Cusano Milanino (Milan), 28 March 2023 – Outside the Sanctuary, many enthusiasts arrived with one of his bicycles. “He was a legend, a father. We will miss him dearly”, the comments of the Cusanesi outside the church, during the last farewell to Ugo De Rosa, who died at the age of 89. His company of Cusano Milanino, founded in 1953, is the only major Italian cycling brand to date, led today by his son Cristiano with the collaboration of his brother Danilo. “There are no bicycles like his”.
Who was
Born in 1934, Ugo De Rosa began fixing them as a teenager in his uncle’s workshop before founding the DeRosa in 1953 at the age of 19, also opening a small shop next to the laboratory. “An absurd quality. He assembled them himself. He was a craftsman, but he was above all an artist ”.
The farewell
Many wanted to be present in Cusano. There was Eddy Merckx, who has always considered him as a second father: the partnership close in 1973 is famous, with his arrival as a mechanic at Faema. There was Gianni Motta, which in the golden years was provided by De Rosa. There were also Gianni Bugno and Ernesto Colnago, a former Italian road cyclist and also a famous racing bicycle builder. “Here is the history of cycling in Italy and it couldn’t have been otherwise”, said the enthusiasts who arrived at the church, parading in a procession that accompanied the coffin from the town hall to the Sanctuary.
The Federation
He also wanted to be there Cordiano Dagnoni, president of the Italian Cycling Federation: “He was one of the leading exponents of the school of Italian frame builders, a school that still today, also thanks to his example, continues to offer handcrafted bicycles of excellent workmanship and a point of reference for enthusiasts of all latitudes”.
Among the many successes of De Rosa, the three Paris-Rubaix of Moser, but also the bicycle that at the age of 24 he built for Raphael Geminiani when he finished third in the Tour de France and from that moment (with Van Loy and Nencini among others) the its frames never failed in the big races. Supplies for champions of the caliber of Gianni Motta and Eddy Merckx, of whose team, Molteni, he was also a trusted mechanic. And then the greats of cycling like Moreno Argentin and Mario Cipollini.
The pastor
“He lived with confidentiality, giving so much to others. He was an example of solidarity. Today we gather around his family and his wife Mariuccia, with whom he shared 65 years,” the parish priest said in his homily. The mayor was also present at the ceremony Valeria Lesmawho stated a national day of mourning and who opened the doors of the town hall to set up the funeral home before the funeral.
