“A photo, a snapshot stolen this summer, in Basel, while I was cycling from Brembate to Amsterdam: it's the image I choose to tell what's been going through my head these past few months”
“Three immigrants, elderly, obese, sitting together doing nothing, talking about life, but with a posture, a dignity, a sense of humanity... the basic value, human dignity, which is often missing in images, covers, shop windows of the mass media, fashion, well-being and social media system”.
“Forty years ago, the bike meant effort, sweat, humility. It was a proletarian means and sport. Today, the bike means freedom, fun, an evolved lifestyle”.
"Today the bike is used by everyone, it has a transversal target and prices like a motorcycle, sometimes like a small car. More than a means of transport, it is a sign of the new luxury: which is free time, well-being, physical fitness".
“The bike boom has many aspects. Social, cultural, political. Urban mobility, leisure, ecology, health, tourism, fashion. Many opportunities, and many contradictions”.
“The government, the regions, the municipalities, the trade associations, the lobbies, the mass media in chorus say: let's focus on the bike. But they don't know very well what they're talking about”
“Already two years ago, a study by Sole24ore presented at the Bike Festival in Rimini, spoke of the bike as the new trailblazer of Made in Italy. After fashion, design and food/wine, it is time for the bike in Italy”.
“At this point, even in technical clothing, fashion and image factors come into play. With all the aspects, positive and negative, that we know. Prevalence of psychological and social needs over primary and real ones. Narcissism, display of status”.
“The pundits are talking about conspicuous elitism and planned obsolescence. Translation: what is irresistibly innovative this year will be irremediably outdated next year. Stuff that ages in appearance before it does in substance.”
“And so hit-and-run producers are born, who don’t care about true, lasting quality, but compete to follow the trail of the winning look. And we Italians are the specialists in dressing up, appearing, acting...”
“The fact is that now even in our sector you have an image, you project an image, whether it is spontaneous or controlled or generated by the market itself, and this image embodies values, models, choices”.
“Our image has always been wild, natural, ancient. We make the products, the teams run the races, the runners win them. The photo with arms raised at the finish line goes around the world. The winning image is all here”.
“Since top riders are super-athletes, super-lean, they represent to the highest degree the unisex aesthetic ideal of today's world: a slim body, a bundle of nerves of steel, without an ounce of fat”.
“So this is what happens: your natural racing image is distorted and re-signified by the market as a luxury, narcissistic-fashion mood. So those who make hi-tech racing uniforms, willingly or not, become the vanguard of the mainstream, always looking for new versions, new mythologies of the values of the elite, beauty, exclusive environment, arrogance”.
“This new positioning of image, exhibitionism, social status and technology wants to take away the sweat, the poverty, the ignorance of the bike, to make people forget their origins, their roots, their worker and peasant grandparents”.
“All this is not good for us. They see us as creators, references, image leaders, but in reality we are the first victims of the image society. Because we were not born to sell images or to steal values”.
“These are the questions, the things we talk about. There is an aesthetic question and a question of values, which are intertwined like a fabric. What values do I have? What do I express by wearing this jacket? What do my eyes say? Do I want dominion or dignity? Power or humanity? Do I want to be master of the world or of myself?”
“I like to believe that the bicycle is what it has always been, a means of authenticity, not of ostentation, which gives an image of dignity, of beauty of soul, not of narcissism”.
“We are a country that sells dreams, made in Italy, fine, but then we look for big dreamers, capable of truly dreaming and truly living, because the two things go together. A big dreamer is not a loner with his head in the clouds, that is a small dreamer and will remain so. A big dreamer is someone who wants to share, promote a collective dream, and make it come true”.
“So what I dream of is to spread, to recognize the value and the image of dignity, of authenticity, of human diversity, even of fragility, of imperfection. Who doesn't have a problem? Even a demigod like Achilles had a problem, in his heel”.
“I want my brand, my racing product to be chosen not to appear, to seem like a demigod like the top riders, but on the contrary, for the same real reasons for which it is chosen by the teams, for the substance, the function, because in life, as in racing, true quality is needed, when it rains, when the wind blows, that's when you understand the meaning, the difference, not when you pose in a trendy way for a social fashion show selfie”.
“But there are a thousand things to talk about once you start asking questions. Yes, mobility, the daily quality of life, stolen bikes, interrupted, dangerous and ridiculous cycle paths. But let's consider broader perspectives. The bike is a vehicle for global issues. There is a problem of coexistence, of civic sense, of safety, of environmental impact. There is a world to change”.
“There are those who say no, I'm not interested, on a bike I distract myself, I live in a fairy tale for a few hours. But if you broaden your view, if you look at reality, how the world changes, you'll see that the bike can be much more than an escape. It can give you many other things, besides relaxation”.
"Then there is the woman, who is not a theme, but a world. Indeed, the world. If the world needs to be changed, a new world needs to be created, we need women who finally... Maybe we'll talk about it next time."