The cycling culture in Turin has produced numerous winners and holds many stories. Fortunately, many of them have been documented and collected by dedicated journalists and writers. However, there is another story of Turin cycling that has been little or not at all written about: that of the artisans and small business owners from Turin. With their passion and masterful craftsmanship, they played a significant role in the great successes of cycling. It seems fitting, therefore, to dedicate this book to the great Turin native, Tommaso Nieddu, who significantly shaped the history of cycling with his knowledge and skills.

Reflecting back, since its invention, the bicycle has been a symbol of a new mode of transportation, representing a completely new, revolutionary, and universally accessible means of travel. The technical and artisanal tradition firmly rooted in Turin's history dates back to the city's past: The Turin workshops and arsenals of the House of Savoy rulers produced generations of talented technicians and craftsmen responsible for manufacturing weapons, vehicles, and much more. Gradually, this gave rise to a comprehensive metallurgical industry, and this tradition evolved into an enormous craftsmanship, leading to the establishment of numerous small and medium-sized production and craft businesses dedicated to the construction of bicycles, motorcycles, and cars in the late 19th century.

The protagonist of our story was born into this dynamic and productive environment, which reached its peak in the 1920s and 1930s. However, this dynamism and productivity would later be gradually absorbed by the Fiat factories.