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Ci nelli: " ch inelli"
Its funny, I don't think I've heard someone get Cinelli wrong before but Bianchi seems much more commonly mispronounced.
PhilDAS-
Yeah I think people know there's something up with the 'ci' and 'ce' and tend to get it right, but then don't realise that throwing in a 'h' might change something - especially as 'ch' is an established sound in English.
I mean I'm really not faulting people for getting some words wrong sometimes, but consistently mispronouncing it when you're supposed to be knowledgeable in the field... meh.
SwissChap
People who should really know better pronouncing 'Bianchi' as "bee-angee".
Italian has really simple and straightforward pronounciation once you know approximately three rules, one of which is that 'c' is pronounced like the English 'ch' if followed by an 'i' or an 'e', except when there is an 'h' inbetween, in which case it's just a plain old 'k' sound - basically the 'h' which is itself completely silent acts as an 'interruptor' to stop the 'ch' sound from happening.
Bian chi : "bian k i"
Ci nelli: " ch inelli"
Vin ce nzo Nibali: "Vin ch enzo Nibali"
I know it looks a bit counterintuitive for an English-speaker, but goddammit, if you're talking about bike stuff all the time, maybe learn some basic pronounciation rules.
(Similar rule for 'g', by the way, see 'giro' vs 'ghetto')