ride argyle RSS

cannondale, cervelo test team, cycling, foul weather, gabba, Gabba 2, milan sanremo, pro, Product talk, ride argyle, team, windstopper -

The Gabba – The professional’s foul-weather friend

Story by Andy McGrath | rouleur.cc We visit the Castelli factory in late November – well, it’d be remiss to gab about the Gabba at the height of summer. If you’re wondering how a rainwear revolution could happen in sunny Italy, abandon all weather stereotypes ye who enter their home town, Fonzaso. The Dolomites rear up and the temperature drops as we drive through the north-eastern Italian countryside, past wood stacks and through early morning mist. Apparently, this place gets twice as much rain as London. We meet Castelli brand manager Steve Smith and Race Performance Director, Andrea Peron, who takes us for a morning espresso (well, this is Italy). We stroll down the main artery, which is dominated by a big glass window, looking out over a floor of 40 sewing machines and their attendant stitchers, busy working on samples for the summer 2016 line. Notice a common denominator? They’re all from cruddy-weather countries. “We spent the first 45 minutes talking about traditional rain jackets, incremental improvements on the Pocket Liner,” Smith says. “We’d actually already made a first-round sample of it. Gabriel Rasch disappeared up to his room and came back down, talking about fit… Gabriel is quiet, ...

Read more

Tags