Castelli has written an important chapter in the history of cycling. If we look back in time, we immediately notice how the scorpion has played a key role in revolutionizing cycling apparel since its inception, and how much of this success is largely due to the continuous victories achieved by the professionals the brand sponsors. In fact, many of the unforgettable moments this sport has given us over the years are somehow connected to Castelli. Who could forget Bernard Hinault’s stunning triumph in the historic 1983 edition of La Flèche Wallonne or the thrilling and unexpected victory of domestique Johan Vansummeren at the 2011 Paris-Roubaix? What ties these two victories, nearly 30 years apart, is that both athletes were wearing the scorpion. So, let’s take a look back at the brand’s 50-year history, focusing on the key teams and champions with whom Castelli has collaborated.

As we already know, Castelli was founded in 1974. Back then, sponsorship as we understand it today was almost non-existent. In fact, sponsors were barely present. Starting in 1972, attempts were made to introduce sponsorship, but in other sports like football. Castelli was one of the first companies to boldly enter the world of cycling sponsorships.

In 1977, although the scorpion logo was not yet displayed on its garments, Castelli had already begun supplying clothing to one of the most successful teams of the era, Brooklyn, which that year included Giovanni Mantovani among its riders.

The 1980s started off strong, beginning with the collaboration with Giovanni Battaglin's Inoxpran (later Carrera) team. He won both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España in 1981. In 1982, Castelli reached an agreement with the newly formed Italian team Atala-Campagnolo to supply cycling apparel. The partnership ended in 1989, the year the team was disbanded. The team also included the young Swiss sprinter Urs Freuler, whose career boasts 10 gold medals in track world championships and the lead in the points classification of the 1984 Giro d’Italia.

Meanwhile, Castelli sponsored other historic teams. Between 1982 and 1984, they provided clothing to the Del Tongo-Colnago team led by the legendary Giuseppe Saronni, winner of the 1979 Giro d'Italia. Wearing Castelli, Saronni also won the 1983 Giro d'Italia, along with numerous other races. In the same year, Castelli partnered with the French team Renault Elf Gitane, led by Bernard Hinault, and with the Malvor Bottecchia team, which welcomed Mantovani the following year. Wearing the scorpion logo, Hinault won the Flèche Wallonne and the Vuelta. In 1985, thanks to collaborations with Gis Gelati and the American team 7-Eleven, Castelli also had the opportunity to outfit the recent winner of the 1984 Giro d'Italia, Francesco Moser, as well as the man who would go on to win it in 1988, Andrew Hampsten. In 1985, Castelli also worked with another Italian team, the Sammontana-Bianchi team of Paolo Rosola. In 1989, Castelli sponsored the smaller French team Fagor-MBK.

After spending the early 1990s as the technical sponsor for the Lotto-Mavic and Lotto-Caloi teams, Castelli collaborated with the Brescialat-Refin Ceramiche team in 1994, and in 1995 with Mario Cipollini's Mercatone Uno-Saeco team.

1996 was the year of Roslotto and the Italian national cycling team at the Atlanta Olympics. On that occasion, Castelli also outfitted mountain biker Paola Pezzo, who won the Olympic gold medal in cross-country, a specialty she repeated four years later at the Sydney Olympics.

Toward the end of the decade, in 1998 and 1999, Castelli supplied clothing to the Once-Deutsche Bank team (today Astana) led by French champion Laurent Jalabert.

The 2000s began with a partnership with the debutant Phonak team, continuing with sponsorship of the CSC Tiscali team of Jalabert and Andrea Peron in 2002.

In 2007, Castelli reached an agreement with Saunier Duval, a team featuring top cyclists such as Gilberto Simoni, Iban Mayo, David Millar, Leonardo Piepoli, and Manuele Mori.

In 2009, Castelli began collaborating with the CerveloTestTeam, a two-year project created primarily to test innovations of that period. The team included world road champion Thor Hushovd and Australian-German Heinrich Haussler. Castelli’s relationship with these two cyclists extended over the next two seasons, as in 2011, after the project ended, they joined the newly formed Garmin-Cervélo team, sponsored by Castelli.

The partnership between Castelli and the Garmin team (which became Cannondale in 2015) lasted until 2016. During these years, Castelli added numerous victories to its record, including Ryder Hesjedal's win in the 2012 Giro d’Italia and Johan Vansummeren’s unexpected triumph at the 2011 Paris-Roubaix.

At the same time, in 2013, 2014, and 2015, Castelli provided clothing to the South African team MTN-Qhubeka, with their ambassador Jim Songezo.

From 2017 to 2021, Castelli worked with Team Sky, later known as Team Ineos and then Ineos Grenadiers. Cyclists of the caliber of Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Egan Bernal, and Filippo Ganna wore Castelli during these years. With Froome came victories in the 2017 Tour de France, the 2017 Vuelta a España, and the 2018 Giro d'Italia; Thomas won the 2018 Tour de France, Tao the 2020 Giro d’Italia, Bernal the 2019 Tour de France and the 2021 Giro d’Italia. Ganna achieved several stage wins, as well as significant results with the Italian national team, also outfitted by Castelli: road time trial world champion in 2020 and 2021, Olympic team pursuit champion at Tokyo 2020, individual pursuit world champion in 2019 and 2020, and team pursuit world champion in 2021.

Since 2022, Castelli has partnered with the Belgian team Soudal Quick-Step (formerly Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), featuring champions Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe. Since donning Castelli, Remco has won the 2021 Vuelta a España, the Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Clásica de San Sebastián in 2022 and 2023, the 2023 UAE Tour, along with several other minor victories.