Some of the most memorable moments of Castelli came in the late 90s when the brand was bought and managed by the legendary Antonio Colombo.

Antonio’s Columbus and Cinelli brands showed his passion for art, design and engineering. Antonio brought the same flare to Castelli when he led a consortium of investors to buy Castelli after the tragic passing of his friend Maurizio Castelli in 1995.

Product innovation came in the form of the first truly engineered short. The Progetto Y that featured a new high-compression Power Lycra®, a 3D shaped chamois with Comfortemp® phase change cooling material, and anatomical fit that was groundbreaking for its day. Castelli also innovated with Prosecco, the first hydrophilic treatment to jerseys and base layers to accelerate wicking and breathability.

On the racing side ONCE was the dominant superteam of the era, and the Italian national team were a force on the track as well as road and MTB. Combining racing with design who can forget Paola Pezzo with her silver shorts battling the heat at the Atlanta 96 and Sydney 2000 Olympic games?

Antonio’s love for art brought artist Mario Schifano to Castelli to design the Tour de France jerseys. In fact he has run his own gallery for over 25 years, check it out at @antoniocolombogallery. No other man has brought art and cycling so close together.