Once upon a time there were two brothers, Vincenzo, known as “Cencio”, born in 1941, and Claudio, the youngest, born in 1943Their surname is Mantovani and in Castel d'Ario where they were born and raised it is immediately clear that they want to go far.
Bike and ball
Vincenzo has cycling in his blood and at home they understand it quickly. Tall, elegant and modern in the saddle, he began racing on the road and on the track. And in 1964, as an amateur, as was the custom until 1992, He took part in the Tokyo Olympics and won silver in the team pursuit..
Claudio prefers the rolling of a ball to two wheels.And while Vincenzo becomes a professional with the glorious Excelsior Milano jersey, he becomes a goalkeeperHe first played in minor teams between Lombardy and Piedmont and then He joined Nereo Rocco's Milan, where he played from 1964 to 1967From there he moved to Bari, Atalanta, Perugia, and then Cesena. His career was interrupted by a knee problem. So in 1974 he hung up his boots and joined the company.
The family business
Yes, the family business. In the meantime, “Cencio” created itA professional career was perhaps not the right fit for him. And although he remained in the peloton until 1969, his fondest memories remain those Olympics and two more silver medals, again in the team pursuit, at the World Championships in Paris 1964 and San Sebastian 1965. In 1968, he participated in the Giro d'Italia and placed third in the Naples stage. In the meantime, however, he began designing shirts and shorts for himself and his friends.
Thus, the Nalini laboratory was born, anticipating, traversing, and dressing the history of cycling. And introducing some significant innovations. The first synthetic fibre seat pad, which replaced the deerskin oneThe most advanced techniques for printing and sewing increasingly lightweight fabrics.
Their champions
When Claudio enters the company, he is 31 years old and find a business that is already well established, but its contribution also gives it a faster pace. And so starting from the nineties, the Nalini brand dresses some of the most illustrious champions in world cyclingThey are Nalini and Bugno's shorts in the pink jersey become the object of desire of the enthusiasts of the time. Nalini is the jersey worn by Pantani for his first victories at the Tour.. And Nalini is also the one of Indurain and in the following years of Contador. Unfortunately, however Vincenzo, known as "Cencio", will not be able to fully enjoy the success of his company, because in 1989 he crashed with his ultralight, leaving Claudio to his grief and with the management of the company.
The memorial
From that moment, Claudio Mantovani becomes a constant and discreet presence in the racing world. And starting from 1996 a race is inaugurated, the Mantovani Memorial, won the first time by Roberto Zoccarato and the last time by Attilio Viviani.
«The event – says Claudio Mantovani – it has great sentimental value for us, because it is dedicated to our founder, takes on an even deeper value in a year in which the upheavals taking place make us feel even more the need to valorize and remain connected to our roots is more pressingThey can give us the strength to have the resilience and flexibility we need to face times like the one we are experiencing today."
33 teams at the start
It will be held on April 3rdFor some years now, the race has been run by Simone Pezzini, president of the Sc Ceresarese which organizes the event, who last year he didn't want to miss the edition and converted it into a test for students.
"But this year," he says, "we have all the authorizations. We'll race on the classic route and we're already full, with 33 teams of 7 riders each. In reality, we wanted to start from Ceresara, but it wasn't possible and so starting from Nalini is fine, who is the sponsor and creator of the race. And Claudio is one of us that day, he always gives a big hand. There won't be a real bubble, but We will set up some areas where only riders and technicians will be able to enter».
Return to Tokyo
Among the curiosities surrounding this story, there is that today the Nalini uniforms are worn by the Total Direct Energy by Niccolò Bonifazio, from Premac Isolmant by Martina Fidanza and Frances Baroni and above all from the Cofidis di Elia Viviani at the Tokyo Olympics, as well as Vincenzo Mantovani 57 years ago, will go for gold in the team pursuitAnd we are certain that on that day, if Elia will be part of the blue quartet, he will also have the advice from up there of "Cencio" who in his own way he will finally be able to put the gold around his neck and take away that look of disappointment on the podium back then.
