Cycling Culture Club Partners with Castelli

When your organisation is focused on community, striving for the greater good, partnerships represent a big opportunity and a big risk. 

On one hand, a shared vision and shared objectives can unlock huge amounts. From an ability to conduct more of the good work you set out to do, to an ability to connect that work with more people. The right partner can help an organisation such as Cycling Culture Club, reach its goals more quickly; it can help us to grow and do more with the resources that we have. 

On the other side of the coin, the wrong partner can be at best a distraction and at worst a derailment. Misaligned goals lead to wasted efforts. Shoe-horned messaging can lead to a lack of a genuine connection to both audiences. Finally, a lack of partner buy-in, can and will lead to an inability to deliver on the elements of the partnership and ultimately, the failure of it. 

It's for both of these sides that we choose our partners very carefully. We want to always ensure alignment with the vision, be careful to gauge the buy-in to our objectives and come to a shared agreement of success, and that is what we've found in Castelli. 

Now, while many of you will be familiar with Castelli, some will not, so let's start with a brief introduction 

Castelli began in 1876 as a Milan tailoring shop crafting clothing for elite cyclists, before evolving into one of the sport’s most influential performance brands. Through the mid-20th century, it outfitted legends like Fausto Coppi and Eddy Merckx, helping shape the look and function of modern racing kit. Castelli became known for pioneering innovations such as Lycra race shorts, aerodynamic jerseys, and advanced wet-weather gear like the Gabba, cementing its reputation as a brand driven by speed, technical performance, and pro-level racing heritage.

Fast forward a few years, and Castelli is well known for its high-profile sponsorships of teams like Team Sky and, more recently, Soudal Quickstep, operating at the very top of the sport.

So how did this partnership come to be? 

Well, like most great collaborations, it started through a conversation between two believers. Two believers who not only feel that we all have a role to play in making cycling a more diverse and inclusive sport, but that brands and the industry can and should play a big part in this. On our side, that believer is me, but as a founder, I'm good for nothing if not belief. On Castelli's side, that believer is Soren Jensen. 

The white, middle-class, epitome of everything that cycling is currently and the Global Head of Marketing for Castelli. Why is it important to call out Soren's own lack of diversity? Well, in part, that's because it makes his passion, vision and ultimately his support even more important. He is an ally, as are Steve, Barbara, Alberto, Laura and many others within the organisation who have, since the beginning, been supportive of what we're trying to do with Cycling Culture Club. 

The other part is that calling it out highlights the importance of allyship. Without allies, we stand no chance of making change; the numbers simply don't stack up. Without allies, we are unable to build the network across the globe that connects all of us within cycling. Allies, and the support they give us, whether that's time, financial or emotional, is critical to achieving our goals. Point 1 of a successful partnership: Shared goals.

Soren saw the opportunity to lend Castelli's resources to us, so that we may, in some small way, continue to drive diversity in cycling. We saw an opportunity in turn to help Castelli, as a giant of the industry, put its proverbial money where its mouth is and lead from the front. Together, I'm certain we'll do great things. 

So what does this partnership look like? 

First and foremost, it's Castelli's support to produce our first kit collection, designed to give our tribe a uniform, to connect people across the globe in a shared ideal and purpose. Cycling Culture Club can, after all, play a significant part in diversifying cycling, as can we all. Through our actions, through our work, through our network, through our community and even through our investments. This kit capsule is more than just a collaborative design, printed on fabric, it’s the physical embodiment of intentionality.

Next, we tap into that which makes up the heart and soul of Cycling Culture Club, our stories. Through content, we've made a name for ourselves telling the human stories of diverse riders across the world, covering topics that no cycling media outlet would consider dedicating resources to, but through that, fostering genuine human connection between riders who would otherwise have no reason to get to know one another. Castelli will help us do more of this, supporting our storytelling and ultimately helping us to continue connecting with more riders across the world. In return, we'll help Castelli tell its own athlete stories, lending our expertise and nose for a story to eke out those rich, human tales that really connect people.

Lastly, we'll work together to continue bringing opportunities to our growing network. Whether that's connecting potential riders with Castelli's teams for photoshoots, ambassador programs or race teams or providing race entry or on-the-ground support at key European events. This partnership will have tangible output and will leave a lasting impact.

Steve Smith, Global Brand Manager of Castelli, said this when I asked why he’s backed the partnership since the beginning:

"I think our actions until now have certainly been welcoming to underrepresented groups, but almost in a passive way, without specific actions or initiatives. Sometimes it feels like the whole industry is scared to do anything because everyone is scared of doing something wrong.  Sometimes we’ve had fears as a company that people would think we were supporting minority athletes for the wrong reasons.  We want to be more active in welcoming everyone and making sure some people feel more explicitly included. Cycling Culture Club is part of that welcome and also helps us to understand how to be more welcoming.

It’s hard. I rode half of Utopia Gravel with a black cyclist from France. He was one of a handful of minority riders there. He looked amazing on the bike but was probably 6’3” and 200lbs so he would pass me on the downhills and I’d pass him on the uphills. We exchanged a few words as I would with anyone I’m yo-yoing with all day. To me, he was just like any other rider in the race. He missed a turn when he was 30m in front of me I yelled to get him back on course, and he thanked me later. Should I have gone up to him later and said what I’d been thinking for the past 3 hours: ‘I’m glad you’re here’?  

Working with Cycling Culture Club is also helping us better understand how to have the hard conversations, step out of what feels easy, and instigate change.

We need to do better, we need to learn to be better. “

So if you've read this far, you've at least a passing interest in what this partnership will mean in principle, the most obvious of which will be our first kit capsule, entitled 'Momentum' to represent the shared impetus that will lead to shared results. 

The capsule will be available from Castellicycling.com at this link from 16th June 2026. A portion of the profits from kit sales goes towards supporting our initiatives, like our scholarship program, our community builder and the content we produce to serve the community.  Our existing contributors and ambassadors, or those who want to play a part in driving Cycling Culture Club moving forward, will be entitled to a discount. 

Thanks again to Soren, Steve, Barbara, Laura and Alberto, without whose vision and belief, we couldn't have made this happen.