Wilier Triestina was founded in 1906 when Pietro Dal Molin, a trader from Bassano del Grappa, had the idea of building his own bicycles. His forge of "steel horses" began as a small workshop along the banks of the river Brenta, and it became more and more successful with the increasing demand for bicycles.
After the first World War, Mario, one of Dal Molin's sons, assumed the leadership of Wilier and began improving the bicycles through the techniques of chromium and nickel-plating. Under his leadership, production increased considerably, and the company, undamaged by the War, renewed its efforts after the Armistice.
Those were the years of the Reconstruction, when the bicycle was the most important means of transportation, and cycling, along with soccer, became the most popular sport. For this reason, Dal Molin decided to form a professional cycling team led by Giordano Cottur from Trieste, who was known for holding his own with Gino Bartali at the Bassano-Monte Grappa race for amateurs.
In that period, Dal Molin decided to associate the name of his company with Trieste, due to the people's general feeling of apprehension about the fate of the town. Thus, in Autumn 1945, Wilier Triestina was born, distinguished by its red copper-colored bicycles, which later became an authentic trade-mark. The following year the team took part in first post-war Giro d'Italia, putting itself in the middle of the duel between the two great champions, Coppi and Bartali, and gained exciting victories in several stages. After that success, Wilier became an important part of Italian cycling. There was an industrial boom, and both the plant and the staff were enlarged to meet the increasing demand. Production reached 200 bicycles a day with 300 employees.
Now strong in its success and gaining prestige, Wilier bought up a promising young cyclist: Fiorenzo Magni in 1947. Instead of being overshadowed by Coppi and Bartali, Magni was able to become the third great protagonist of Italian cycling by winning the Giro d'Italia in 1948. It was the same year that Wilier spread to South America, where a small team of local professional cyclists collected dozens of wins.
The following season, Team Wilier confirmed its greatness by winning several national races, and in 1949 and 1950, they achieved success in the Tour of Flanders and the Tour de France.
Unfortunately for bicycle manufacturers, the first exciting phase of national reconstruction in the early '50s led to a period of economic boom. People gave up their bicycles for scooters and motorcycles. Bicycle manufacturers suffered from the fruits of progress, and in 1952 Wilier Triestina shut down its factory and left the competitive cycling world.
Now the glorious story of this company and its "copper jewel" lives again thanks to the Gastaldello brothers from Rossano Veneto, who bought the Wilier Triestina mark in 1969. They are proud to revive one of the best known Italian names in cycling and to supply teams both professional and amateur, Italian and foreign, with their beautiful bicycles.
