In the modern cycling world, being easily recognised is key.
Astana Qazaqstan Team has just made official the signing of the Manx Missile: Mark Cavendish. A world-class athlete who will generate quite the buzz when races are set alight by sprint finishes. But there will also be horizons for those who love breakaways and adventures, like Alexey Lutsenko, Samuele Battistella and Gianni Moscon.
Different racing styles. All are distinctive in their own way.
But, nowadays, getting noticed in the world of professional cycling is not just a matter of performance. There are both technical and aesthetic details that are quite similar to the canons of style and fashion so praised by Christian Dior: “The detail is as important as the essential is. When it is inadequate, it destroys the whole outfit”.
This is the inspiring principle of Wilier Triestina bikes, which will be the faithful companions of the Astana Qazaqstan Team professionals in the 2023 season.
“The engineering process for meeting the performance demands of a World Tour team is paramount, of course, but we also like to design beautiful things, things that will make fans fall in love. Last season we honoured Vincenzo Nibali with a special Wilier 0 SLR that aesthetically encapsulated his extraordinary career. It just had to be done. There is no point hiding the fact that a racing bike also carries with it a specific meaning of distinction to which professionals but also many cycling enthusiasts are sensitive to”.
The words spoken by Michele Gastaldello, CEO and Product Manager at Wilier Triestina, prove - even for the 2023 season - how much care has also gone into the purely aesthetic aspects and recognisability of the Astana Qazaqstan Team bikes.
“Choosing the right livery for a frame is crucial because it contributes to defining the character of a high-end bike, especially if it is set to accompany a World Tour team for an entire season. Moreover, for us, there is no such thing as a minor detail. We put great effort into visually translating an idea that represents a sports project that aims to be one of the most competitive in the world. It is one of our calling cards for the tremendous audience of cycling fans: a community that we want to treat with the highest regard. Because it is also through the Astana Team new colour schemes that we can continue to assert that our utmost attention to detail is one of Wilier Triestina's primary objectives. A way of working that, after all, has been our creed since 1906”.