Inherently rigid telescopic protective cover

The invention relates to a protective cover comprising a plurality of protective cover segments (1), which can be moved telescopically against one another and which 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 (3) in a planar manner along a height portion (h) of the supporting leg (3). Owing to the invention, an additional elastic restoring element and the attachment thereof to the supporting leg are no longer necessary. Thus, the compressed size, the weight and the production complexity of the protective cover can be reduced, and the leak tightness and reliability of operation are improved.