If you watched the most recent edition of the Tour de France, you probably saw Mark Cavendish race across the line in Stage 3 for his 35th sprint victory. And what bike did he ride to this victory? A Wilier Triestina.
Why is the bike Cavendish rode significant? It’s because Wilier Triestina has been connected to cycling and sponsoring pro teams for most of its 118 years in the business, despite multiple owners and stopping production for 17 years. But its second phase produced even more winning bikes and sponsorships with pro teams, which continues even today.
A Brief History of Wilier Triestina
The Italian Pietro Dal Molin took over the English company Wilier in 1906. To support the Italian occupation of the Trieste area, he added the word Triestina and the company became Wilier Triestina. But in its early years, Wilier Triestina produced “safety bicycles.”
What are safety bicycles? They were considered a safer alternative to the high-wheeled penny farthing and were also the precursor to the modern bicycle. According to Wikipedia, safety bicycles with their “… center of mass low and between the wheels, rather than high and over the front hub…greatly diminished the danger of “taking a header” or long fall over the handlebars. This made braking more effective and cycling, previously the reserve of spry, daring young men, safer, and therefore much more popular, especially for women.“
Eventually, the company changed names inspired by Mario Dal Molin, one of Pietro’s sons. He decided to call the company Ciclomeccanica Dal Molin, completely doing away with the Wilier Triestina name.
A Signature Color, Many Race Victories, and New Owners
The Wilier name was revived after World War II when the company sponsored its own pro team with that name. Over the years, many victories followed. With so many racing wins, Wilier Triestina became a recognized brand and also because of its signature frame color of “coppery red.”
By 1952, though, motorized vehicles, especially motorcycles, were dominating the public consciousness and the factory shut down completely. 17 years later, the company was acquired by Lino and Antonio Gastaldello, two brothers who had a strong tie to the cycling industry. They continued the Wilier brand as well as continued the company’s sponsorship of pro riders and teams.
As the 1990s dawned, the company worked with the Mercatone Uno team and Marco Pantani in 1997 who won the Tour de France two times. And as the year 2000 arrived, the victories only continued.
Brothers of Lino and Antonio, Michele, Enrico and Andrea Gastaldello, took Wilier into mountain biking and worked with its championship team the Wilier Triestina–Pirelli Factory Team. With all the changes and different owners, Wilier Triestina still sticks to its mission statement: “We work with and closely follow all those riders who test their limits day after day.”
Last Thoughts
Wilier Triestina is another iconic Italian cycling brand that has survived many changes and many owners, yet it has a reputation for producing bikes that win races. Every owner of the company has made sure to carry on that legacy.
Today, with all the technical changes in bikes and the bicycling industry, and like many bicycle manufacturers, Wilier has broadened its reach beyond road and mountain bikes into gravel and E-bikes and it continues to make history. After 118 years, it doesn’t seem like the brand isn’t going anywhere but up.
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