Giovanni Pinarello

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Giovanni Pinarello (born July 10, 1922 in Catena di Villorba , † September 4, 2014 in Treviso ) was an Italian racing cyclist and the founder of the Pinarello bicycle brand .

Life and family

Giovanni Pinarello comes from a poor farming family. He was born in Villorba in the province of Treviso in 1922, the eighth of twelve sons. In the late 1930s one of his brothers went to Spain to fight in the local civil war . He returned to Italy with a little money and bought his brother Giovanni his first racing bike. Pinarello became a cyclist to "escape hunger". This experience of hunger and abject poverty shaped him for life.

Pinarello had a son, Andrea, who died on August 3, 2011 at the age of 40 of a heart attack on the sidelines of a bike race.

Cycling career

Pinarello began cycling as an amateur at the age of 17 and had won around 60 victories by 1946. Then he turned pro . In 1947 he finished second in Milan – Turin , and in 1948 he finished second in the overall ranking of the Giro della Dolomiti . In 1950 he was third in the Trofeo Matteotti and in 1951 second in Milan-Modena .

Also in 1951 Pinarello became known as wearing the black jersey at the Giro d'Italia . Together with the winner Fiorenzo Magni , he was allowed to drive a lap of honor on the Vigorelli-Bahn . The following year, his team urged him to give up his starting place at the Giro d'Italia to a young rider in exchange for compensation . He took the money and decided to end his cycling career and opened his first workshop in Treviso .

Career as an entrepreneur

At the age of 15, Pinarello started building bicycles for the Paglianti company , following a family tradition. His cousin Alessandro had been producing bicycles in a small company since 1922 and received an award for them at the Milan bicycle exhibition in 1925. He founded his own company that has a worldwide reputation. In 1952 Giovanni Pinarello was commissioned to build a bike for the Tour de Suisse winner Pasquale Fornara . Pedro Delgado and Miguel Indurain achieved success on Pinarello bikes.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Giovanni “Nani” Pinarello, founder and innovator, dies at 92
  2. ^ Van Noord / van Noort, Pellegrina , p. 63
  3. ↑ cyclingnews.com: Death of A. Pinarello
  4. ^ Van Noord / van Noort, Pellegrina , p. 62f.
  5. ^ Van Noord / van Noort, Pellegrina , p. 63f.
personal data
SURNAME Pinarello, Giovanni
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian cyclist and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH July 10, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Catena di Villorba
DATE OF DEATH 4th September 2014
Place of death Treviso