150 years of history tell a lot about Pirelli. In fact, the Milanese Company's oldest connection with sport is the bicycle. This can be seen in the rich archive of historical materials conserved and enhanced by the Fondazione Pirelli that document this long entrepreneurial story. It was in 1890 that Pirelli decided to produce its first bicycle tyre, the first tyre of any type produced by the company, which will be followed by the company's entry into the motorcycle and auto sectors.
A constant thread throughout the years that today sees an Italian factory, on the outskirts of Milan, producing bicycle tyres. Products that are 100% Made in Italy, made in the renovated plat at Bollate, 10km from Pirelli's headquarters in Milan, using the latest technology available in the sector.
In fact, only a few months after the launch of production at the beginning of 2022, Pirelli produced the P Zero Race tyres in the yellow colored edition that contributed to the victory of Tadej Pogacar, riding a Colnago bike, in the Giro di Lombardia 2022, the monumental Classic that closes the competition season. For the Slovenian rider of the UAE Team Emirates it is the sixteenth victory of the season and the 46th as a professional.
THE WINNING TYRE
The P Zero Race tyre was used for the race together with Pirelli technology – offering all the advantages of the technology of the SmartEVO compound created thanks to Pirelli's long experience in the production of ultra-high performance compounds for racing tyres. SmartEVO utilizes three different polymers, each providing specific performances, favoring a perfect balance of traits and intelligent performances, with a consequent improvement in both wet and dry grip, very low rolling resistance and superior comfort. Lastly, you have TechBELT Road technology which improves resistance to punctures without making the tyre heavier. To this is added the new inner tube by Pirelli, SmarTUBE, made in TPU, thermoplastic polyurethane, a last generation material chosen by the technicians for the optimal performance offered compared with traditional butyl. The SmarTUBE permits a reduction in weight of up to 70% compared with the already light inners in latex. It is the most advantageous way to reduce the weight of a bicycle: an advantage which translates also into less mass on the wheel and, therefore, better reactivity in the bike, especially when climbing and accelerating. A high performance race setup in terms of lightness and reactivity, weighing around 240g total, and is therefore the ideal solution for races over varying elevations, precisely like Lombardy, which this year had variations of more than 4,500 metres.
HIGH TECHNOLOGY IN THE “MADE IN ITALY” FACTORY
An ensemble of high technologies developed by Pirelli R&D at its headquarters in Milan and industrialized at the factory in Bollate. Inaugurated in 1963 for the production of car tyres, the factory was converted to house the new high technology production dedicated to the high performance models of Pirelli Cycling, following the return to the bicycle segment in 2017. A place where innovation can been seen at all levels: not only the robotization of processes, which guarantee the extreme reliability of quality and geometric precision of the product, a crucial factor in a tyre of such reduced size and weight; but also, for example, in semi-finished products, for which a unique extrusion system was developed, which also contributes to the attainment of absolute precision in terms of geometry and weight; and the compounds developed with a continuous mixing system. With all these processes and machines there is the constant involvement of the Pirelli's people in the factory at all levels, this permitting the speedy supply to the various teams and fans of this sport.
