The Pink Jersey has turned green! With the launch of the Giro E, the first Giro d’Italia raced on electric bikes, which was presented on 14 April last in Rome, the 101st Giro d’Italia has opened a whole new route to sustainable mobility.
Enel X, together with Pinarello and TAG Heuer, is the title sponsor of the electric version of the 18 stages of the Giro d’Italia in which the Group is also sponsor of the Maglia Rosa, the Pink Leader Jersey, for the third year running. Five teams of two will be doing battle on the same routes as the pro cyclists, on Pinarello e-bikes, albeit a few hours apart from them. The Giro E racing started on 8 May from Catania, the first Italian stage of the Giro.
Sustainable mobility gets the thumbs up from VIPs
Two high-profile ambassadors, Team Sky rider Gianni Moscon and former Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella, attended the launch of the competition on 14 April. The two sportsmen then tested their skills on Rome’s Formula E circuit with Moscon on the official Giro E e-bike and Fisichella in the electric single-seater.
Aside from attracting some big-name cycling enthusiasts, not least American actor and driver Patrick Dempsey, the new competition also includes a sustainable mobility training course. The evening before each stage, the guest-competitors will attend a preparatory workshop on the technical characteristics of the e-bikes and also the race route. The e-bike will be selected the following morning and after a stop to recharge their batteries at the halfway point, the cyclists will cross the finish line before the pro race begins, thereby allowing them to watch the finish of the Giro d’Italia.
An experimental race
The Giro E is essentially a sustainable mobility experiment in the sports world. It may, however, in future evolve into an electric version of the Giro d’Italia for amateur categories, involving a larger number of teams and also e-bike manufacturers.
The models in this first edition were supplied by Pinarello, a long-established racing bike manufacturer named after its founder “Nani” Pinarello who competed alongside the great champions Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali. During the Second World War, Giovanni Pinarello won over 60 races, including one of the most important amateur events, the Treviso “Popolarissima” (in 1942, when he was just 20), which allowed him to turn professional. In 1951, he also took the famous Black Jersey in the 34th Giro d’Italia which was won by Fiorenzo Magni. Despite the fact that the Black Jersey was given to the cyclist that finished last in the race, at the time it was also one of the most sought-after prizes because it entitled the wearer to do a lap of honour at the Vigorelli velodrome in Milan with the winners. That particular experience gave Pinarello the idea to start building technologically advanced bikes, the latest example of which is the Nytro model. Thanks to its geometries, design and performance, the latter ushered in the era of the eROAD racing bike, opening up new sustainable mobility possibilities for cycling competitions.
The e-bikes used in the Giro E weigh barely 13 kilos apiece, 9 without their batteries – similar to a pro bike, in other words. They are made from high modulus T700 carbon, which offers a combination of superb safety and exceptional performance. The electric motor, which has a lithium ion battery, offers the rider assistance for up to 25 km/h, with a maximum power of 250 Watt.
Innovation and sustainability are now two fundamentals in sport. So, after The Pink and the Black Jerseys, we may soon be seeing a new Green Jersey, celebrating the colour of Enel’s clean energy!