1 Million Euro Theft at Selle San Marco

Just last monthy there was a major theft from Team Lampre-Merida. Now comes word of another major theft, this time from Selle San Marco. The announcement from Selle San Marco:


"Saddles worth about 1 million euro have been stolen from Selle San Marco warehouses in Rossano Veneto (VI) during the night between Friday November 29th and Saturday 30th.

This is the market value of the 6.000 saddles stored in more than 300 boxes ready to be shipped, that the thieves robbed introducing themselves within the factory after having forced the gate of the shipment storehouse, which is located on the back. High-end saddles as the top 2014 model Aspide Superleggera, all the Carbon FX models with Carbon rails and the Racing models.

Besides the theft, it remains to evaluate now the unexplained damage caused by acts of vandalism to products left in stock. Further investigation are still ongoing.

A terrible blow for our company, worldwide famous for the production of hand-made saddles for bicycles. The unfortunate incident happened, in fact, at an important moment of the process of delivery of the new 2014 models, which are proving to be very successful in the market.

Investigators believe that the stolen goods can now be outside of the Italian national territory, but they are unlikely to be sold because the saddles have a warranty hologram and ID numbers of each product under the shell. At this time the company is checking the details of the codes involved.

Selle San Marco apologizes in advance with their customers for the disruption that they will suffer in the upcoming days because of this. Unfortunately, it is in fact necessary a reorganization and a repurchase of components to process the orders and to realize them again and this will cause inevitable delays. The staff of Selle San Marco will try to answer as soon as possible to the countless e-mails that we are receiving in these days.

The company also asked to point out to info@sellesanmarco.it the products that in the market may have too low prices and any suspicious situations. Everything will remain anonymous.

The Girardi family, owner of the company, wants to thank the police for the timely intervention and all suppliers, friends and supporters, for the many signs of nearness that it has already received."




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Name the Next Selle San Marco Saddle

You can be the one that will decide the name of the next saddle model which will be introduced in the Selle San Marco "Collezione". If the name you suggest is selected you will win the saddle.

To get started you will need to click "like" on the new fan page of Selle San Marco on facebook. After that click on "welcome" on the left side of the page and follow the simple instructions.

Good luck!

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,100 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

1935, the Beginning of Selle San Marco

Selle San Marco has created a new "History" page on their website.

The story begins in 1935 with, "Selle San Marco is a famous and historical handmade saddles italian firm. Based in Rossano Veneto, in northeastern Italy, this small town is famous in the world thanks to the production of racing saddles. Modern saddles, but with a glorious past. Luigi Girardi was the man who made Rossano Veneto the undispuhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifted world capital of saddles by opening Selle San Marco here 75 years ago. No stranger to hard work, having started at an early age in the local spinning mill and as a hand street sweeper, young Girardi in 1935 parlayed a 100-lire loan into a business distributing bicycle accessories."

See www.sellesanmarco.it/storia-collezione.html

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

New "Concor" from Selle San Marco

A re-design of the iconic Selle San Marco "Concor" saddle will be in use by Lampre-Isd, Vacansoleil-DCM and Ag2r La Mondiale at the Vuelta a España. The new Concor will be available in stores beginning in October. Technical details:



Fortunately, the original style Concor used by Hinault, Saronni, Armstrong and Bettini will remain available.


Note: "Thanks to Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-Isd), the new San Marco saddle, evolution of the legendary Concor, took its first historical win at the Vuelta on stage 18.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Selle San Marco + Luchesse Boot Co.

I spotted phtoos of this special saddle, a“Texas” Regal, made with crocodile belly. The saddle is a collaboration between Selle San Marco and the Luchesse Boot Co. It's installed on a a classic porteur frameset by Chris King, edition of two.

I like.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Japan, "Our Thoughts Are With You"

Special edition Selle San Marco Regal saddle.

Thanks Brent for the info.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Selle San Marco 2011 "Vintage" Saddle Collection

New materials and new colors characterize the new products of Selle San Marco's 2011 "Vintage" line.

