Legnano, the Brand Will Continue On

After resolving a licensing agreement issue in 2010 with Bianchi, who had acquired the famous brand, the Bozzi family has once again moved ahead to revitalize the historic brand. The Bozzi family has now licensed the Legnano brand to Cicli Esperia of Cavarzere; Cicli Esperia is also the owner of the Frondriest and Torpado brands.

The new Legnano models were introduced this past week at EXPOBICI; I hope to have photos in near future. 

Legnano is a very famous name in Italian cycling although the name has virtually disappered; they remain quite popular with vintage bike collectors however. The list of Legnano victories is long:

16 Giro d' Italia
1921 Brunero 1922 Brunero 1924 Enrici 1925 Binda
1926 Brunero 1927 Binda 1928 Binda 1929 Binda
1930 Marchisio 1932 Pesenti 1933 Binda 1936 Bartali
1937 Bartali 1940 Coppi 1946 Bartali 1958 Baldini

2 Tour de France
1938 Bartali 1948 Bartali

14 Giro di Lombardia
1923 Brunero 1924 Brunero 1925 Binda 1926 Binda
1927 Binda 1928 Belloni 1931 Binda 1936 Bartali
1939 Bartali 1940 Bartali 1941 Ricci 1946 Ricci
1950 Soldani 1952 Minardi

10 Milano - Sanremo
1922 Brunero 1924 Linari 1925 Girardengo 1926 Girardengo
1929 Binda 1931 Binda 1939 Bartali 1940 Bartali 1941 Favalli
1947 Bartali

7 Road World Championships
1927 Binda 1929 Bertolazzi 1930 Binda 1932 Binda
1955 Ranucci 1958 Baldini 1988 Fondriest

15 Road Italian National Championships
1924 Girardengo 1925 Girardengo 1926 Binda 1927 Binda
1928 Binda 1929 Binda 1930 Binda 1937 Bartali 1940 Bartali
1942 Coppi 1943 Ricci 1956 Albani 1957 Baldini
1958 Baldini 1963 La squadra

Hour World Records
7 December 1942 Fausto Coppi km. 45.848
9 Septemeber 1956 Ercole Baldini km. 46.394 (bicycle with claimed weight of 6.7 kg)

And,  numerous other victories such as in Giro del Piemonte, Giro di Toscana, etc.

I don't know if the history of the brand will be enough to bring it back to life. The field is terribly crowded. What do you think?

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal 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.   

2nd Annual Legnano Rally: 21 & 22 May

The 2nd annual rally of Legnano enthusiasts will take place in Legnano on the weekend of May 21st and 22nd. The weekend will feature a display of Legnano bikes, a swap meet, and a vintage ride.

You can read about the inaugural event last year here.
PROGRAMMA

Sabato 21-5-2011
ore 09,00 – Apertura mercatino-mostra scambio Borgo Sant’Ambrogio
ore 10,00 – Apertura Ufficio Poste Italiane “Secondo Annullo Filatelico Poste Italiane Bici Legnano”
ore 11,00 – Festa per i 66 anni di Ottavio Crepaldi
ore 15,00 – Dimostrazione Bike Trial
ore 17,00 – Punzonatura per i partecipanti a “la Campionissima” di Molare
ore 18,00 – Chiusura Ufficio Poste Italiane
ore 18,00 – Incontro / dibattito sui temi:
– Istituzione “Registro Storico Biciclette Legnano”
– Biciclette Legnano: il museo che non c’è
ore 18,30 – Carlo Delfino presenta il libro “Giovanni Brunero – il Ciclismo delle strade bianche”
ore 21,00 – Pedalata in notturna sulla pista ciclabile della Valle Olona

Domenica 22-5-2011
ore 07,00 – Partenza corteo auto per Molare AL per i partecipanti a “la Campionissima” (12, 35 e 55 Km)
ore 11,00 – Partenza pedalata ai Manieri di Legnano
ore 13,00 – Ristoro per chi avrà superato tutti gli otto controlli presso i Manieri delle otto Contrade di Legnano
ore 17,00 – Chiusura mercatino e saluti

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,700 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.

Legnano Rally

The first Legnano bicycle rally was held in the Città di Legnano on May 29, 2010. Over a hundred fans invaded Legnano and participated in all the activities.

Leganano bikes were ridden by Alfredo Binda, Learco Guerra, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi and Ercole Baldini.

Famous riders participating in the rally were Ercole Baldini, Arnaldo Pambianco, Giorgio Albani, Vittorio Seghezzi, Ettore Milano and Danilo Gioia. Ercole Baldini won the Giro d'Italia in 1958, and in 1956 won a gold medal in the road race at the Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Also, in 1956 he stripped Jacques Anquetil of the hour record, riding 46.394 km at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan. Baldini, holds a Legnano jersey:

Also present was Filippo Gnech, one of the heirs of the Bozzi family. The Bozzi family once again owns the Legnano brand, after recently resolving a licensing agreement issue with Bianchi, and has plans to revitalize the historic brand .

