Castelli can trace its origins back to a tailor, specialising in sports attire, located in the heart of Milan since 1876. The first cycling apparel was made in 1910 for Alfredo Binda, world champion and five-times Giro d’Italia winner. In 1935, Armando Castelli joined the company to develop the cycle wear branch before purchasing it outright, thus creating the Castelli brand. By maintaining faultlessly high-quality output, Castelli continually attracted cycling’s biggest names, including Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Louison Bobet Raphaël Gimignani and Jacques Anquetil.
With the sole aim of marketing the best quality cycle clothing, Castelli has celebrated many firsts, such as the first lycra cycling shorts (1977), windproof jersey (Bernard Hinault, 1983 Flèche Wallonne), thermal jersey (Francesco Moser, 1984 Paris-Roubaix), anatomic seatpad (1998) and the first skinsuit in 2011. Today, all Castelli collections are crafted with this spirit of innovation firmly in mind in order to meet the needs of the most demanding cyclists. This is certainly the case for products such as RoS, NanoFlex and Rosso Corsa.
Castelli uses RoS (rain or shine) technology to create a product range for use in a variety of conditions by bringing together two characteristics which were hitherto irreconcilable – clothes that will keep you dry even when it starts raining whilst also ensuring breathability and optimal ventilation when it’s dry in temperatures up to 15°.
The clothing in this range features a combination of Gore Windstopper 150 material, to ensure protection against wind and rain as well as maximum breathability, seam sealing on the shoulders, to ensure perfect water-proofing, and, for models designed for use in intermediate temperatures, a rear Nanoflex panel.
Exclusively designed for Castelli, Nano Flex consists of Thermoflex material with millions of miniscule silicone nano-filaments on its surface to create the most water-resistant finish ever. When riding in wet conditions, water droplets simply run off the material, leaving no trace. Furthermore, a thin layer of air is trapped between the silicone nano-filaments to ensure excellent isolation and stop the layers underneath from becoming damp.
In dry conditions, Nano Flex ensures the same high level of warmth and feel as ordinary Thermoflex. Whist Nanoflex is not 100% waterproof, it does maintain its elasticity and breathability whilst continuing to allow full freedom of movement to ensure an unrivalled quality of protection, whatever the weather.
Rosso Corsa, the brand’s flagship range, was designed together with professional cycling teams and is aimed at riders seeking to optimise performance. This range, which brings together Castelli’s leading high-performance products, is symbolic of the brand’s meticulous innovation and expertise.
Rosso Corsa products are tailored with speed and performance in mind, with aerodynamics and minimal weight ideal for speed and helping riders to reach their maximum potential. This is why Team Sky, a World Tour stalwart, uses most of the Rosso Corsa products.
Are you a rider for whom every (split) second and every precious watt counts? Look no further than the Rosso Corsa clothing range!