Cycling, Merckx’s tears for Ugo De Rosa: ‘He was a father, there will never be anyone like him again’

The tears of the strongest rider ever for his friend Ugo De Rosa. Eddy Merckx was with the handkerchief in his hand for the entire duration of the function in the church of Cusano Milanino, a few steps from the coffin of the great builder and innovator, founder of the homonymous bike company, who died on Sunday at the age of 89. Moved, eyes shining, looking often upwards, as if looking for a breath and some air: at the end of the ceremony Cristiano, son of De Rosa and CEO of the company, arrives to comfort him and give him a hug fraternal. As he leaves the church, Marino Vigna, the 1960 Rome Olympian who was his sporting director at Faema, welcomes him, and then Ernesto Colnago and Gianni Bugno arrive, and there is also Mario Molteni, the son of the legendary founder of the Brianza team with which Eddy won everything from 1971 to 1976.

Merckx follows De Rosa’s coffin and thus speaks to the Gazzetta: “It is so, unfortunately. Ugo was the nicest person in the world. The best and most modest, like a father to me. He was a father, as a man and as a frame builder, like everything. Well … he worked at night and came to bring me the new frames for the Giro d’Italia, he was an incredible man, incredible, there will never be someone like him again, he will never be found again. We felt often, yes, not every day but we felt. I had to be there today, it was a duty for me to come here, even half dead, but I had to be there”.

After the period on Colnago bikes, the Cannibal began racing on De Rosas from 1973 until the end of his career. The victories? Two Tours of Italy, 1 Tour, 1 Vuelta, 2 Milan-San Remo, 1 Tour of Flanders, 1 Paris-Roubaix, 2 Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the 1974 World Cup. A very close relationship, one of great friendship. So much so that when Eddy started building bicycles with his name on him, he came to Cusano Milanino and stayed for weeks at Ugo De Rosa’s house. Every day in the factory together, wearing blue shirts and welding goggles, to follow maestro Ugo, to discover the secrets of welding the frames and these wonderful bicycles that had a red heart painted on the steering tube. De Rosa reciprocated and moved to Meise, on the outskirts of Brussels, to educate the workers of Eddy’s factory, a guest in turn at Merckx’s home. De Rosa recalled: “During the 1974 Giro he demanded a new bike from night to morning. I worked nights and delivered at dawn. Eddy was always thanking.”

Ernesto Colnago is two years older than De Rosa. He, Ugo and Nani Pinarello are the three builders who changed the history of cycling and the bicycle. Just think: De Rosa built his first frame when he was 16 and tested it in the Coppa Caldirola amateurs won by Colnago. On leaving the church of Cusano Milanino, the master of Cambiago recalls him thus: “He always reminded me, Ugo, “you won the first race I did”. He was a frame builder rather than a mechanic, he was great, one of the best. There has always been a great esteem between us, we always called each other, many ideas, many things, we confided in each other, we talked about the problems. We have followed two different paths, but the respect has always been mutual. He was one of the few, he was one of the greats of cycling Italy”.