Vintage Bicycles - Atala - Eroica Bicycles - 1990s-2000s Bicycles

Information

• Country: Italy
• Founder: Guido Gatti/Cesare Rizzato
• Founding Year: 1908/1921
• Website: http://www.atala.it/

A History of Atala

Atala bicycles were founded in 1908 by Guido Gatti, only a year before the first ever Giro d'Italia. The brand were direct rivals with Bianchi, who wanted to begin an Italian equivalent to the Tour de France in collaboration with the newspaper Corriere dell Sera. Gatti, however, found out and brought the story to the pink pages of La Gazetta dello Sport who undercut Corriere dell Sera and begun the story of the Giro d'Italia themselves.

Although Gatti had produced bicycles under the Atala name since 1908, the brand weren't formally founded until 1921. Cesare Rizzato joined the company and helped to produce a series of motorcycles between 1924 and 1934, as well as support a series of teams in professional cycling to further establish the Atala name.

Atala, therefore, were a key part of Italian cycling history. Gatti and Rizzato's brand sponsored teams from as early as 1910 to the late 80s, winning 36 Giro d'Italia stages between 1948 and 1987 and taking a series of track World Championships with the Swiss rider, Urs Freuler.

A period of crisis followed the late 80s as labour costs in Italy rose. The brand was sold to the Rizzi family in 2002 to form a new Atala franchise, but before long they too had to sell the Atala name to the Accell group, who continue to produce leisure bicycles with the Atala logo to this day.