Apres Planet Feb - Flipbook - Page 16
FEATURE
“Built entirely in Italy, the Colnago Gioiello Numero 1 blends the boundaries
between cycling, art and dream.”
I
t’s the simple pleasures in life that
move the needle from merely existing
to living.
We’re talking the smell of freshly
pressed espresso in the morning, the
sticky sweetness of gelato as you bite it
with your lips and the frisson-inducing
tenor of Luciano singing Nessun
Dorma.
Make no mistake, simple pleasures
exist outside of Italy, but for the
intent and purposes of this article, it’s
important to set the scene as there is
another simple pleasure the Italians
have elevated to an art: cycling.
There’s no feeling quite like summiting
a climb, heart pounding, lungs burning
and seeing a semi-steep curving
descend sprawling down in front of
you.
You take a deep breath, alternately
pushing and pulling on the pedals as
you sweep over to the left, corner into
the right and power out of the bend.
Sun on your skin, breeze in your face
– everything is just a little more than
alright.
And to enjoy this experience to its
fullest [actually in celebration of the
Grand Tour that the Giro d’Italia],
cycling doyens, Colnago, created the
holy grail of cycling machines.
With its storied cycling history, Colnago
is just the brand to create a bicycle so
completely over-the-top you cannot
help but admire it.
Built entirely in Italy, the Colnago
Gioiello Numero 1 blends the
boundaries between cycling, art and
dream.
Wrapped in gold leaf, specialist
partners were involved for dedicated
components, working alongside
Colnago’s designers on specially
designed decorations, such as the
Colnago pattern or the bottle cage
inspired by the shapes of the Trofeo
Senza Fine.
But these already special bits, of
course, were not enough. Colnago
collaborated with a jewelry
workshop to further embellish
the Colnago Gioiello, creating
a real jewel to be embedded
in the bike. That jewel came in
the shape of a hand-cut 2.03ct
diamond embedded inside the
steering tube, complimented
and completed by an 18ct gold
artefact, shaped like the Colnago
clover logo.
Only one such bicycle exist, so we
can but dream...
YESTERDAY’S NEWS TOMORROW
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