153. Aero mutinies and secret shorts with Castelli's Steve Smith

About this episode

Steve Smith discusses his journey in cycling apparel and the innovations at Castelli and Sportful.

This week Will and James are joined by Castelli and Sportful’s global brand manager, Steve Smith. Steve grew up in Portland, USA, where he – like most of the city he says – worked for Nike for 10 years. But in 2000 he decided to make a bold move to Italy, to live the bella vita with a job at Sportful. Four years later parent company Manifattura Valcismon bought Castelli, and in the years since Steve and his team have been responsible for some of the biggest game-changers in cycling, from creating some of the earliest, wind-tunnel designed aero kit to the now infamous Castelli Gabba, which revolutionised foul weather cycling gear and spawned a whole new genre of clothing along the way. In this chat, Steve explains how those early aero jerseys sparked a mutiny within Castelli’s sponsored pros; the day Castelli blew everyone’s minds – including the race commissaires – with turquoise shorts; what the fastest kit would really look like if riders could only put it on properly; what changes in the law around PFC chemicals have really meant for cycling clothing; and how waterproof kit actually works – and why some jackets lose it, while others will be waterproof forever. Our chat with…

People in this episode

Hosts: Will, James

Guest: Steve Smith

Topics covered

• cycling
• aero kit
• sportswear
• innovation
• weather gear

Keywords

• aero jerseys
• cycling clothing
• PFC chemicals
• waterproof kit
• foul weather gear

Sponsors

Hammerhead

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Castelli, Sportful, Nike, Manifattura Valcismon

Products: Castelli Gabba, Hammerhead Karoo GPS bike computer

Places: Portland, Italy

More episodes of Cyclist Magazine Podcast

• 159. Lidl-Trek's Mattias Reck: Why are riders faster, and the resilience of Mads Pedersen · June 11, 2026 · 1h 15m
• 158. Magdeleine Vallieres, World Champion · May 28, 2026 · 48 min
• 157. Rob Britton: Slave to the road turned gravel supremo · May 14, 2026 · 1h 16m
• 156. Guy Martin: Getting kidnapped, land speed records and defying death on two wheels · April 30, 2026 · 1h 16m
• 155. George Hincapie: Paris-Roubaix, elbows out racing and his Modern Adventure · April 16, 2026 · 1h 15m
• 154. Harry Tanfield: Baptisms of fire, keeping the faith, and the Ribble Outliers · April 2, 2026 · 1h 16m