Honorary Master’s Degree upon Ernesto Colnago
The Politecnico di Milano awarded an Honorary Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering - Ingegneria Meccanica to Ernesto Colnago, an exemplary managerial figure and innovator in the field of cycling.
Reading the motivations for the degree, Professor Lorenzo Dozio, dean of the School of Industrial and Information Engineering, recalled how Colnago's work has made contributions
not only to engineering disciplines, but also to sports and design disciplines, in full correspondence with the research directions and values of the Politecnico di Milano.
Since opening his first workshop in 1954, Ernesto Colnago has been engaged in the design, construction and testing of racing and road bicycle frames, bringing an immeasurable contribution to this specific sector. Since then, bicycles resulting from his designs have been the protagonists of countless victories in the most important competitive and international contexts, such as the Olympic Games, the Road Cycling World Championship, the Giro d'Italia, and the Tour de France.
Ernesto Colnago was born on February 9, 1932, in Cambiago, in the province of Milan. The son of farmers, he began working at age 12 as an apprentice welder. In 1945 he began working at Gloria, a bicycle factory in Milan. After a career as an amateur cyclist interrupted by injury, he opened a small workshop in Cambiago in 1954 and began building bicycles. He became famous for his technological innovations, such as cold-bending fork stays and the use of carbon fiber. He collaborated with champions such as Fiorenzo Magni, Eddy Merckx, and Tadej Pogačar, and won numerous world and Olympic titles. In 2020 he sold a majority stake in his company and was honored by the United Nations as an ambassador of bicycle values.