Pirelli gets back into cycling with new road racing tyre range

Pirelli says that its new P Zero Velo range of road racing tyres is coming in September. It claims that the tyres are aimed at the top tier of road bikes, with different colours for different disciplines: silver for road racing, red for time trials and blue for all-season.

The famous Italian tyre maker says that it’s built on its 110 years of experience in two and four wheeled motorsports for the new tyres. The P Zero name is used on the brand’s ultra-high performance car and motorbike tyres, so its adoption for its new cycle tyres signals Pirelli’s intentions here too.

Pirelli’s cycle tyre experience goes as far back as 1909 when riders in the first ever Giro d’Italia used its tyres. And legendary champion Fausto Coppi’s Bianchi bike was equipped with Pirelli tyres too.

It’s backed its re-entry into the world of bike tyres with a glossy website showcasing the world of cycling. And its tyres have been used on the recent Paris-Modena cycle ride, which visited Pirelli’s headquarters in Milan en route to its finish at the Masarati factory in Modena.

It’s an event that has attracted other major sponsors, with Look Cycles having backed the ride since 2015 and producing a special Paris-Modena edition of its 795 Aerolight, the official bike of the event.

It will be interesting to see if Pirelli has followed the modern trends to wider tyres and tubeless-ready and whether there’s a complete range of tubulars as well as clincher tyres.

For the moment details of the new tyres are scarce, but look out for further information to emerge in advance of the September launch.