Cipollini Does It Again.

It's  great to get out for some sneaky bike practice before work. I love turning up at the bureau knowing that I have already done something for myself before I got there. I look around the office at my non cycling co-workers all bleary eyed, still waking up and sometimes still eating breakfast. At times I pity them because they will never know the simple joy you and I experience when we ride our bikes. I’m sure it’s a feeling many cyclists share with me. Of course the flip side to all these endorphins and positive energy is that I fall in a heap soon after lunch and have to drag myself like a stubborn mule through the remainder of the day.

If you have been reading my blog you will know that I am a huge fan of seeing celebrity cyclists in the media for reasons other than racing results. I thought I would share something which arrived in my inbox today just as I was reaching my post lunch slump.

Many of you would know that former professional cyclist, master of style and lovable rogue Mario Cipollini has entered the world of bicycle manufacturing.

With the Italian ISD professional team already using his bikes Cipollini has now released a short promotional film in an effort to boost sales of his bikes and related paraphernalia. Of course we all know and admire Cipo for his reputation as a gadabout town and for his general skylarking behaviour. In this film we get to see Mario's serious side as he promotes his various products by basically riding around looking fabulously fit and meticulously groomed as always.

In the opening scene we find Mario comfortably relaxing on the terrace of his Tuscan villa and catching up on the sports news of the day while wearing a three piece suit. Everything seems in its place until the countryside beckons like the mythological sirens of old and Mario is lured away from his sophisticated domesticity and into his Lycra. A situation I'm sure we can all relate to.

See how he pensively surveys the Tuscan landscape before he embarks for his ride, much like an artiste may look upon an unfinished painting. I wonder what artistry he’s going to unleash on the windswept and emotively filmed countryside.

After changing into his cycle ware we join Mario as he embarks on a journey filmed to show off the qualities of his product. After some fast cornering and promenading (not to be confused with pomade, of which there seems to be lashings of) he then arrives in a delightful piazza for some more contemplative gazing.

You may notice that the camera angle being used seems to have us viewing our hero from below thus giving the illusion of  him towering above us with all his might and glory, I wish my rides were as cinematic as Mario's.

Of course the bikes are made in Italy and to prove it in this scene we see an Italian looking and fashionably unkempt tech specialists pondering a newly minted frame.

Surprisingly Cipollini's Italian made bicycle seems to be equipped with components of non Italian origin, which I always thought was frowned upon by the Euro style establishment, evidently Mario can do as he pleases as he set many of the standards held so dearly by the aspiring Euro pro wannabees (I'm counting myself as part of that group) and so therefore has the right to trifle with the very tenets of tolerable bicycle related conduct… Even riding topless.

Somehow the lovable rogue gets away with it all and I find myself wanting to own one of these machines, maybe he will send one over for me to review. If you would like to view the film for yourself you can find it here.

To many people Cipollini is the epitome of manliness on two wheels, our sport needs men like him to help affirm its image as a tough masculine sport worthy of interest. For those of you not convinced of this I would like you to compare this picture of Mario in his square jawed, race winning prime.

To this photo of current Italian road champion and rather effeminate looking Giovanni Visconti who seems to be up to date with the latest depilatory techniques.

 Who do you think would capture more public attention? The charming cad or saucy knave?