Alé Cipollini Galassia, Training at Lake Garda

Three days ago I posted a nicely produced cycling video about cycling at Lake Garda, Monte Baldo, and vicinity. The video was produced by the Garda Bike Hotel. I didn't mention it at the time but their sister hotel is the Enjoy Garda Hotel in Peschiera del Garda.

Lake Garda is not only a popular training location for recreational cyclists but you will also often find professional teams training there. Just this week the Alé Cipollini Galassia womens team held their training camp there and used the Enjoy Garda Hotel as their headquarters.   

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.  

Campagnolo Hit by Strikes after Restructuring Plan

The following reported by BikeEurope:

The announced reorganization of the Campagnolo factory in Italy affecting 68 jobs, including the relocation of a part of the production to Romania, has caused a lot of turmoil in Italy.

Around 2005 the company, founded in Vicenza in 1933 by Tullio Campagnolo, opened its first Romanian plant. The second facility followed four years ago. Part of the production was relocated to low labour cost Romania.

Relocation to Romania
Until now the relocation hadn't affected the Campagnolo plant and headquarter in Italy. The news on the reorganization spread through the social media first, it was picked-up by the Italian media and finally confirmed by a brief note from Campagnolo early this week: 68 out of 399 workers of the Vicenza plant will be laid-off, mainly in the manufacturing areas.

Campagnolo management announcement
Trade unions also issued a press release stating that, "In a meeting which was held Wednesday, January 21, 2015, Campagnolo management announced to employees' representatives and trade unions (FIM CISL and the regional FIOM CGIL) their intention to proceed with a substantial reorganization. This will affect the company's main facility in Vicenza."

The management decision to lay-off 68 people caused a real turmoil and two days ago, Campagnolo workers marched on to strike, starting from the company's plants towards the Vicenza trade fair.

Statement Campagnolo
According to Campagnolo's statement, the reorganization is inevitable to ensure production continuity on the Vicenza site, which also houses the Group's R&D and all activities related to the development of new products and the implementation of new technologies. "The plan aims to recover market shares and margins that have eroded in recent years, due to the declined competitiveness of our Italian facilities. For the future the company wants to focus on innovation and product development. Thanks to future investments Campagnolo firmly declares the continuation of some production departments like for high-end components, in Vicenza."
Facing new challenges

The trade union objected to the plan, not only for the loss of jobs and partial demolition of the historical site of Campagnolo, but also because, "It does not include any real intention to invest to make the Vicenza plants more efficient and increase its competitiveness, in order to face the new challenges of the global market," as the press release of the Italian trade union stated.

When asked, Campagnolo Press Manager Joshua Riddle confirmed the news on the reorganization and stated that the company did not want to comment further.

Photos from Veneto media:

 

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.  

Lake Garda, Monte Baldo and Vicinity

My friend Nicola let me know about a new cycling video produced for the Garda Bike Hotel (formerly Hotel Veronello). Nicola is the manager at this hotel which is a couple of Km from Lake Garda, The hotel caters to cyclists, including bike rentals such as Pinarello Dogma F8s and De Rosa bicycles. Basically, you can bring your helmet, cycling shoes and pedals, and clothing and be in cycling heaven. If you have any questions after looking at the website you can ask for Nicola Verdolin at the contact information.



Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. 

2015 Giro d'Italia Leaders' Jerseys

This afternoon saw the official presentation of the four 2015 Giro d’Italia classification leaders’ jerseys and this year’s Madrina of the “Corsa Rosa”. The presentation took place in fantastic scenery of Fortezza da basso in Florence, during the Pitti Uomo exhibition at the GazzaLook Lounge space.

This year the jerseys have been designed by the Italian brand Lebole – an internationally renowned brand that is synonymous with menswear, elegance and Italian style – and made by Santini Maglificio Sportivo, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year.

Cristina Chiabotto, Italian TV presenter and celebrity, has been named as the Giro d’Italia’s 2015 Madrina.

The 2015 Giro d’Italia jerseys and sponsors are:

MAGLIA ROSA – BALOCCO, General Classification leader
MAGLIA AZZURRA – BANCA MEDIOLANUM, King of the Mountain Classification leader
MAGLIA ROSSA – ALGIDA, Points Classification leader
MAGLIA BIANCA – EUROSPIN, Young Riders Classification leader

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. 

OrangeYellow is the new YellowFluo

For the 2015 season the ladies of Alé Cipolllini Galassia that were in yellowfluo ladies will become #ORANGEYELLOW.

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. 

2015 Strade Bianche: 19 Teams Invited

Nineteen teams have been invited to the 9th edition of Strade Bianche, which will be held on Saturday, March 7th and organized by RCS Sport/La Gazzetta dello Sport – starting from San Gimignano and finishing in the Piazza Il Campo in Siena.

13 UCI WorldTeams and 6 UCI Professional Continental Teams will take to the start line, each with eight riders:

AG2R LA MONDIALE (FRA)
ASTANA PRO TEAM (KAZ)
BMC RACING TEAM (USA)
ETIXX – QUICK STEP (BEL)
LAMPRE – MERIDA (ITA)
MOVISTAR TEAM (ESP)
ORICA GreenEDGE (AUS)
TEAM CANNONDALE – GARMIN (USA)
TEAM KATUSHA (RUS)
TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO (NED)
TEAM SKY (GBR)
TINKOFF – SAXO (RUS)
TREK FACTORY RACING (USA)

ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI (ITA)
BARDIANI CSF (ITA)
NIPPO – VINI FANTINI (ITA)
RUSVELO (RUS)
SOUTHEAST PRO CYCLING TEAM (ITA)
TEAM NOVO NORDISK (USA)

RCS Sport also announced today that due to organizational problems the 2015 edition of Roma Maxima, scheduled for Sunday 8th March, will not be raced.

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.