Colnago becomes the official sponsor of the Pink and White Jersey of the most prestigious and important women’s cycling stage race, the Giro Rosa.
The announcement came on Friday, when the Race Director Giuseppe Rivolta and company owner Ernesto Colnago signed a 3 years contract of sponsorship in the company’s Cambigo headquarters.
“It’s a true honor to have Colnago in our big family,” said Rivolta. “It’s the history of cycling in the world, the brand is known and admired everywhere for the quality of its products and for the sport victories in the last sixty years. It’s official presence as sponsor gives to the Giro Rosa a bigger prestige all over the world”.
Colnago is an historical brand of Italian and international cycling: It was founded in 1952 and the first factory was situated in Via Garibaldi 10 in Cambiago. Since then, their bikes have been ridden by champions sucj as Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx (Hour Record in 1972), Michele Dancelli (Winner of the Milano-Sanremo in 1970), Francesco Moser (Hour Record in 1984) and Giuseppe Saronni (World Champion in Goodwood 1982).
The first prototype of a Colnago carbon frame was created in 1987 and in those years it started a partnership with Scuderia F1 Ferrari. The epic era continued in the ’90s with the Team Mapei who dominated the North Classic Races with Ballerini, Tafi and Museeuw, until Oscar Freire and Erik Zabel.
In women’s cycling the biggest successes have come with the Colnago Mountain Bike and Cyclocross Team represented by the Italian champion Eva Lechner in two off road disciplines, then in road racing as a sponsor to the Wiggle Honda Team of Giorgia Bronzini and Elisa Longo Borghini, winner of the 2015 Tour of Flanders 2015. Borghini’s teammate Mara Abbott finished second in the Giro Rosa 2015.
The good news about Giro Rosa don’t end here: The UCI has announced the foundation of the Women’s World Tour in 2016. The Giro Rosa is part of its calendar and it will take place from 1st to 10th July.