The special bike is called the C59 Ottanta – which means eighty in Italian and has a gold finish. It was inspired by the iconic Colnago bikes of the past that were used so successfully by so many legendary professional riders and loved by thousands of cyclists around the world.

The C59 Ottanta has Master-like arabesque lug decorations and Ernesto Colnago’s signature, yet is made from the best possible carbon fibre and fitted with Campagnolo Super Record EPS 11s electronic components.

Colnago is known for its iconic ace of clubs logo but the C59 Ottanta has a special head badge: the original ‘Eagle and Arrow’ logo that was created in 1954 inspired by a headline in the local newspaper that described Colnago as fast as an arrow when he won a race.

Just 80 examples of this very special limited edition bike will be made and 20 have already been snapped up by collectors around the world.

Despite turning 80, Colnago was busy in his office in Cambiago, preferring to work than celebrate his birthday. He is still the first to arrive at the Colnago offices, just across the street from his home and is always the last to leave. Most people are happily retired at 80 but Colnago does not intend to retire just yet.

“My 80th birthday is an intermediate sprint, it’s the not the finish of my race. I still love to work and create new bikes. I don’t want a cake or a big party, the special bike is my way of sharing my birthday,” he said.

The special bike is called the C59 Ottanta – which means eighty in Italian. It’s a ‘Made in Italy’ bike that is inspired by the past and has an seventies style Arabesque decoration, yet projected into the future because of the Italian technology in its ‘made to measure’ carbon fibre frame and its electronic Campagnolo Super Record EPS 11s groupset.

Just 80 examples of this very special limited edition bike will be made.

Rolland was the revelation of the 2011 Tour de France, winning the stage to L’Alpe d’Huez and the best young rider’s white jersey. He used his class and excellent early season form to ensure his Colnago C59 was first over the line.

Rolland raced with confidence. He secured a place in the eight-rider breakaway that shaped the stage; then while other riders struggled and were left behind, he and Franck Vermeulen managed to hold off the chasing peloton on the finishing circuits and then Rolland won the two-rider sprint.

“All the guys rode really well,” Team Europcar directeur sportif Ishmael Mottier explained. “We placed two riders in the first break of 13 riders and then when they came back, Pierre made the race hard and forced the break. He’s had a good winter, he’s confident of his form and you can see it in the way he’s racing. He wanted to pay back the other guys in the team for their work.”

Thanks to his stage victory, Rolland now has an excellent chance of overall victory in the early season stage race.

Albert and his BKCP teammates began using Colnago bikes in January and the Belgian blasted around the sandy course on his blue and white Colnago Prestige.

He finished 24 seconds ahead of Rob Peeters, with Kevin Pauwels third, as Belgian riders again dominated the world championships. Sven Nys finished seventh, while Radomir Simunek of the Czech Republic was the first non-Belgian in eighth place. He also competed on Colnago.

Alberto had struggled with a hand injury after a training crash in November but never gave up hope of winning a second world title and worked hard to be at his best for the biggest race of the cyclo-cross season. Cheered on by an estimated 60,000 home crowd, Albert rode a tactically perfect race, choosing to go clear alone early on the sandy course. His rivals perhaps thought he would fade but instead he conquered the sandy course with a classy performance.

“I had a very good day and my start was perfect. I got the lead on the first lap and my legs were very good. I got a five-second gap and decided that it was everything or nothing. It was everything and so I’m very happy,” Albert said as he savoured his second Elite world cyclo-cross title after also winning in 2009.

“I knew it was a hard course but I knew it was better to be ride alone on the sand. You can choose your own line and also recuperate before the ascents. That was good for me. My season is good now. I have two gold medals at just 26, so I’m very happy.”

The French team dominated the headlines during the 2011 Tour de France thanks to Thomas Voeckler fighting to defend the race leader’s yellow jersey and Pierre Rolland winning in L’Alpe d’Huez and taking the best young rider’s white jersey.

Both riders are part of the impressive Team Europcar line-up for 2012, along with Yukiya Arashiro, Christophe Kern, Anthony Charteau, Rafâa Chtioui, Sebastien Chavanel and talented neo-pros Angelo Tulik and Björn Thurau. The full line-up was unveiled at the official team presentation in Paris.

Team manager Jean-René Bernaudeau talked about the emotions of 2011 but also looked ahead to the new season: “2011 was a great moment. I’m very proud of what we achieved. I especially like that people said thank you because of the way we performed as a team. I in turn can only say thank you to our sponsors and to all of our riders. Winning is good but to move people with the way we ride with or hearts is even better. That’s we intend to do even more in 2012.”

