To get ready for next year’s 20th anniversary of Marco Pantani’s Giro-Tour double, Bianchi is painting up a limited run of their lightweight carbon Specialissima road race bikes in a retro recreation of the Team Mercatone Uno-Bianchi livery Pantani won on. It was a light alloy Bianchi MegaPro XC bike that Pantani rode to victory in both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the spring and summer of 1998 – one of only seven riders to manage the same feat over the years – but now you can get a modern Countervail-equipped carbon road bike in those same 1998 colors…
The recreated bike of il Pirati is Bianchi’s standard Italian made & hand painted Specialissima, no slouch with a claimed frame weight of just 780g. The Countervail vibration canceling tech makes it fairly unique as well, claiming one of the smoothest rides of a top-level super light race bike.
The complete Specialissima Pantani gets a light build appropriate to the memory of the light climber, with a full Campagnolo Super Record mechanical groupset, Bora Ultra 35 tubulars, and a painted-to-match FSA K-Force carbon cockpit.
The graphics and yellow-celeste fade are true to the original, with updated modern tech details called out in the original bike’s style too, plus of course a modern UCI race-approved decal. It even gets a proper recreated Bianchi headbadge.
No word on pricing or exact availability of the anniversary bike yet, so get in touch with your local Bianchi dealer if you feel the need to recreate the 90s on a modern ride.