It was announced that a "Registro Storico Biciclette Legnano" (historic registry of Legnano bicycles) will be started and will include a collection of photographs, documents and information that will be of interest to collectors of the Legnano brand.

I also learned that the logo of the Legnano brand is based on the warrior "Alberto da Giussano". Alberto da Giussano was an Italian legendary Guelph warrior during the wars of the Lombard League against Frederick Barbarossa in 12th century. A tradition, probably fabricated by 14th century Milanese chroniclers, attributes to him the deed of forming the "Company of Death" that defended the Carroccio of the League at the Battle of Legnano. The first historical citation of his name is in 1196. You can see the statue of Alberto da Giussano, in the Piazza del Monumento, in the background in this photo taken at the Legnano rally:

A special Legnano postmark by the post office also marked the occasion:

Victories on Legnano bikes:
16 Giri d' Italia
1921 Brunero 1922 Brunero 1924 Enrici 1925 Binda
1926 Brunero 1927 Binda 1928 Binda 1929 Binda
1930 Marchisio 1932 Pesenti 1933 Binda 1936 Bartali
1937 Bartali 1940 Coppi 1946 Bartali 1958 Baldini

2 Giri di Francia
1938 Bartali 1948 Bartali

14 Giri di Lombardia
1923 Brunero 1924 Brunero 1925 Binda 1926 Binda
1927 Binda 1928 Belloni 1931 Binda 1936 Bartali
1939 Bartali 1940 Bartali 1941 Ricci 1946 Ricci
1950 Soldani 1952 Minardi

10 Milano - Sanremo
1922 Brunero 1924 Linari 1925 Girardengo 1926 Girardengo
1929 Binda 1931 Binda 1939 Bartali 1940 Bartali 1941 Favalli
1947 Bartali

7 Campionati del Mondo su strada
1927 Binda 1929 Bertolazzi 1930 Binda 1932 Binda
1955 Ranucci 1958 Baldini 1988 Fondriest

15 Campionati d' Italia su strada
1924 Girardengo 1925 Girardengo 1926 Binda 1927 Binda
1928 Binda 1929 Binda 1930 Binda 1937 Bartali 1940 Bartali
1942 Coppi 1943 Ricci 1956 Albani 1957 Baldini
1958 Baldini 1963 La squadra


Primato mondiale dell' ora su pista
7 dicembre 1942 Fausto Coppi km. 45,848
9 settembre 1956 Ercole Baldini km.46,394
con bicicletta Legnano di kg.6,700


Ercole Baldini, ha anche conquistato nel 1956 la medaglia d' oro ai Giochi Olimpici di Melbourne e nell' inseguimento dilettanti.

10 Giri del Piemonte
1921 Brunero 1925 Belloni 1926 Binda 1927 Binda 1937 Bartali
1939 Bartali 1949 Leoni 1952 Albani 1955 Minardi
1963 Durante

11 Giri di Toscana
1926 Binda 1927 Binda 1928 Binda 1939 Bartali 1940 Bartali
1941 Coppi 1947 Pasquini 1948 Bartali 1955 Ranucci
1956 Fabbri 1965 Sambi

5 Giri dell' Emilia
1920 Brunero 1924 Linari 1925 Girardengo 1941 Coppi
1949 Salimbeni

8 Giri del Veneto
1922 Sivocci 1925 Girardengo 1926 Girardengo 1928 Binda
1931 Canazza 1938 Magni S. 1941 Coppi 1956 Albani

5 Giri di Campania
1940 Bartali 1945 Bartali 1952 Minardi 1957 Albani
1963 Durante

7 Giri di Romagna
1923 Brunero 1926 Girardengo 1929 Binda 1938 Favalli
1954 Minardi 1957 Baldini 1964 Durante

7 Giri " Tre Valli Varesine "
1930 Binda Albino 1934 Canavesi 1938 Bartali 1941 Coppi
1952 Minardi 1953 Defilippis 1954 Albani

4 Giri del Lazio
1940 Bartali 1949 Salimbeni 1957 Baldini 1963 Durante

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 1,400 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.

First Italian LEGNANO Rally: May 29th

The first Legnano bicycle rally will be held, with the support of Città di Legnano and the Provincia di Milano, on May 29, 2010. Present will be Ercole Baldini, Arnaldo Pambianco, Giorgio Albani, Vittorio Seghezzi, Ettore Milano and Danilo Gioia.

Ercole Baldini won the Giro d'Italia in 1958, and in 1956 won a gold medal in the road race at the Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Also, in 1956 he stripped Jacques Anquetil of the hour record, riding 46.394 km at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan.

