Custom and historic saddles from Selle Italia — gallery

Pantani, Ullrich, Hinault, Vinokourov and more from legendary Italian brand

May 22, 2018 at 10:30 am

This article first appeared on Cyclingnews.

Founded just outside of Milan in 1897, Selle Italia has been producing bicycle saddles for more than 120 years.

Early traditional designs constructed from leather and steel were the foundation of the brand, but after being bought by the current owner in the late 1970s, the company was revolutionised and now focuses on leisure cycling and racing.

As well as pushing the boundaries in using titanium, carbon and other materials to improve comfort and performance, Selle Italia has also made a name for itself producing custom saddles for the biggest names in cycling.

Possibly one of the most famous racing saddles in history: Marco Pantani’s The Pirate

Josh Evans/Immediate Media

Marco Pantani‘s ‘Il Pirata’ yellow saddle is one of the most recognisable custom saddles ever made and is proudly displayed at Selle Italia’s headquarters, to the east of Bassano del Grappa in the Treviso region of Northern Italy.

Alongside Pantani’s saddle, Selle Italia displays its custom creations for Jan Ullrich, Richard Virenque, Bernard Hinault, Alexandre Vinokourov, Mario Cipollini, Alejandro Valverde, Alberto Contador and more.