1962 World Championships, Official Race Poster -Road Race Winner, Jean Stablinski

Championnats du Monde de Cyclisme 1962

Campionati Mondiali di Ciclismo, Milan & Brescia, Italy

We just love the look of this Worlds poster- clean and distinctly midcentury. This original 1962 poster uses an unusual head-on view of five racing wheels to create a simple but effective graphic composition. The wheels appear as narrow vertical forms set against panels of blue, red, black, green, and yellow—the five colors associated with the world champion’s rainbow jersey. Their varied heights and asymmetrical placement add movement, while the open white background keeps the design balanced and allows the mechanical details of the wheels to remain visible.

This poster advertises the track championships in Milan from August 24 through 28 and the road program in the province of Brescia on August 30 and September 1–2. In the upper left are the period emblems of the Union Cycliste Internationale, the Italian National Olympic Committee, and the Unione Velocipedistica Italiana—the original name of the Italian Cycling Federation, which was not renamed the Federazione Ciclistica Italiana until 1964.

The individual road races were held on a demanding circuit at Salò, overlooking Lake Garda, while the new team time trial was contested at Roncadelle, near Brescia. The professional men’s race on September 2 covered approximately 296 kilometers in intense heat. France’s Jean Stablinski escaped to win alone in 7 hours, 43 minutes, and 11 seconds. Ireland’s Seamus Elliott finished second, 1 minute and 22 seconds behind, with Belgium’s Jos Hoevenaers third. The defending two-time world champion, Rik Van Looy, had started as the leading favorite but did not make the podium.

Italy enjoyed considerable success in the other road events. Local rider Renato Bongioni won the amateur road race, finishing nine seconds ahead of Denmark’s Ole Ritter, with the Netherlands’ Arie den Hartog third. Marie-Rose Gaillard won the women’s road race at just 18, leading an all-Belgian podium ahead of Yvonne Reynders and Marie-Thérèse Naessens. The championships also introduced the 100-kilometer national-team time trial as a World Championship event. Italy became the discipline’s first world champion with Mario Maino, Antonio Tagliani, Dino Zandegù, and Danilo Grassi, defeating Denmark and Uruguay.

The track championships were held at Milan’s famous Velodromo Vigorelli, where nine titles were awarded. Italy’s Antonio Maspes won the professional sprint, Dutchman Henk Nijdam captured the professional individual pursuit, and Spain’s Guillermo Timoner claimed the professional motor-paced championship. Among the amateurs, Sergio Bianchetto won the sprint, Kaj Erik Jensen the individual pursuit, West Germany the team pursuit, and Romain De Loof the motor-paced event. Valentina Savina won the women’s sprint, while Britain’s Beryl Burton captured the women’s individual pursuit.

With its extraordinary head-on perspective, spare modernist composition, and brilliant rainbow palette, this is far more than an event announcement. It is a superb example of early-1960s Italian graphic design—bold, sophisticated, and still remarkably contemporary.

This poster has been professionally archivally linen-backed.

Virtually all original vintage posters of this era were viewed as temporary advertising and were printed on very thin paper. While expensive, linen backing is a conservation method used to mount, stabilize, preserve, and protect vintage posters, allowing them to be displayed or framed without compromising their value.