SIDI received a special visit this week, when Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana winner Chris Froome made a stop at the iconic Italian brand’s headquarters in Italy.
Indeed, Froome, who has always worn SIDI shoes during his illustrious career, paid a visit to the company’s founders, Dino and Rosella Signori, at their headquarters in Maser, Treviso to hand deliver the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey) from this year’s Giro d’Italia as a show of his appreciation for the company’s support.
A total of 11 times on the podium, and having won all three Grand Tours, Froome has a truly enviable portfolio. In fact, Froome is one of only two riders (the other is Vincenzo Nibali) who are currently active that have won all three Grand Tours, while only seven riders in the history of cycling have managed to pull off such an impressive feat.
Froome is joined in this “exclusive club” by Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Alberto Contador. Furthermore, Froome, like Merckx and Hinault, managed to capture the three Grand Tours consecutively in the arc of two seasons, he took the Tour and the Vuelta in 2017 and triumphed in the Giro in 2018.
It was during this year’s Italian Grand Tour that Froome wrote one of the best pages in cycling history, when on stage 19 (Venaria Reale to Bardonecchia), he bravely attacked with more than 80 kilometers along the climb of the Colle delle Finestre. He went on to claim the stage victory and the maglia rosa, which he wore all the way to the final podium in Rome. And, of course his accomplished this while wearing SIDI shoes.
While the season has come to an end for most riders, champions like Froome are already planning for 2019, especially for essential riding assets like cycling shoes.
“It meant a lot to me to deliver this jersey to Dino Signori, because here at Sidi I’ve found real people who always make me feel like they’ve got my back, not just in their capacity as a technical sponsor but also as avid fans. Now we’re waiting to find out about the routes for the next editions of the Giro and Tour, which will be unveiled in the next few days, and then the team and I will plan our next season,”says Chris Froome.
“I’d like to thank Chris for this lovely gift. For bicycle lovers the Maglia Rosa has always held a special appeal. Modern cycling has changed, but I still believe that to win you also need to have the courage to go for it. At the Giro, with that great action, Froome was able to reinvent himself on the Colle delle Finestre. He really inspired me, and I can assure you that it’s not something that happens very often,” says Dino Signori.
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