The event will begin in Borgo Sant'Ambrogio, via Buozzi 22, 20025 Legnano (Milano) at 10:00 a.m.

The following information about Legnano history courtesy of http://www.classicrendezvous.com/ :

1) The Legnano headbadge depicts Alberto da Giussano and celebrates the defeat of the German rulers in the 1176 Battle of Legnano

2) The Legnano legend has its origins at the beginning of the past century. The first piece of news that refers to it is dated 1902, when a certain Lignon wins a road competition, the Val di Taro Cup.

The Legnano name then is lifted out of the fogs of myth and enters the reality of news accounts in 1908, when a certain Emilio Bozzi establishes the company "Emilio Bozzi & C.", with the intentions of building complete bicycles, as the English were already doing at the time. The first model produced is called Aurora. Afterwards, Bozzi teams up with Franco Tosi, a businessman from Legnano, who was looking precisely into new opportunities in the bicycles sector. For this reason Tosi had already purchased some patents from a renowned English company, the Wolsit.

The turning point comes in 1924, when Fascism was looking for sports heroes and only wanted Italian companies. Bozzi offers a lifetime contract to a young house painter, Alfredo Binda, and changes the company's trademark to Legnano, a single name. The symbol is Alberto from Giussano, the commander who fought and won over Federico Barbarossa.

These all turn out to be winning choices. The labor force produces excellent bicycles, while the team led by Edoardo Pavesi, the "avucatt" (the lawyer) makes a clean sweep of victories.

It is the Legnano of the golden years: 6 world titles (Binda alone wins 3 of them), 15 editions of the Giro d'Italia, 2 editions of the Tour de France, dozens and dozens of competitions. Binda is Pavesi' and Legnano's most valuable asset.

And in the meantime the rivalry with Bianchi starts to grow. But Pavesi has another ace up its sleeve: his name is Gino Bartali from Tuscany. Gino arrives at Legnano in 1936.

Bartali means the start of a new golden age, which turns into platinum when Pavesi, in 1939, recruits a young boy all skin and bones. The boy's name was Fausto Coppi. Without even realizing it, Pavesi has chanced upon two racers that will divide Italy in two, between rivalry and victories. One is confident and a country boy, the other delicate and elegant.

Until 1942, Gino and Fausto consistently triumph over their opponents, but the two of them are at "war", competitively speaking that is. The real war, unfortunately, is at hand and the rivalry between Gino and Fausto, like many other things, is swallowed up in tragically different events.

The last recollection by the Legnano fans is that of Fausto Coppi setting the new record of the hour at the Vigorelli arena in Milan, under enemy bombings. And of course he is riding a Legnano bicycle.

During the post-war years, Italy needs heroes more than ever, and the country finds them in the cycling world: the heroes are Gino and Fausto, who had returned to the competitions, and once again their rivalry flourishes. Fausto has changed ranks and is now racing on a Bianchi bicycle, but Bartali is Bartali: and his victory at the Tour de France in 1948 is an epic event. History has it that this victory warded off the revolution in our country after the attempt to assassinate Togliatti.

Other victories follow. The last one, in terms of chronological order and not of prestige, is in 1956 in Melbourne. The young racer Ercole Baldini wins the road competition at the Olympics. Afterwards Baldini manages to break Coppi's record of the hour while riding a Legnano bike, a very special model with an extremely low weight.

In 1987, the longtime rival Bianchi, steps in at a time of crisis and the white& celeste take over the olive green. And the legend can continue today with a company, Cycleurope, who has decided to invest in the Legnano name and history with a new wide range of bicycle models. The trademark has been redesigned and given a more modern look, an attempt to interpreting new tastes and trends. The new 2004 range is perfect for young consumers and families.

3) The Legnano firm began as Vittorio Rossi in 1902 and began producing bikes in 1906. After WWI, the company was bought by Emilio Bozzi, who also owned the Frejus & Wolsit brands. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bozzi was assassinated by the radical Italian Red Guard party and thereafter the Bozzi family withdrew from business altogether. Later, in the 1980s, Legnano brand was acquired by Bianchi and given brief production and included sponsorship of a Pro team lead by Maurizio Fondriest.

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 1,400 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.

Giro Photos: 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930

Top to bottom:

1926 - Group near finish line in the next to last stage, Udine-Verona.
1927 - Alfredo Binda wins in a sprint in the second stage, Torino-Reggio Emilia

1928 - unidentified Giro rider
1930 - the winning Legnano team of the Giro (with winner Luigi Marchisio)

Some photos from 1909 through 1925 can be seen at:

http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/05/giro-photos-1909-1910-1911-1912-1922.html

After the Giro we'll get back to "regular programming": everything from A to Z about Italian cycling. Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com.