The limited-edition Battaglin replica of Stephen Roche’s 1987 Triple Crown frame:

Villach, Austria. September 6th, 1987. Last moments of the World Championships of Road Cycling.  After nearly 7 hours of racing, the rain that had been falling steadily on the circuit since the morning stopped.  The crowd of spectators that had gathered to witness the event now had the chance to see clearly the most talented riders in the world engaging in the battle for the rainbow jersey.

The stakes were high, but until that moment the race hadn’t been a bit of a yawn. Just a few attacks, none of them decisive enough to mark a turning point.  Going into the climb at the beginning of the last lap, the Irish rider Stephen Roche attacked. Sean Kelly, the other star wearing the green jersey, stayed on his wheel. Their team had performed an excellent job.  The action split the group. The riders in the front got rid of most of the competitors, and only 14 racers were left. At this point, there was no other choice to chase the victory but trying to escape.

The Dutch Van Vliet got away. The German Golz followed him. Roche closed the break, and so did Sorensen and Winterberg.  The group of 5 established a small gap, while the riders behind didn’t react. It seemed like they were expecting for Moreno Argentin, the defending World Champion, to chase them down.  Italy was the strongest team in the peloton, and everyone considered Argentin the race favorite.  But the gap widened.

Four hundred meters from the finish line, Roche launched his attack. There was a narrow space between Sorensen and the barriers on the left side of the road. Roche daringly threw himself right there.  While he was approaching, Sorensen inadvertently moved to the left, shutting down that space Roche had chosen to be his way to the finish line.  The chances for the Irish to pass between Sorensen and the barriers were reducing at every pedal stroke.  But when Sorensen and Roche seemed so close that the action could a massive crash, the Danish moved to the right and Roche was out into the open.

He pedaled as hard as he could. This time Argentin responded, but it was too late.  Sprinting certainly wasn’t Roche’s secret weapon. He would have probably lost every time he’d found himself in a sprint with Golz and Van Vliet. Not that day.  On that day Stephen Roche won the 1987 World Championships.

In 1987, Roche was riding a Battaglin bike, which quickly became the icon of professional cycling’s greatest success.  The bike was developed by Giovanni Battaglin at his workshop in Marostica, where all the bikes for the Carrera riders were made, and custom-built to Roche’s specifications.  It was probably the most advanced racing machine on the market, featuring the best equipment available at the time.

With the Officina Battaglin brand, Giovanni has gone back to building exclusive steel frames using the same process and tooling of 30 years ago.  That’s why in 2017 he decided to mark the 30th anniversary of Stephen Roche’s Triple Crown with…the 1987.

For more information about the limited edition Battaglin 1987, or if you would like to begin the process of ordering a frame, you can contact Officina Battaglin direct at: https://officinabattaglin.com/ or the Battaglin experts of Lakeside Bicycles by phone (W-F 10-7, Sat 10-6, or Sun 12-5) at 503-699-8665 or email at Info@Lakeside-Bikes.com