VILLORBA, Italy (BRAIN)—A memorial service is scheduled today in Italy to honor Andrea Pinarello, the 40-year-old son of Pinarello founder Giovanni Pinarello who died last week of a heart attack.
Andrea collapsed at the finish line of the first stage of the Giro del Fruili amateur stage race.
“He lived a healthy lifestyle. He was fit. He rode his bike a lot. He was a strong bike rider. It’s hard to make sense of it,” said Sandy Nicholls, marketing director for Gita Sporting Goods, Pinarello’s U.S. distributor.
Gita’s owner Giorgio Andretta flew to Italy over the weekend to be with the Pinarello family and was present for an impromptu memorial ride Sunday in Treviso. The ride to honor Andrea attracted more than 1,000 riders, including Andrea’s pregnant widow, Gloria, his older sister Carla and older brother Fausto. Giovanni and Ida, Andrea’s mother, were also present. Andrea is also survived by his two children.
Nicholls, who worked with Andrea on and off over the years, said Andrea had spent his entire career at his father’s company, although he was more in the background than his brother Fausto. As part of his role as head of marketing, Andrea organized the Pinarello Gran Fondo for the past 15 years, mapping out the course, handling logistics and promoting the popular ride. He also led bike trips on behalf of Pinarello’s X Events cycling tourism arm, and recently brought 15 to 20 people to the gran fondo New York, Nicholls said. Andrea also worked to track down counterfeit Pinarello bikes selling online.
He was very passionate about supporting his father’s business, Nicholls said. “The entire family has that passion and he was no exception.”
—Nicole Formosa
nformosa@bicycleretailer.com
Photo credit: Pinarello
