OUR HISTORY

OTTAVIO BOTTECCHIA THE ITALIAN POWER

San Martino di Colle Umberto 1 August 1894 – Gemona del Friuli 15 June 1927. First Italian to win the Tour De France in 1924, wearing the yellow jersey from the first to the last stage. The Bricklayer from Friuli, Ottavio Bottecchia, has become an undisputed legend of cycling.

TIMELINE

1926

THE FIRST BOTTECCHIA

Teodoro Carnielli, president of the Vittorio Veneto Cycling Association, is a craftsman who repairs and builds bicycles and who immediately recognized the young Ottavio Bottecchia as an exceptional talent. After his consecration on Bici Automoto, Bottecchia's incredible and magnificent talent in 1924 he won his first Tour de France, Carnielli with great business acumen proposed that he exploit the moment by putting the first Bottecchia brand bike into production.

1940

THE WORLD OF RACING

Over the years, the small Carnielli workshop that produces Bottecchia bikes becomes an industry with around a hundred employees. The Bottecchia bike is produced in large numbers and in different versions; the one that gives the most satisfaction, however, is the racing model. Teodoro Carnielli, increasingly fanatical about two-wheel competitions, began to sponsor cycling teams that used Bottecchia bicycles.

1951

THE CYCLETTE

Guido Carnielli has a great idea: a bike to use while staying on site, very useful for physical rehabilitation: the CYCLETTE is born, the first cycle camera in the world.

1963

GRAZIELLA

In the early sixties, Guido had another revolutionary intuition. In Italy these are the years of the economic boom, and the number of Italians who can afford to buy a car is increasing; so why not create a folding bicycle with small wheels suitable for transport by car? Thus was born the GRAZIELLA, which takes its name from the Mondadori periodical that first advertised it, designed by Rinaldo Donzelli, the first mass-produced folding bicycle which became a worldwide success.

1995

BOTTECCHIA CICLI SRL

The Bottecchia brand, separate from the Carnielli brand, was acquired by a group of Padua entrepreneurs who founded Bottecchia Cicli srl, taking the company first from Vittorio Veneto to Piove di Sacco (Padua) and then to Cavarzere (Venice). Thus began the rebirth of the brand which aims at the global market through the strategic division into three lines: Reparto Corse, Tempo Libero and BeGreen, soon becoming synonymous with quality throughout the world.

2022

BOTTECCHIA AND FANTIC

Bottecchia Cicli srl becomes part of the Fantic Motor Spa group, a Venetian giant in the production of motorcycles and e-bikes.

2023

A NEW BEGINNING

Following a disastrous fire that struck one of the Cavarzere factories, Bottecchia moved to the province of Padua, and returned to Piove di Sacco. The new headquarters with 1000 m2 of offices, and a surface area of 6000 m2 dedicated to production and storage, aims to perfect all production and commercial processes, also thanks to the improvement of the spaces and facilities available to workers. All design, technical study of the products and their assembly continue to be managed internally and solely by Bottecchia staff in the Piove di Sacco factory.

2024

BOTTECCHIA CENTENARY

Bottecchia Cicli celebrates the 100th anniversary of Ottavio Bottecchia’s first victory at the Tour de France with the Centenario Bottecchia logo. A hundred years after the epic victory, the bikes that bear the name of the historic champion continue to make cyclists all over the world dream.