Vittoria

Vittoria is an Italian bicycle tyre manufacturer. The company produces over seven million tyres yearly for a wide range of cyclists, from road racers and commuters to BMX riders and mountain bikers.

History

Vittoria was established in 1953 with the immediate goal of manufacturing performance-orientated bike tyres. The company started out of a small factory in Lombardy, Italy.

For the first 40 years of its existence, Vittoria manufactured all of its tyres at its Lombardy factory. The company’s range of tubular tyres quickly rose in popularity, being used by Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Francesco Moser and Marco Pantani.

Vittoria went from strength to strength, with its cotton clinchers and tubular tyres making it one of the go-to brands. However, in the early 1990s, after a period of financial difficulty, Vittoria was taken over by the Dutch company Campagne, the same firm that owned Lion Tyres. Company boss Rudie Campagne moved its production line to Thailand to save money - and it worked.

Since then, Vittoria has continued to expand its range of products for different cycling disciplines such as mountain biking and gravel. The company also joined the tubeless revolution and became the first tyre manufacturer to use graphene within its tyres to add durability and puncture resistance. After 500 prototypes, it launched the Vittoria Graphene tyre in 2015 and saw revenue increase by 15%.

In addition, the Vittoria Corsa range has become the race tyre of choice for countless pros over the past decade, thanks to the Italian company’s expertise and innovation.

As 2020 came around, Vittoria was brought back into the hands of Italian owners after Milanese private equity firm Wise Equity bought the company intending to make it the industry leader in tyres and wheels. The new owners also returned the headquarters to its Lombardy roots in Brembate. In the summer of 2021, aged 76, Campagne retired as CEO with Stijn Vriends taking over.

Key Moments

1990 - Vittoria heads east

Although controversial, Rude Campagne’s decision to move Vittoria’s production line to Thailand to save its finances was crucial to the company’s survival. It allowed Vittoria to compete in the increasingly globalised market of bike component manufacturing.

2015 - The first graphene tyre

Five years of development and over 500 prototypes helped Vittoria finally launch its Vittoria Graphene tyre in 2015. The product has shaped future R&D in the industry and delivered Vittoria an extra 15% in revenue.

2020 - Vittoria returns home

After being taken over by a private equity firm based in Milan, Vittoria’s returned to its roots in Bergamo. The company built a €7 million, state-of-the-art, office, test centre and logistics warehouse to bring the brand closer to its key market and clients.

Vittoria's products

© Vittoria

Road: Vittoria has an ever-expanding road tyre range with products available in various constructions, from tubeless-ready to tube-type and tubular. Its top-level road racing models include the Corsa, Corsa Control and Corsa N.EXT, whilst the Corsa Speed is built for time-trialling. Meanwhile, the Pista range includes tubular and tube-type tyre constructions for track cycling.

Off-Road: With tyres suitable for gravel, cyclocross, cross country, downhill, trail, enduro and e-MTB, Vittoria knows a thing or two about off-road tyres. The Terreno range covers the needs of any gravel or CX rider out there whilst the Mezcal and  Barzo are the go-to cross-country tyre choices.

City/Trekking: In recent years Vittoria has expanded into the commuter market, providing reliable and long-lasting tyres. The Alway, Revolution Tech and Adventure Tech models offer the best protection - with high levels of grip and puncture resistance.

Did you know?

Pro cycling

© Velo Collection / Getty Images

Current sponsorships: Alpecin-Deceuninck, Astana Qazaqstan, EF Education-EasyPost, Jumbo-Visma, Jayco-AlUla, Team DSM-Firmenich, Lotto Dstny EOLO-Kometa, Q36.5 Pro Cycling, KMC MTB Racing Team, Santa Cruz RockShox, Italian National Team.

Highlights

• Vittoria’s Corsa tyres helped Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard to win back-to-back maillot jaunes at the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023.
• His teammate Primož Roglič has also claimed a trio of Vuelta a España crowns (2019, 2020 and 2021) alongside a Giro d’Italia Maglia Rosa in 2023 whilst using Vittoria tyres.
• Mathieu van der Poel was using Vittoria Corsa Control tyres as he won a memorable edition of Strade Bianche in 2021, attacking on the final ramp into Siena to take the title.
• Van der Poel demonstrated Vittoria’s tyre performance perfectly in the spring of 2023, winning Milan-Sanremo after a daring attack over the crest of the Poggio before backing it up with a stellar solo performance at Paris-Roubaix - winning by a margin of 46 seconds.
• Vittoria tyres have helped to deliver over 80 victories in Grand Tour stages as well as one-day Monuments such as Paris-Roubaix and Milan-Sanremo during the company’s lifetime.