Vittoria’s Corsa Pro TLR tyre has already won 22 stages and 12 one-day races at World Tour level since the start of the ’23 season. It’s fair to say they’re on to a winner!

Vittoria’s top of the range Corsa Pro tubular has been a staple in the pro bunch for years, but that is about to change. Riders from Jumbo-Visma, Education First-Easy Post, Team DSM, and others have been using the new Corsa Pro TLR and winning on them.

You would have had to look closely to spot them in use though, as the only clue was a solitary Vittoria logo printed on the sidewall. But they have been there and performing well. We have had a set on test with one of our more successful reviewers (no, not me!) and she’ll be reporting back soon. In the meantime let’s take a look at what the new Corsa Pro TLR is made of.

Classic cotton casing

The big selling point of Vittoria’s Corsa tyres has been their cotton casings. These have always been held as being superior to the nylon used in other tyres. The 320tpi cotton casings were more supple, more flexible and lighter than their synthetic competitors. That flexibility and suppleness gave the tyre impressive grip on the tarmac. The one issue was that the tread was glued on, unlike the nylon tyres, which had their tread “fused” to it in a process called vulcanisation. This wouldn’t work with the cotton casing and Vittoria also said that it caused the rubber to harden, affecting the tyres qualities.

This new tyre however does feature tread that is attached to the casing using vulcanisation, not glue. So why the change? It seems that Vittoria are using a different way of generating heat for the process, by using electricity. This doesn’t seem to affect the rubber in the same way and is more environmentally friendly than the previous process.

Corsa Pro TLR is faster with better grip

So you now have the traditional cotton casing “completely embedded“ with the tread. Vittoria say this gives improved flexibility and an even more supple tyre. They also say that laboratory tests have shown aerodynamic gains: from that seamless join between tread and carcass? Faster, better grip and more aero? What’s not to like?

Tyre compound

And what about that tread compound? Vittoria have been using graphene in their tyres for a while now and the Corsa Pro TLR isn’t missing out. But it’s not just the wonder material graphene in the mix. Vittoria have also added silica to improve speed, durability and grip of the tyre. Underneath the tread is a high-density, low-weight puncture protection belt to combat the puncture fairy. There’s a bead-shield protecting the zylon bead and helping to make an air-tight seal.

The Corsa Pro TLR is one of three tyres using the same construction and ingredients. The Corsa Pro is the race-day tyre, while the Corsa Pro Control is for races in extreme conditions: think cobbles and bad weather. The Control has improved puncture protection that adds 15g to a 28mm tyre: the Corsa Pro weighs in at 295, while the Corsa Pro Control comes in at 310g. The Corsa Pro Speed is a time-trial specific tyre, but is still in development: due sometime in 2024. Worry not if you’re a fan of sticking your own tyres on! The Corsa Pro will also be available in a tubular version.

As I said we have the Corsa Pro TLR under test at the moment, once our tester has given them a good thrashing, we’ll let you know what she thought. In the meantime check out Vittoria’s range of road tyres here. We are also trying out Vittoria’s Corsa N.EXT tyres, these have a nylon casing and are aimed at “enthusiasts”!

Corsa Pro TLR

Corsa Pro Control TLR