Moving into carbon

The new millennium offered new possibilities

The last steel bike to win a Tour de France was in 1995, as ridden by Miguel Indurain (it’s said it was built by Dario Pegoretti but badged a Pinarello), so by the end of the millennium Basso had made the move into monocoque carbon fibre frames. Despite the dramatic looks of the Venta frame pictured above, it was intended for road riding, not time-trialling.