Sportful
A cycling apparel designer since 1985, Sportful has sponsored the greatest teams and riders ever seen. Fresh looks and innovation ensure this established brand’s products are always exciting.
Based in the Dolomites, Sportful is an Italian cycling institution built on a long history of tailoring and fine craftsmanship by the Cremonese family. A fixture of the pro peloton, this serious, competitive brand prioritises cutting edge, pro-tested design and materials. However, it also has an eclectic and playful side, which makes the charismatic Peter Sagan the perfect Sportful lifetime ambassador.
KEY CATEGORIES
With the Sportful Fiandre collection in your wardrobe – particularly the hardy Sportful Fiandre Pro Jacket – you’ll be ready for all weathers. Fancy tackling gravel or off-road tracks? The Sportful Dirty Roads collection, with its wayfaring Giara and adventurous Supergiara lines, has you covered. Craving a dry commute? The Metro collection will keep you looking clean and stylish. Or, if speed is your thing, emulate the pros with the BodyFit Pro and TotalEnergies collections.
Collaborating with the pros
Team collaborations are a chance for products to be thoroughly trialled. The pros care about marginal gains, protection and comfort, because their training sessions and races are long and intense. If they’re happy, a product must be worthwhile!
Take the Sportful Bomber Suit. Formulated with reduced seams, mesh sleeves and soft, seamless leg bands, it was refined following wind tunnel and road testing by Bora Hansgrohe, then Peter Sagan wore one to win Paris Roubaix. Now, similar mesh sleeves and raw-cut leg endings are found in Sportful’s bib shorts and jerseys.
BodyFit Pro
The BodyFit Pro line is your chance to wear the kit worn by Sportful’s pro cyclists, including Peter Sagan and the TotalEnergies team. It’s therefore highly aerodynamic, with a race fit and all the technical features needed to win races.
Comfort, too, is a huge consideration, since pro athletes spend hours in their kit and need to feel great to perform their very best.
A BodyFit Pro tag signifies the presence of technical features, developed in partnership with WorldTour athletes, that will help you to reach your peak performance.
KEY PRODUCTS
Bomber Jersey
Designed for speed, the Bomber Jersey has been wind tunnel refined for optimal aerodynamics. It has stretchy sleeves and a structured back, delivering an overall race fit. Its pockets are roomy enough to carry emergency spares, while a micromesh number holder means no more pins. Finally, a YKK® Camlock® zip will offer exactly the degree of ventilation you want with smooth, one-handed action.
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Total Comfort Bib Shorts
Designed, as their name suggests, to ensure your comfort over long distances on the bike, these bibs are made from four-way stretch fabric that will adapt to your body shape, while four needle stitching ensures sturdy yet smooth seams. Raw cut endings will hold their shape without compressing your legs, while wide, breathable mesh shoulder straps fit securely, yet rest gently against your back.
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Fiandre Pro Jacket
This jacket, originally designed for pro use, will let you get out and race or train at your best when the weather is foul. It’s made from Polartec® NeoShell®, a windproof, waterproof fabric, and includes reduced, taped seams and a waterproof zip for maximum water repellence. The fabric is also breathable and aerodynamic, with enough stretch to give a race fit, so this jacket will keep you comfortable in all weathers.
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SPORTFUL HISTORY AND HERITAGE
Although founded in 1972 by Giordano Cremonese, who spotted a need for hardy skiwear after designing his own suit for the 70km Marcialonga cross-country ski race, Sportful’s origins go even further back.
Started as a weaving mill in 1946 by Giordano’s parents, Olindo and Irma, Manifattura Valcismon, Sportful cycling’s parent company, had already branched into international underwear manufacture. Everything Giordano needed to focus on sportswear – skilled workers, knitting machines, industry knowledge and an understanding of what sportspeople require from their kit – was in place.
Skiers and cyclists look for similar qualities in their clothing, including freedom, aerodynamics, protection and breathability, so it made sense to design cycling apparel. By 1988, Sportful had secured a sponsorship deal with Alfa Lum.
First came victories with Maurizio Fondriest, then from 1994 the brand sponsored Mapei. With talents like Bartoli and Ballerini, Mapei dominated in the UCI rankings and swept the Classics. From 2002 to 2010, Sportful helped the Italian National Team to claim six World Championships and an Olympic gold.
More recently came a collaboration with Saxo Bank, which saw Andy Schleck win the Tour de France in 2010, Contador cycle to victory in two Vuelta a Españas, then the Giro d’Italia in 2015, and Sagan win the World Road Race Championships.
Sagan went on to win Tour of Flanders and top the individual WorldTour rankings for 2016, having won the points classification of the Tour from 2012 to 2016.
Sportful followed Peter Sagan to Bora Hansgrohe in 2017, supporting the team to numerous Grand Tour stage wins.
Bora achieved third place in the UCI WorldTour Team classification in 2018, then in 2019 the points jersey at both the Giro and the Tour, plus second place in the UCI WorldTour Team classification. It also claimed the points jersey with Sagan at the Tour in 2018, as well as at the Giro in 2021. Finally, Sportful signed a 10-year contract with Sagan in 2022 and followed him to TotalEnergies.
A recent Saddleback survey found that 83% of our customers who had tried Sportful would recommend it, while 80 to 95% rated it higher than 8/10 for quality, performance and style.
The brand’s cycling kit, especially the Sportful Fiandre collection, its bib shorts and cycling jerseys, has featured on pro cyclists’ wish lists for quite some time too. After all, Sportful’s design team is hugely experienced and collaborations let it anticipate – and meet – the needs of today’s cyclist.