Pirelli on Giro d'Italia with collection tyres

The P ZERO Race 150° offers all the technical features of the best seller P ZERO Race, but it is embellished by the gold logo 'P Lunga 150 anni' and a dedicated packaging. Moreover, it is produced in the renovated Pirelli plant in Bollate, thus earning the marking 'Made in Italy'.

Suitable for both long training sessions and competition, the P ZERO Race 150° is an all-round clincher characterized by lightness, smoothness, and road resistance, also thanks to the special compound SmartEVO. Formulated with a blend of 'intelligent' polymers, the material allows an excellent seal on dry and wet and a very low rolling resistance. The 120 TPI nylon casing is protected by the TechBELT Road technology, which improves puncture resistance without weighing down the tyre.

Pirelli's passion for cycling has deep roots. Just visit the archive of the Pirelli Foundation, full of audio-visual materials and historical documents, to realize the longevity of this bond. The bicycle tyre is the first tyre produced by the company, which only later enters motorcycle and car industry. The first tire dates back to 1890, eighteen years after the foundation of 'Pirelli & C.', which initially specialised in technical articles in rubber: rubberized cloths, transmission belts, fittings, and hoses.

It was not long before the Pirelli tyres made their debut in the competitions: in 1895 the 'Milano-Cremona-Brescia-Milano' took place, and for the occasion a new Pirelli tyre for racing bicycles was announced, the 'Tipo Milano'.

Already in 1899 a Pirelli catalogue showed a wide choice of inner tube, travel and racing bicycle tires, as well as bicycle accessories such as dumbbells, pedals, and brakes.

However, Pirelli's name is inextricably linked to the history of cycling during the first Giro d'Italia in 1909: as a souvenir of that year we got a celebratory postcard that illustrates 'Pirelli tires', chosen by thirty of the forty-nine cyclists who reached the finish line.

From that moment, Pirelli tires became the choice of big names in cycling of all time such as Ottavio Bottecchia, Alfredo Binda, Learco Guerra, Gino Bartali e Fausto Coppi, to name a few. In 1932, on a Bianchi bike, Alfredo Bovet won the XXV Milano-Sanremo and the general manager at that time, Edoardo Bianchi, sent a letter to the ‘Società Italiana Pirelli', congratulating the company on the performance of its tubulars.

In 1949, the first Pirelli Grand Prix was held, amateur race that offered at that time the highest prize pool. Created by Arturo Pozzo together with Alfredo Binda, this prestigious annual amateur race allowed many cycling talents to be discovered and then become professionals.

In 1953, Fausto Coppi, with a Bianchi-Pirelli shirt, won his fifth (and last) Giro d'Italia, riding the brand new 'Specialissimi Corsa' by Pirelli.

Over the years, the range gradually expanded to respond to ever new uses until 1992, the year in which the last production of Pirelli branded bicycle tyres came on the market. And in 2017, with the launch of the now famous P ZERO, the company re-enters the two-wheeled pedal market, and the logo with the 'long-P' feature begins to reappear on the bikes of the greatest cyclists of the moment.

Today Pirelli Cycling tires are the choice of World Tour cycling teams of the calibre of Trek-Segafredo, UAE Team Emirates and AG2R Citröen, as well as the factory team MTB Wilier Triestina-Pirelli and DH Canyon CLLCTV Pirelli.

One of the most recent and important innovations in 2022, the year of the 150th anniversary: in March, Pirelli officially announced the resumption of the production of bicycle tires in Italy, thanks to the renovated factory in Bollate. This is where the most performing models in the range come from, including the celebratory tyre P ZERO Race 150°.