Ernesto and Alessandro Colnago were present at the event and showed off the stunning C59 Italia and M10 Colnago bikes the Team Europcar riders will use in 2012. The bikes have a metallic green and matt carbon finish that will ensure he bikes stand out in the peloton.

The Italian team faced stiff competition for a place in some of the sports biggest races but can now look forward to another exciting season of racing and more success from some of the most talented young riders in cycling.

Ernesto Colnago welcomed the news that a team bearing his name will again compete in the biggest races in Italy.

“We’re extremely happy to see that the Colnago-CSF Inox team has been invited to the Giro d’Italia and RCS Sport’s other big races. I think RCS Sport has recognised that the Colnago-CSF Inox team represents the future of Italian cycling,” the legendary bike maker said.

“During all my years in cycling, I’ve always supported talented young riders in the hope they can develop into great riders. Quite a few have because my bikes have helped riders win over 40 world titles and hundreds of major races.”

“I’m now the main sponsor of the Colnago-CSF Inox team and I’m sure the team can do great things in 2012. Sacha Modolo is one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton at the end of a long hard race like Milan-Sanremo. He almost won it in 2010 and I’m sure he’ll be up there his year before battling with Mark Cavendish in the sprints at the Giro d’Italia.”

“The 2012 Giro d’Italia will also be a big opportunity for Domenico Pozzovivo. He’s one of the true pure climbers in the sport and can win the big mountain stages of the Giro. I’m also excited about Enrico Battaglin. He won the Coppa Sabatini last year while riding as a stagiaire with the team. He’s a huge talent and I think he’ll be the best neo-pro of 2012.”

The Colnago-CSF Inox team is currently working hard for the new season at a training camp in Tuscany. The team will make its debut at the Tour de San Luis in Argentina on January 23.

Nys beat Niels Albert to pull on the prestigious national red, yellow and black jersey, meaning Colnago bikes secured a dominant and historic one-two in the most competitive national champion in the world.

Nys has been a long-time user of the Colnago Prestige bike and even helped design it with Ernesto Colnago. Albert and his BCKP-Powerplus teammates began using the Italian bikes at the start of 2012.

Nys and Albert quickly distanced the rest of the field after two laps of the demanding course and then Nys surged ahead alone, leaving Albert struggling in the mud.

The final two laps were a march of triumph for Nys. He changed his Colnago Prestige for the last time and then began celebrating his victory with the crowd.

He was naturally emotional after taking his eighth national title victory.

“Not so much because of my performance but because of what happened during the day,” Nys told Belgian television, revealing he had to visit a doctor in the hours before the race to get treatment for a back problem.

“I really thought I was going to have to let everyone down. A few hours before the race I was struggling but now I’ve won. It was an emotional moment, I really didn’t think I was going to even race, let alone win.”

Nys is now expected to lead the Belgian national team at the UCI world cyclo-cross championships in Koksijde, Belgium at the end of the month.

When the race conditions get tough, the strongest riders always emerge in cyclo-cross and Nys used his riding skills and Colnago Prestige bike to stay at the head of the race on the leg burning climbs and the nerve testing descents.

Despite two punctures, Nys made the key selection and was perfectly placed for the final showdown on the last lap. He followed Niels Albert and then surged away in sight of the finish line, using his powerful sprint to add another major race to his incredible palmares.

“I’ll remember this win even in 20 years time. It’s a great feeling,” Nys said.

“It was a fierce race. I flatted twice and it cost me a lot but I didn’t crack. I managed to close the gap on Albert and had the acceleration for the final climb and the finish. When I hit the line, I exploded. I was so happy.”

Thanks to his victory, Nys retook the lead in the UCI World Cup standings. He now has 265 points and so will wear the special white leader’s jersey at the next race in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium on December 26.

Nys often wins thanks to his finishing sprint but surged clear of Tom Meeusen and Rob Peeters at the Scheldecross race on a testing sandy section of the course in the finale of the race. Just 24 hours later, he distanced Bart Aernouts on a climb during the final lap of the Vlaamse Druivenveldrit race.

It was the third time Nys has won the Scheldecross and the fourth time he has won the Vlaamse Druivenveldrit.

“Experience plays an important in racing. You must know when you are superior and then use it at the right time. It was impossible to go flat out for an hour, so I saved my speed and power for the finale. It worked yet again,” Nys said.