They called him Cencio. No reference to rags or cloths, but only the familiar and affectionate diminutive of Vincenzo. Vincenzo Mantovani, nicknamed Cencio: an Olympic silver and two world silver medals in team pursuit as an Italian national, the Milano-Tortona and Milano-Bologna as an amateur, podiums at the Giro d'Italia and Tirreno-Adriatico as a professional. Saturday, April 19, the 36th edition of the Vincenzo Mantovani Memorial for elite and under-23 riders.

Born during World War II (in 1941), elementary school and then to work, a job at a company producing the first broth cubes, the turning point when in the car with the boss they stopped in front of a grocery store where the boss had never managed to sell his novelty. And while the boss went into a bar for a coffee, Cencio slipped into the shop, came out with an order and with that conquered credit and trust. But there was also the bicycle: a passion, almost a fever linked to speed and also to the territory (Tazio Nuvolari was also from Castel d'Ario, "the flying Mantuan" on two wheels with Norton and Bianchi and on four wheels with Ferrari and Maserati, Auto Union and Bugatti). Bolstered by his commercial success, hired by the prestigious Excelsior cycling team, white and blue checkered jersey, the eighteen-year-old Cencio, fresh with his driver's license, was authorized to go, race, and return from Milan in the boss's Topolino, bike dismantled in the trunk.

A natural talent, Cencio, as told by his brother Claudio. Quick in life, quick in racing. Swift in life, understanding instantly, and strong on the bike, to the point of becoming the favorite of team coach Guido Costa, who entrusted him with the strategy of the track quartet: with Roncaglia, Rancati and Testa, with Benfatto, Rancati and Testa, with Roncaglia, Chemello and Spadoni. And the road: one year with Salamini (Adorni, Armani, Casalini, Grazioli, Guerra, Sgarbozza, Soave...), two with Germanvox (Taccone, Ritter, Laghi, Bocci...), a Giro d'Italia, enough to understand the atmosphere. Until - he was a quick type, indeed - he asked some friendly dressmaker friends to make a few cycling jerseys and shorts. It was a triumph. The company that would be born from this, now chaired by his brother Claudio, is Moa Sport-Nalini, among the world leaders in the sector.

That time in 1964 when Cencio brought the entire national cycling team to Milanello (Claudio was playing as a goalkeeper for Milan) before leaving for the Tokyo Olympics. That time at the 1965 Coppa Caldirola, last kilometer, sprint, when Alberto Morellini first pulled alongside and then pushed just enough, those twenty centimeters to save his skin. First Ferruccio Manza, half a wheel Morellini, and half a wheel Mantovani. Morellini stopped among his wife, sports director, and friends, then with the corner of his eye saw Mantovani coming towards him. But the two were friends, so, bluffing, Morellini said to him: listen, I know I squeezed you, give me a slap and we'll end it here. Mantovani took him almost literally and punched him in the face. Are you crazy?, Morellini burst out. And Mantovani: I've wanted to lay my hands on you for a long time. That time Cencio archived the chamois leather pad and launched the synthetic fiber one. That time Cencio followed a Giro d'Italia stage aboard an escort vehicle, but the escort vehicle was a twin-engine airplane. And it was a plane crash that cut his life short, four days after turning 48.

In memory of Cencio, international appointment in Castel d'Ario, 144 flat and flying kilometers. The Mantovans and Mantovans are made this way. They fly.