers said torque to the supporting leg (3). The invention is characterized in that the elastic restoring element is an integral component of the connecting element (4), in that the connecting element (4) has flexural rigidity and is connected to the supporting leg in a planar manner along a height range (H) of the supporting leg (3). Because of the invention, an additional elastic restoring element and the fastening thereof to the supporting leg are no longer necessary. Thus, the fully compressed size, weight, and production complexity of the protective cover can be reduced, and the leak-tightness and operational reliabili