The Gazzetta Gilet

Alongside the ascension of competitive bicycle racing at the end of the 19th century, a new publication emerged in Italy, called La Gazzetta dello Sport. First printed in 1896, this bi-weekly circular would retell sporting heroics from cycling, boxing and rowing.

Thanks to La Gazzetta and its storytelling, Italy’s road racing obsession erupted. The paper’s distinctive pink pages captured stories from newly established races like the Giro di Lombardia (1905) and promoted heroes and villains of the sport, such as Giovanni Gerbi, in eye-popping prose. La Gazzetta also successfully organised their first race, Milan–Sanremo (1907), and then set about creating an Italian grand tour: On May 13th 1909, 127 riders set off from Milan towards Bologna for the first of eight stages of the Giro d’Italia. The rest, as they say, è storia.

As the organisers of the Tour did with their maillot jaune, La Gazzetta imbued its pink pages upon the Giro leader’s jersey in 1931, to further promote its circulation. The flamboyant yarns of the maglia rosa were thus fought over by the pioneers of European road racing. Today, the power of pink in the sport is felt across the globe: From Piedmont to California, Brabant to Hackney, the world’s best have battled over mountains to earn the right to wear pink.

The allure of pink is very much woven into the fabric of Rapha too, as enchanting and distinctive as the Giro itself. It has, since 2004, been part of Rapha’s own defining aesthetic, and for that – and the great stage race itself – we have La Gazzetta to thank.

The Rapha Gazzetta Gilet

The pink newsprint element in the 2024 Gazzetta Gilet pays homage to this iconic publication. Alongside announcing all the important results and stories of the week, the newspaper found itself being put to other uses by resourceful riders, namely being stuffed up a jersey for some much needed insulation on chilly descents. Hence why, in 2008, Rapha created a special edition performance gilet featuring an homage pattern based on the pink pages of La Gazzetta.

The 2024 version has been updated to the same specification as the Pro Team Lightweight Gilet, and features a reworking of the Gazzetta print too – imitating the paper’s classic typeset headlines and copy.