Castelli

Castelli is a clothing brand based in northern Italy, producing a range of high-performance sports clothing for cyclists and triathletes. With it unmistakable scorpion logo, the brand is well-known within cycling for its premium quality products.

History

Castelli was founded in 1876, in the Milan workshop of tailor Vittore Gianni, whose clients included the Milan Ballet, football teams AC Milan and Juventus, and later on, Giro d’Italia winner Alfredo Binda. Whilst Gianni first made cycling clothing during the 1910s, the company really took off when Armando Castelli joined the company in 1935 and subsequently bought out his boss in 1939.

Armando expanded the company’s clientele during the 1940s and 1950s to include the likes of Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi as well as professional riders such as multiple Tour de France winners Louison Bobet and Jacques Anquetil and triple-Paris-Roubaix champion Rik Van Looy. However, due to clashes in opinion, it wasn’t until 1974 that Maurizio, Armando’s son, gave birth to the current company’s name and iconic logo.

Now in the hands of Maurizio Castelli, the company began to lead the way for innovative cycling clothing, introducing the first Lycra shorts into the market for both professionals and the public in 1977.

Castelli also trailblazed the first coloured bibshorts in 1981 following experimentation with sublimation dying - it caused shockwaves in the peloton given that only black bibshorts were allowed at the time.

The business continued to pioneer performance-enhancing cycling clothing during the 1980s and 1990s. Sadly, in 1995, Maurizio passed away after suffering a heart attack whilst climbing the Cipressa, a legendary climb synonymous with the one-day Monument, Milan-San Remo.

A year later it claimed Olympic gold at the Atlanta Games as Paola Pezzo won the inaugural women’s mountain biking event with the Castelli logo clear to see on her Italian team kit as she crossed the finish line.

In 2003, the company was bought out by Manifattura Valcismon. Since the turn of the century, Castelli has been the clothing manufacturer of choice for countless top-tier teams and riders.

Did you know?

Pro cycling

Current sponsorships: Soudal Quick-Step, AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step, Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team.

Highlights

• Castelli’s first endeavour into the pro peloton came with Alfredo Binda, who claimed five Giro d’Italias and multiple World Championships during a mesmerising career in the early 1900s.
• Fausto Coppi, another of Castelli’s first major clients, also scooped up five Giro d’Italia titles alongside a pair of Tour de France maillot jaunes during the 1940s and 1950s.
• Coppi’s Italian counterpart, and high-profile rival, Gino Bartali also favoured Castelli’s products as he claimed two Tours de France and a trio of Giro titles during the same era.
• The company pioneered a game-changing elastic material which was only used in skiing before 1977. Lycra bibshorts have since become commonplace across all levels of cycling due to their aerodynamic and comfort properties.
• The year of 1996 saw Castelli make waves in the cycling apparel industry for a number of reasons, not least did it launch the first aerodynamic skinsuit but it was also worn by Paolo Pezzo as she won mountain biking gold at the 1996 Olympics Games. Only a few months later, Castelli launched its first women’s cycling collection - the first cycling clothing brand to do so.
• Bernard Hinault achieved almost everything during his career, but for Castelli his second victory at La Flèche Wallonne was extra special given that he was wearing the first windproof jersey.
• Four Tour de France titles in the space of four years arrived for Team Sky, then Ineos Grenadiers, during the 2010s thanks to Chris Froome (twice), Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal.
• Ineos Grenadiers’ Filippo Ganna then achieved Consecutive World Championship time trial titles in 2020 and 2021.