Exactly thirty years have passed since the brand entered the world of cycling Mapei. It was in fact the spring of 1993 when, on the eve of the Tour of Italy, Giorgio Squinzi, owner of Mapei, intervened to save the Eldor-Viner team in serious financial difficulties, allowing him to participate in the Giro and finish the seasonThe cycling legend of Mapei and its cube-patterned jersey began there, and for ten years (1993–2022), the Italian team left its mark on the world of cycling, achieving over 600 victories.
Together with Santini
To celebrate thirty years since that happy debut in cycling, Mapei thought of creating a commemorative uniform and to do so chose to turn to an "old travelling companion"We are talking about the knitwear factory Santini who at the time of the Mapei team had created the team uniform characterised by the famous cubes.
In reality Mapei and Santini have never lost sight of each other in all these years since both companies have always been linked to theUnyon Cycliste Internationale. Santini is technical sponsor of the UCI since 1998 making all the world champion jerseysMapei has been the Main Sponsor of the UCI Road Cycling World Championships since 1998 and this year it is the Official Partner of the Glasgow World Championships.
A special jersey
As mentioned, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Mapei's debut in cycling and its long-standing collaboration with the UCI, Santini he created a cycling outfit characterised by the presence, on a graphic level, iconic colored cubes, representative of the construction world and Mapei team identifiers.
The idea of using coloured cubes as a decorative motif for the uniform, along with the spatula strokes typical of Mapei products, was born from an intuition of Adriana Spazzoli, Marketing and Communications Director Mapei until 2019, which had understood the communication potential of this sponsorshipThanks to the team's exceptional results, Mapei cubes quickly became iconic, redefining the aesthetics of cycling clothing and contributing to the company's reputation in Italy and around the world. Even today Mapei's sponsorship is considered an example of how much cycling can give back in terms of image and economic return for those who want to invest in it.
The cubes are back
The iconic Mapei cubes are the distinctive sign of the celebratory kit created by Santini. The slim-fit shirt is made with extremely light fabricsThe ultra-breathable fabric at the back features small channels to wick away sweat. The sleeves, made of smooth, raw-cut fabric, fit snugly against the body without constriction, while the internal elastic at the bottom of the jersey keeps it in place.
The shorts are made of compressive fabric. At the bottom of the leg they have bands with internal grip to keep the shorts always in perfect position, and they are equipped with braces with a front part in elastic fabric and extremely breathable mesh on the back.
Today Mapei is still active in the world of sport, and not just cycling, thanks to Mapei Sport in Olgiate Olona, in the province of Varese. We're talking about an internationally renowned facility for training and scientific research.
Over the years, in addition to continuing its activity in the cycling sector, the structure has expanded its areas of intervention also dedicating himself to other sports such as football, basketball, running, golf, alpine skiing and motor sports while always maintaining his goals unchanged.
