In 2001, we witnessed the evolution of frames to the EV4 version, considered the final evolutionary step of the EV2 series, reached at the Tour and then at the Australian Olympics. As tradition dictated, the beginning of the season was faced with the livery of 2000, although the colors were slightly different, brighter. From the second week, the EV4 made its debut in a satin black color with green lettering. It was also the year of the debut for the Bianchi Componenti line, which presented a wonderful carbon crankset with elliptical arms, seatpost, and clamp branded Bianchi. For the stem, the splendid ITM The Stem in magnesium appeared, while the handlebar was the ITM 260 Strada. The saddle remained almost identical to that of 2000, except for the side writings Selle Italia instead of The Pirate. At the Giro, the technical sponsors were always Continental, ACI Alpina, and after a brief parenthesis in 2000, Dedacciai returned. The EV4 was introduced to the market with a generous 52mm head tube and integrated headset, a significant step forward from the 38mm of the SC. The new alloys and sections offered reliability, stiffness, and lightness, but marked the end of the aluminum era, with carbon becoming the predominant material in the high-end range. From 2002 onwards, all manufacturers followed suit, relegating aluminum to the construction of cheaper bicycles. However, from a technical point of view, the evolution of aluminum during that period was remarkable, with several technical solutions and materials enhancing the cycling characteristics of the riders. From a commercial point of view, the color scheme of the 1998 and 2000 Giro was successfully used in lower-category bikes, such as the Mega Pro and the Mega Pro L, and subsequently the SL, ML, ST, etc. However, the XL series remained the most significant from a historical and collector's point of view. The wheels used by the Mercatone Uno team were officially Campagnolo Electron, Nucleon, Bora, Shamal, and Ghibli lenticular. With the advent of carbon in frames, aluminum ceased to be used in competitions, thus consecrating the Bianchi of that period to remain forever the most epic bikes in the history of cycling.
GALLERY