Paul Smith has put his stamp on the Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think 2 by giving four of the Italian manufacturer’s flagship bikes’ a one-off paintjob, each inspired by the Giro d’Italia’s leaders’ jerseys.
The bikes, a collaboration between Pinarello and the fashion designer, were unveiled as part of the London launch of the 2013 Giro’s leaders’ jerseys, also designed by Smith in partnership with Italian clothing firm Santini.
The pink, red, blue and white bikes have been given a “Paul Smith twist” according to the designer, with his signature on the toptube and a custom paintjob. The bikes pay tribute to the maglia rosa of the general classification leader, the maglia rosso passione of the points classification, the maglia azzura of the mountains classification and the maglia bianca of the best young rider.
“The project came about through the collaboration of Paul Smith and the Giro d’Italia,” Pinarello’s Andy Magnier told RoadCyclingUK.
“Obviously the link was then made with Pinarello, who are also sponsoring the Giro, and so the Dogma 65.1 designs were made to complement the four Paul Smith-designed jerseys.”
The Dogma 65.1 Think 2 is the same frame used by Pinarello’s two sponsored teams, Team Sky and Movistar, but only the four Paul Smith-edition bikes exhibited in London exist and there are currently no plans for them to be available to purchase. However, Pinarello do offer a pink Giro d’Italia paintjob as standard.
The bikes sat alongside Smith’s designs for the Giro’s leaders’ jersey at Paul Smith HQ. Smith, who has also worked with Rapha since 2007, started cycling at the and age of 12 and raced until he was 18, when a serious crash left him in hospital for several months.
The Nottingham-born designer has since remained a fan of the sport and owns a “huge collection” of jerseys from the 1970s to the present day.
Smith’s understated interpretation of the maglia rosa includes the signature of three-time champion Fiorenzo Magni, who died in December 2012, on the inside collar, while Smith’s trademark multi-coloured band features on the hem of the left sleeve.
“It was an absolute honour and delight to be asked to design the four jerseys for the Giro and I hope that the simple approach that I’ve made is acceptable to you all; putting red piping with the pink, cleaning all of the jerseys up to keep them as simple as possible and adding a little drawing of a cyclist by myself onto the jerseys,” said Smith.
The Giro d’Italia starts in Naples on Saturday, with Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins bidding to add a second Grand Tour to his palmares. Will Wiggins be wearing the maglia rosa and riding a pink Pinarello on the final stage in Brescia three weeks later?
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