20 YEARS IN THE MAKING

ANDY WIGMORE, SADDLEBACK’S FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, REFLECTS ON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF REACHING 20 YEARS IN AN EXCITING AND EVER-CHANGING INDUSTRY.

Around the same time that Alessandro Petacchi was winning Stage 12 of the 2004 Giro d’italia in Treviso, I was registering a new business with Companies House in Cardi¡. Not quite as glamourous, and certainly there were no crowds cheering me on. In fact, many people in the industry were full of doubt, but thankfully I am not easily deterred. On that day, May 21st, Saddleback Ltd. was born.

The ensuing years have been anything but straightforward, often feeling like a long mountain climb. A global financial crisis early on, Brexit a few years later and the subsequent currency crash, then a pandemic, closely followed by a cost-ofliving crisis that has affected the industry like no event in living history.

One constant over the past 20 years, though, has been our determination not to deviate from Saddleback’s reason for being. It was established to be the home of performance cycling, an extension of some of the world’s most respected brands. Our love for the sport of cycling has meant that we continue to passionately represent those brands, whatever obstacles we face.

It seems ironic that, on the date of our 20th Anniversary, the riders competing in the 2024 Giro d’italia will face the legendary Passo dello Stelvio, with its 48 hairpin turns, followed by 100km of gradual descent before the next climb. Only time will tell whether that will prove to be indicative of the years to come…