Miele (Honey): The REGAL and the ROLLS saddles will now be available in honey color. This particular type of leather causes the saddle to become increasingly dark with use, each saddle eventually becoming a unique piece.

Pelle Forata (Perforated Leather): CONCOR PELLE FORATA, the ROLLS PELLE FORATA and REGAL PELLE FORATA are re-editions of perforated leather saddles that have been an important part of the Selle San Marco history.

More details at: www.sellesanmarco.it

Photos: examples of honey and perforated leather saddles, see website for all the different combinations

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Petacchi Likes His Selle San Marco "Regale"

Ale-jet has changed teams for 2010 but not the saddle. Petacchi will continue racing on his REGALE, the model that he has personally tested during the last season, using it both in training and in competition with excellent results. His REGALE has been personalized with the blue and fuchsia colors of Lampre.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Nocentini of Ag2r-La Mondiale: Kuota and Selle San Marco

Selle San Marco has signed on as a technical sponsor to Ag2r-La Mondiale by providing saddles to the French team . Pictured is Rinaldo Nocentini, who wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France last year for eight days, with the Kuota KOM (King of the Mountain) bike with Selle San Marco saddle he will be riding this season.

Great graphics.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondo, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,100 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

New Selle San Marco REGAL: REGALe

For 2010 Selle San Marco, the saddle maker located in Rossano Veneto, is adding a new model to their saddle line based upon the venerable REGAL. The new REGALe will come in several versions including the REGALe Carbon FX and REGALe Racing Team versions.

The CONCOR saddle will get a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP series with world championship colors.

Photos: REGALe

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Concor Supercorsa New Limited Edition

The New York leg of the ninth annual Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) kicked off June 18th and with it came a series of limited edition bike saddles from Italian manufacturer Selle San Marco. The Concor Supercorsa comes in five different colors, each corresponding to one of the three dozen cities participating. The seats have a nabuk (a type of Ultrasuede) cover and come in blue (New York), black (London), green (Milan), yellow (Paris) and red (Tokyo), each labeled with its respective city and the BFF logo.

There will only be fifty saddles in each color available, http://shop.sellesanmarco.it/, for €95 when the festival opens in that city.

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com

I Hate Changing Saddles

The incredible weather continues in Verona. Although a bit foggy it was 9C (48F) this morning so it was off to riding again with the San Zeno group. The route this morning took us to Cola, Pacengo, Lazise, Bardolino, Garda (must stop for espresso of course), and back to Verona via Pescantina. Rides to Lago di Garda are very popular in the winter because it's always warmer there than in Verona, and it's so beautiful. I should point out that Lago di Garda (Lake Garda) is the largest lake in Italy. It was formed in the last Ice Age and covers 370 sq. kilometres, reaching right up into the Alps.

Somewhere between Pacengo and Lazise I heard a crack and I said to myself, "I've heard that sound before." Next, I felt it....the saddle titling to one side. An inspection at the espresso stop confirmed that one of my titanium rails on the saddle had snapped. I've had this saddle 10 years now, it's really "close" to me. About 5 years ago one of the steel rails had snapped on it as well. The manufacturer, Selle San Marco, repaired it free of charge but they no longer had steel rails available so they upgraded it with one of the few titanium rail sets they still had. So, it's time to retire it.

But, I hate changing saddles. A frame that fits well and a comfortable saddle are so important in cycling. An uncomfortable saddle can be torture. An expensive saddle is no guarantee that it will be comfortable. What is a comfortable saddle for one person is uncomfortable for another. Finding the right saddle is a matter of trial and error. Changing saddles will also, very likely, mean adjusting the seatpost height and making forward and aft adjustments in order to get the position exactly right again; when you ride thousands of miles per year your position is dialed in just so.

So, it's arrivederci to my old saddle, the funky one the Pirelli shock absorbers.....

Photo: broken Ti saddle rail