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All the colours of the Giro d’Italia

13/03/2023

Maglia Rosa, Maglia Azzurra, Maglia Bianca and Maglia Ciclamino were presented today in Rome, where the Giro d'Italia will finish on 28 May.

The symbols of the race leaders are sponsored by Enel, Banca Mediolanum, Intimissimi Uomo and Ice (the Italian Trade Agency), respectively, under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the brand Made in Italy.com.

Four jerseys, four colours, plenty of passion. These were the ingredients of the presentation of the Jerseys – designed and manufactured by Castelli using fabrics by Sitip – of the leaders of the classifications – General, Rosa; Best Climber, Azzurra; Best U25 rider, Bianca and Points, Ciclamino – at the Giro d’Italia. Paolo Bettini was the special guest.

The Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri; the President of RCS Mediagroup, Urbano Cairo; the Councillor for Tourism, Major Events and Sport of Rome, Alessandro Onorato; the Managing Director of RCS Sport, Paolo Bellino; the Director of the Giro d’Italia, Mauro Vegni attended the presentation at the Campidoglio, Rome’s City Hall. There were also representatives of sporting and non-sporting institutions, sponsors and the media. For the companies who will be putting their brand name on the four jerseys, speakers were CEO and General Manager Francesco Starace for Enel; Vice President Sara Doris for Banca Mediolanum; Matteo Veronesi, Board Member of Calzedonia Group and Brand Leader of Intimissimi Uomo for Intimissimi Uomo, and Roberto Luongo, General Manager of Agenzia Ice. Also, representing Castelli and Sitip were Alessio Cremonese, Managing Director of MVC Group and Silvana Pezzoli, Vice President and Commercial Manager.

Quotes

Roberto Gualtieri, Mayor of Rome: “It is a great honour to host the presentation of the Giro jerseys, one of the most awaited events by fans and insiders, in the Campidoglio, the home of all Romans. We have believed in the project of taking the Grande Arrivo to the Capital from the very first moment, and we are working to enrich this great sporting event by involving the entire city. Hosting the final stage in Rome is an objective that we also want to pursue for the coming years by creating a constructive synergy through which the Capital of Italy and the Giro can complement and enhance each other in an increasingly close partnership”.

Urbano Cairo, President of RCS MediaGroup: “The Giro d’Italia jerseys are part of the history of cycling and of our country. They are recognised all over the world and are coveted by all athletes. With all our partners – and especially with those who will put their brand on the four jerseys – we will make a beautiful journey through Italy, with a prestigious and spectacular ending in Rome. I’m sure that the Corsa Rosa will be able to give great visibility and prominence to our stakeholders also thanks to TV footage distributed in 200 countries around the world”.

Alessandro Onorato, Councillor for Tourism, Major Events and Sport of the Municipality of Rome: “With the presentation of the jerseys, the Giro d’Italia in Rome gets in full swing. For the first time, the official appointment has been held in Rome, at the Campidoglio. The arrival of the Carovana Rosa will be a great sporting spectacle and a popular celebration, involving and engaging the neighbourhoods in cycling races and exhibitions dedicated to the youth categories and a bike ride in pink open to families and fans on the same race circuit as the Pro aces. The Giro is a major international sporting event, which will guarantee significant benefits. It will promote a modern and welcoming image of our city to over 800 million television viewers from all over the world”.

Paolo Bellino, Managing Director of RCS Sport: “The Giro d’Italia is not only a sporting event but a global media platform. The four jerseys of the race, representing the four leaders of the rankings, are the most recognisable and acknowledged symbols worldwide. It is also thanks to the presence of our sponsors on the Maglia Rosa, Maglia Azzurra, Maglia Bianca and Maglia Ciclamino, that these symbols of supremacy acquire an even higher and more identifying value. The narration of the next Giro d’Italia, and in particular of the four jerseys, will be one of the focal points to tell the world about our race”.

Francesco Starace, CEO and General Manager of the Enel Group: “Transition means first and foremost change, moving from one situation to another, evolution. This is precisely why cycling is the perfect paradigm of what it means to be able to respond dynamically and positively to challenges, facing them with the ability to innovate; at work as at home, in business as in sport. For Enel, presenting the Maglia Rosa once again this year is both a source of pride and an incentive to continue along the road taken: like those who, on two wheels, arrive at their destination by combining determination and flexibility, tenacity and lightness”.

Sara Doris, Vice-President of Banca Mediolanum and President of the Mediolanum Foundation: “Banca Mediolanum and the Giro d’Italia, the longest-lasting partnership of the Giro, have an infinite bond with the Gran Premio della Montagna, the mountains classification, that has united us since 2003. As my father, Ennio Doris, used to say, the real winner of the Giro is seen along the climbs. Just as in life, when the pace gets slower, it’s time to give it all and win. The renewal of the sponsorship of the Maglia Azzurra, the climbers’ jersey, already announced a few days ago, confirms the strong harmony between what it represents – the strength of the individual along with teamwork and synergy – and the values in which our Bank has always believed”.

