Pinarello is a legendary name in the cycling world, and for the general public is associated with the name of Miguel Indurain and Team Sky (Team Ineos).
The Italian company was founded by ex-cyclist Giovanni Pinarello (1922 - 2014) in 1952, thanks to the 100,000 lire he received to give up his place in the Giro d'Italia 1952 to a younger rider.
In the beginning, Cicli Pinarello S.p.A. mainly produced regular bicycles and bought bicycle frames for racing bicycles from other frame makers. After a short time, however, Cicli Pinarello also started to create frames himself and the range was expanded over the years.
In December 2016, Cicli Pinarello was taken over by the private investor group L. Catterton - LVMH (Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton SE) and nowadays produces mountain bikes, time trial bikes, triathlon bikes, track bikes, cyclocross bikes, fixies and urban bikes.
Last place in the Giro d'Italia 1951
Giovanni Pinarello, to his friends “Nani” was born the 8th of 12 brothers in Catena di Villorba near Treviso on July 10, 1922 in the difficult aftermath of the 1st World War.
Giovanni Pinarello in 1951 bij het team Stucchi Ursus
The love for the bicycle and an amazing perseverance, led him to try a career as a cyclist. These are the years of heroic cycling, the years of Coppi, Bartali, Bobet, of white roads and stages of around 300km.
However, the young NANI immediately stands out and wins more than 60 races, at the age of 20 he even wins the “la Popolarissima” in his own Treviso. This is a very important amateur level competition that opens the door to professional cycling.
But it is in 1951 that Nani has his personal appointment with fate: that year the 34th Giro d'Italia is ridden, the race is won by Fiorenzo Magni, the mountain classification is won by the great Louis Bobet.
Giovanni finishes last in the general classification, but in those years last is no shame, on the contrary, last means wearing the BLACK SHIRT.
During his life Giovanni liked to talk about the incredible strategies that were used to obtain this shirt: participants who sabotage their own wheels or hide in bars or sheds to get behind the peloton afterwards and end the stage with a big delay.
The arrival of the last stage was in fact a moment of glory, it meant making a lap of honor at the Vigorelli velodrome in Milan, with the winner of the final classification and the mountain prize, Magni and Bobet respectively.
Giovanni Pinarello in his black jersey in the Giro d’Italia 1951
Giovanni Pinarello will forever be associated with the Black Jersey. Gino Bartali, legend and great friend of Giovanni, once made a dedication about this fact that is still visible in the Treviso store: “Black Jersey in cycling but Pink Jersey in life”.
100,000 lire not to participate in the Giro d'Italia 1952
In 1952, Giovanni is about to take part in the Giro d'Italia with his team, Bottecchia, but at the last minute, he has to give his place to the young Pasqualino Fornara who has just been fired from the Bianchi team of Fausto Coppi.
Giovanni is disappointed, but is offered 100,000 lire as compensation from his team, an important amount for the time. Giovanni decides to use that money to realize his dream, which is to open a small workshop to build bicycles.
A few months later, in 1953, Giovanni opens his shop, called Pinarello-cycli . All bicycles are handcrafted in a small warehouse near the house of Giovanni who works hard, the start is difficult but he has many good ideas.
It doesn't take long before Pinarello sponsors a first cycling team and in 1961 the first victory on a Pinarello bike is a fact thanks to Guido de Rosso in the Tour de l'Avenir.
The Pinarello bicycle with which Guido De Rosso wins the Tour de l'Avenir in 1961
The Pinarello brand is gradually starting to take a place among the big giants of the time, with more and more small sponsorships that bring small achievements, which in turn makes the factory grow slowly.
In the Tour de France of 1967 Marino Basso wins 2 stages and in 1975 the first victory in the Giro d'Italia is finally a fact thanks to Fausto Bertoglio on his Pinarello Special Acciaio Columbus riding for the team Jollj Ceramica.
Fausto Bertoglio on his Pinarello with the team Jollj Ceramica
The 80's and the 1988 Tour de France victory
Cicli Pinarello is starting to gain popularity. The eighties are a period of great satisfaction for the small factory in Treviso and Fausto, Giovanni's youngest son joins the company.
In 1988 the Spanish rider Pedro Delgado wins the Tour de France for the Dutchman Steven Rooks and the Colombian Fabio Parra. Delgado drives for the Reynolds Reynolon Pinarello team, so Pinarello wins the Tour de France for the 1st time. Cicli Pinarello is no longer the small workshop in the warehouse but is now a serious company that will grow even further in the 90s.
Fausto is slowly replacing his father and will continue Giovanni's dream. Fausto is just 17 years old when he starts in the factory and Giovanni lets him start in the paint shop where he quickly discovers his passion for the aesthetic.
When Fausto is 20 years old, Giovanni considers that it's time for Fausto to replace him and to take over the company.
We are in the mid 80's and the Pinarello brand enjoys great popularity in Italy, but it is still one of many Italian brands and one in a thousand.
Pedro Delgado with his Pinarello bike from the Tour de France 1988
It is up to Fausto to change this. Fausto has a strong character and great perseverance and both are crucial in his entrepreneurial choices that determine the future.
He makes alliances with, at first sight, secondary teams, but which in reality prove to be extraordinary and which include young talents that will make Pinarello one of the most famous bicycle brands in the world.
