Bottecchia

Founded in 1924, Bottecchia is one of the oldest bicycle manufacturers in Italy. It creates bikes for a range of disciplines including road, mountain biking and gravel

History

The history of Bottecchia is closely tied to Italian cycling history, taking its name from Ottavio Bottecchia who became the first ever Italian to win the Tour de France in 1924. In the same year, local cycling enthusiast Teodoro Carnielli asked if he could start creating bicycles in Bottecchia’s name, and from it the company was born.

The first bike followed in 1926 before Bottecchia sadly died in 1927, but the Bottecchia brand continued under the ownership of the Carnielli family for over 60 years until 1995 when it was taken over by a group of Padua entrepreneurs who founded Bottecchia Cicli S.r.l.

During its early years the company enjoyed plenty of success and growth alongside it, and by 1940 it employed over 100 people. In 1951 a new form of innovation arrived in the Cyclette - a static bike.

Bottecchia’s ability to innovate was once again displayed in 1961 when it created a folding bike, the Graziella, which was designed to fit into a car - the automobile industry was booming in Italy at the time.

Many more innovations followed and the company has since expanded to a wide range of disciplines, manufacturing everything from road bikes to e-bikes.

In more recent years, the ownership of Bottecchia swapped hands again in 2022, as the company was integrated into Fantic Motor Spa group, a Venetian giant in the production of motorcycles and e-bikes.

That was followed by a move to a large new head office in Padua in 2023.

Did you know?

Pro cycling

Sponsorships:

• Bottecchia Factory Team
• SoCalCycling.com
• Rolling Bike Racing Team

Highlights

• Ottavio Bottecchia became the first rider to win the Tour de France in 1924. That provided the inspiration for the company, with Teodoro Carnielli manufacturing the first bikes in his workshop.
• In 1989 Greg LeMond overcame Laurent Fignon in the final stage time trial to win the Tour de France by the smallest ever margin: only eight seconds. He rode a Bottecchia time trial bike.
• After over 60 years, Bottecchia split from the Carnielli family in 1995 as it was taken over by entrepreneurs from Padua and turned into Bottecchia Cicli S.r.l.
• In 2006, over 50,000 Bottecchia bikes were sold across Europe.