Matteo Veronesi, Board Member of Calzedonia Group and Brand Leader Intimissimi Uomo: “As Intimissimi Uomo we are happy to renew our relationship with Giro d’Italia, a relationship that has lasted five years. Being a sponsor of the Maglia Bianca that will be given to the best young rider is a great source of pride for the brand and has more than one meaning for us. We are in fact a young brand, which is growing day by day, climbing many new heights with the aim of cutting increasingly important goals. And the Maglia Bianca is part of our DNA, it is the jersey that our customers wear every day. The Maglia Bianca Intimissimi Uomo”.

Roberto Luongo, General Manager of Agenzia Ice: “The Maglia Ciclamino is the jersey of speed, of pure competition. The objective of the Madeinitaly.com campaign, realised by Agenzia ICE under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is to highlight the sharing between the values that characterise a healthy and competitive sport such as cycling and the spirit that inspires Italian companies projecting themselves onto foreign markets. With the Giro d’Italia, the sporting event is linked to the territory and the production world, now united by assets such as tradition, culture, uniqueness, beauty, passion, challenge and innovation to generate awareness of our country, its potential and its real positioning in the world”.

Alessio Cremonese, Managing Director of MVC Group: “It is always an honour for Castelli to be able to create the Italian symbol of cycling in the world. We are happy to be able to continue to dress the champions who will wear the various leader jerseys again this year. Presenting them in Rome in such a special setting, as an Italian company, has an even more special value”.

Silvana Pezzoli, Vice President and Commercial Manager of Sitip: “Dressing the winners of the Giro D’Italia in the last ten years with our fabrics has been, and still is, a source of great pride: a dream that becomes reality every May. The Maglia Rosa, the symbol of one of the most prestigious races in international cycling, bears witness to the constant research and development work of our company, with the aim of improving the performance of the dozens of fabrics we produce for sportswear and urbanwear. But that’s not all, because since 2020, performance has been joined by sustainability. The three Sitip fabrics used to make the Maglia Rosa, in fact, come from recycled yarns, in line with the company’s increasing commitment to growth that has the least possible impact on the environment, and we have demonstrated this with the Sustainability Report drawn up in 2022. The challenge in the international markets in which we operate requires us to commit to the development of fabrics that are both high-performance and eco-friendly.  Finally, I would like to emphasise how the tenth anniversary coincides with the stage finish in Bergamo: it will be an opportunity to set up an exclusive hospitality area where we will accompany our guests through the history of these last ten Maglia Rosa”.

Paolo Bettini, champion who has worn all the jerseys of the Giro: “In my career I have been lucky enough to be at the top of all four jersey classifications. In 1998, in the Giro won by Marco Pantani, I finished 7th and virtually would have won the Maglia Bianca, but in that edition there was no such classification. When you wear one of the distinctive jerseys even for one day you feel at the centre of the world, it is something that everyone dreams of achieving. To arrive at the end of the Corsa Rosa with one of these jerseys, as happened in 2005 and 2006 with the Maglia Ciclamino, is a priceless satisfaction. The greatest emotion was the Tropea stage in 2005 when I won my first stage at the Giro d’Italia wearing my first Maglia Rosa”.

NFT and the Giro d'Italia

ItaliaNFT, an all-Italian company founded with the precise intention of bringing all the best of Made In Italy to the Web3, will be among the partners of the Giro. ItaliaNFT, together with RCS Sport, has had the merit of launching the Corsa Rosa – in advance of the entire panorama of international cycling competitions – into this new digital world based on Blockchain, known to the general public above all for NFT and experiences in the Metaverse.

History of the four jerseys

Maglia Rosa

The Maglia Rosa, the symbol that distinguishes the leader in the overall time classification, was instituted in the 1931 Giro. The first to wear it was Learco Guerra, winner of the first stage of 1931, the Milan-Mantova (10 May 1931). The rider who has worn the most Maglia Rosa in history is Eddy Merckx: 78 times.

Maglia Ciclamino

The establishment of the points classification as a ranking took place in 1958; there was then a break until 1966, and since 1967 the leader of this classification wears a distinctive jersey. In the years 1967, 1968 and 1969 this jersey was red (sponsor Dreher), then it became Ciclamino (sponsor Termozeta) until 2009. From 2010 to 2016 the jersey was red, then from 2017, on the occasion of the Giro100, Ciclamino was back. The athlete who has worn the most is Beppe Saronni: 76

Maglia Azzurra

The Gran Premio della Montagna classification was established at the Giro d’Italia in 1933. Initially, the leader of this classification did not wear a distinctive jersey, until 1974, when the green jersey was introduced, replaced by the Maglia Azzurra from 2012 (sponsor Mediolanum). Mariano Piccoli is the athlete who has worn the most leader’s jerseys in the climbers’ classification, in 45 stages.

Maglia Bianca

The best young rider’s Maglia Bianca is the most recent institution: the youth classification saw the light in 1969, as a ranking for neo-professionals. In 1973 and 1974, the leader was marked with an armband, while since 1976 the symbol of supremacy has been the white jersey. From 1970 to 1972, in 1975, and from 1995 to 2006, this ranking was not drawn up.

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