TREVISO, Italy (BRAIN)—Pinarello unveils its 2013 bikes to nearly 300 distributors, retailers and journalists this weekend and will use its popular La Pina Cycling Marathon as a test course for its newest road bike, the Dogma Think 2.
Riders will pedal Think 2 outfitted with Campagnolo’s Super Record electronic shift system for the ride, which starts from Pinarello’s hometown in Treviso, Italy, a small village in the heart of the country’s Veneto region. The course—either 118 kilometers or 168 kilometers—travels through Italy’s famous Prosecco region along the Piave River and chugs up 5 to 16 percent grade climbs in the shadows of the Dolomites mountains.
Pinarello will also open the doors to its Treviso factory to the group, and arrange a visit to Pinarello’s factory store in Treviso, where company founder Giovanni Pinarello still works.
It’s an annual event for Pinarello and one Reality Bikes’ Todd Muller was eager to attend after turning down an invite last year because of the busy season at his Cummins, Georgia shop.
Muller and about a dozen other U.S. retailers invited to Italy by distributor Gita Sporting Goods started the trip with a tour of the Giordana apparel and DMT shoe factory on Wednesday.
“Seeing firsthand the idea of quality control in there, the amount of labor, it makes you really want to be behind the product,” said Muller, who planned to pick up Giordana to supplement Louis Garneau in his shop.
Giordana founder Giorgio Andretta walked retailers through his new line on Friday morning, highlighted by the Exo compression line of men’s knicker bibs, jerseys and socks. The line was developed over two years by Giordana using medical research to determine the optimal compression placement in the garments, while still allowing breathability. The apparel, which is not UCI legal, is available in September. Pricing is not set, but Andretta acknowledged it would be high. Giordana’s top of the line non-compression bibs run about $250. Andretta said he’s also working on compression gloves that will help eliminate hand numbness while riding.
The La Pina Cycling Marathon, which is expected to draw 4,500 riders, is on Sunday. Pinarello is also the title sponsor for the gran fondo in Las Vegas on Sept. 22 immediately following Interbike. The ride begins at Mandalay Bay and heads down a closed Strip and over Hoover Dam. Miguel Indurain will be the ride’s grand marshall.
—Nicole Formosa
Photo: Pinarello hosted a dinner for about 300 of its global customers at a villa outside Treviso, Italy on Friday evening.
