A retrospective look at the Italian brand's iconic bicycles and their riders
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Rui Costa added the most recent chapter to the storied history of Italy's Pinarello bicycle company as the 26-year-old Portuguese rider rode a brilliant race to win the road race world championship last Sunday in Florence, Italy.
Costa's trade team of Movistar has parted ways with Pinarello for 2014 (and Costa himself moves to Lampre-Merida next season) and it marks the end of a lengthy relationship with the Spanish squad which can be traced back to the Reynolds team of the 1980s. Pinarello still figures prominently in the pro peloton, however, as they've extended their partnership with the British Sky team through 2016. Pinarello's relationship with Team Sky has been fruitful since their initial sponsorship in 2010 which has seen the squad win 136 races thus far, highlighted by back-to-back Tour de France victories courtesy of Bradley Wiggins (2012) and Chris Froome (2013).
Pinarello was founded by Giovanni Pinarello, himself a professional cyclist, but who saw the writing on the wall after finishing dead last in the 1951 Giro d'Italia. The next year his Giro d'Italia roster spot was bought out in favour of a more promising rider, Pasquale Fornara, and the 100,000 lire Pinarello received as compensation provided the seed money to found the eponymously named Pinarello bicycle company based in Treviso, Italy.
This gallery represents many milestones in the history of Pinarello, from the company's first international victory via Guido de Rossa at the 1961 Tour de l'Avenir, its first overall Giro d'Italia victory in 1975, its relationship with Italian champions Giovanni Battaglin and Franco Chioccioli, through the more modern era with Miguel Indurain and Alex Zulle at Banesto, Bjarne Riis and Jan Ullrich at Telekom and Spaniards such as Oscar Pereiro and Alejandro Valverde. The racing photos represent the years of Pinarello's sponsorship of Movistar's precursors in Reynolds, Banesto and Caisse d'Epargne.
Click here to view the Pinarello retrospective gallery.
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Based in the southeastern United States, Peter produces race coverage for all disciplines, edits news and writes features. The New Jersey native has 30 years of road racing and cyclo-cross experience, starting in the early 1980s as a Junior in the days of toe clips and leather hairnets. Over the years he's had the good fortune to race throughout the United States and has competed in national championships for both road and 'cross in the Junior and Masters categories. The passion for cycling started young, as before he switched to the road Peter's mission in life was catching big air on his BMX bike.