Masi Bicycles is a manufacturer of road, track, cyclocross and commuter bicycles based in Vista, California, United States.
Masi Bicycles is a manufacturer of road, track, cyclocross and commuter bicycles based in Vista, California, United States.
Faliero Masi commenced making bicycle frames at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan in the 1950s, after a career as a semi-professional racer [1] and team mechanic. In 1973 his son Alberto took over the Vigorelli shop. Faliero and two assistants went to the US and began production at a new facility in Carlsbad, California after selling the "Cicli Masi" name and trademark to an American businessman, Roland Sahm. [2] [ self-published source? ]
Later, Faliero returned to Italy. Disputes over volume production caused a break in relations between Masi and the US Masi investors. The ownership of the US trademark remained with the US operation, so the Masi family were unable to sell bikes in the US under their own name. [3] This was despite Faliero Masi having brought over master builder Mario Confente from Italy to help establish the company's U.S. operations, which came to be regarded as producing even finer bicycles than its Italian counterpart. [4]
Alberto Masi would later release bikes into the US under the "Milano 3V" name. [5]
The U.S. rights to the Masi name and logo are now owned by Haro Bikes.
Many well-known and successful professional cyclists rode Masi bikes, such as Antonio Maspes, [6] Fausto Coppi, [7] [ self-published source? ] Felice Gimondi, Jacques Anquetil [8] and Eddy Merckx. [9]
Dave Stoller, the lead character in the Oscar-winning movie Breaking Away (1979), rides a Masi bicycle. He is played by Dennis Christopher.[ citation needed ]
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx, better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours, all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track.
The Giro d'Italia is an annual multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport; and is still run by a subsidiary of that paper's owner. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except during the two world wars. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, and the peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders from all over the world. The Giro is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with some additional teams invited as 'wild cards'.
The Triple Crown of Cycling is a term used in road bicycle racing to denote the achievement of winning three major titles in the same season, usually the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the UCI Road World Championships.
Angelo Fausto Coppi was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the Second World War. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo. He was an all-round racing cyclist: he excelled in both climbing and time trialing, and was also a great sprinter. He won the Giro d'Italia five times, the Tour de France twice, and the World Championship in 1953. Other notable results include winning the Giro di Lombardia five times, the Milan–San Remo three times, as well as wins at Paris–Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne and setting the hour record (45.798 km) in 1942.
Jacques Anquetil was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964.
Colnago Ernesto & C. S.r.l. or Colnago is a manufacturer of high quality road-racing bicycles founded by Ernesto Colnago near Milano in Cambiago, Italy. It remained a family-controlled firm until May 4, 2020, when it was announced that the UAE-based investment company, Chimera Investments LLC, had acquired a majority of the Colnago shares from Ernesto Colnago, although the headquarters will remain located in Italy after the acquisition. Instead of following his family's farming business, Ernesto Colnago chose to work in the cycle trade, and was apprenticed first to Gloria Bicycles at the age of 13, and subsequently taking up road racing. After a bad crash ended his racing career, he began subcontracting for Gloria, and opened his own shop in 1954, building his first frames the same year. While building frames, he remained much in demand as a racing mechanic. He was second mechanic on the Nivea team Giro d'Italia under Faliero Masi in 1955, eventually being employed as head mechanic for the Molteni team of Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx in 1963.
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours, and all three races are similar in format, being three-week races with daily stages. They have a special status in the UCI regulations: more points for the UCI World Tour are distributed in Grand Tours than in other races, and they are the only stage races allowed to last longer than 14 days.
Gitane is a French manufacturer of bicycles based in Machecoul, France; the name "Gitane" means gypsy woman. The brand was synonymous with French bicycle racing from the 1960s through the mid-1980s, sponsoring riders such as Jacques Anquetil (1963–1965), Lucien Van Impe (1974–1976), Bernard Hinault (1975–1983), Laurent Fignon (1982–1988), and Greg LeMond (1981–1984). It is owned by Grimaldi Industri AB.
Velodromo Vigorelli is a 397-metre semi-covered velodrome in Milan, Italy. It is currently used mostly for American football events. The stadium holds 9,000 people and was built in 1935 by Vigorelli Cycles. It was burned down during the second world war after bombing of Milan by the RAF but then rebuilt.
De Rosa is the family brand of Ugo De Rosa. De Rosa's company became renowned during the late 1960s and 1970s for manufacturing road racing bicycles.
The Super Prestige Pernod was a season-long competition in road bicycle racing between 1958 and 1987. For the first edition it was known as the Prestige Pernod, and for the last four years as the Super Prestige Pernod International.
The 1967 Giro d'Italia was the 50th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The Giro started in Treviglio, on 20 May, with a 135 km (83.9 mi) stage and concluded in Milan, on 11 June, with a 68 km (42.3 mi) split leg. A total of 130 riders from 13 teams entered the 22-stage race, which was won by Italian Felice Gimondi of the Salvarani team. The second and third places were taken by Italian Franco Balmamion and Frenchman Jacques Anquetil, respectively.
F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A., commonly known as Bianchi is the world's oldest bicycle manufacturing company in existence, having pioneered the use of equal-sized wheels with pneumatic rubber tires. The company was founded in Italy in 1885 and in addition to bicycles it produced motorcycles from 1897 to 1967. In 1955 the joint-venture Autobianchi was created together with Fiat and Pirelli for the manufacturing of cars – Autobianchi was subsequently sold to Fiat in 1969.
Clément Tyres, Clément Pneumatics, Clément Pneumatici, is a Franco Italian tyre manufacturer that was founded by French industrialist and bicycle manufacturer Adolphe Clément-Bayard, possibly around the 1900s. The brand ceased active trading in the 1990s but was revived under American identity in 2010.
S.A. Cycles Eddy Merckx Rijwielen N.V., better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian brand of high end road bikes, founded by former professional road cyclist Eddy Merckx in 1980. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious bicycle brands in the world.
The 1969 Milan–San Remo was the 60th edition of the Milan–San Remo cycle race and was held on 19 March 1969. The race started in Milan and finished in San Remo. The race was won by Eddy Merckx of the Faema team.
The 1976 Milan–San Remo was the 67th edition of the Milan–San Remo cycle race and was held on 19 March 1976. The race started in Milan and finished in San Remo. The race was won by Eddy Merckx of the Molteni team.
The 1971 Milan–San Remo was the 62nd edition of the Milan–San Remo cycle race and was held on 19 March 1971. The race started in Milan and finished in San Remo. The race was won by Eddy Merckx of the Molteni team.
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