It was a special 80th birthday that Sunday, June 1st, celebrated by a champion linked to Veneto and protagonist of many important events, including the epic "Circuits of the Aces" in Cittadella during the 1970-1973 period. This is the legendary Marino Basso, who also met his Cittadella wife Mariangela Sgarbossa at the Due Mori Hotel, where his team stayed in 1970-1971 with Molteni, Salvarani in 1972, and Bianchi in 1973.

Marino Basso was also among the "guest testimonials" of the Cittadella Giro stage in 2008 and Riese Pio X in 2007 (in the "parade of champions" and with the legendary Fiorenzo Magni at the inauguration of the champions' streets) and a guest at the International Trophy Gala City Murata. Basso was born on June 1st, 1945, in Rettorgole di Caldogno, in the province of Vicenza, and was World Champion in Gap in 1972 and a great protagonist in the mythical Sixties and Seventies. He collected 90 victories in his career and was a "Stage Hunter" without using the "trains" currently used in modern cycling.

He was a strong sprinter and not only achieved victories and podiums in very important races but was also seven times on the national team. For him, it was a special anniversary celebrating the 80th birthday of the great cycling protagonist, born in Rettorgole di Caldogno (Vicenza) on June 1st, 1945. He was a professional from 1966 to 1978 (wearing jerseys of Mainetti, Molteni, Salvarani, Bianchi, Magniflex, Furzi, Selle Royal, and Gis Gelati) and later a team manager for various teams. Marino Basso can boast a rich palmares of 90 victories: beyond the famous victory at the French World Championship in Gap in 1972, after a selective race and a small group of escapees, beating Franco Bitossi and 27 stages in the Grand Tours (without the "trains" of modern cycling - 15th in the Giro, 6th in the Tour and Vuelta), as well as various successes in important Italian and international races, nearly winning the "monument classics" with podiums at Milan-Sanremo (3rd in 1967 and 1972), Tour of Flanders (3rd in 1969), Paris-Roubaix (3rd in 1971), confirming crystalline class and intense endurance skills beyond those of a acrobatic sprinter.

Basso participated in thirteen Giros d'Italia, four Tour de France, and one Vuelta de España, often a protagonist on the national team in the professional World Championship line race. He received two honors from CONI: the gold medal for athletic valor in 1972 and the Golden Collar in 2021 and was among the major interpreters of the fabulous star epic of the Sixties and Seventies. On October 3rd, 2024, in the Dalla Pozza Hall of Palazzo Cordellina (seat of the Bertoliana Civic Library in Vicenza and with the patronage of the Municipality), the book "I Wasn't Afraid of Anyone" was presented, created by Gianni Poggi (John Hills docus&books editions and composed of 206 pages).

The work was the first biographical book about the Vicenza champion, with personal and sporting narratives tracing his long career, with a chapter dedicated to the races he competed in, team details, teammates, opponents, and images, often unpublished, with a summary sheet. On this occasion, Marino's brother Renato recounted his "merits": "If Marino could start racing," he said, "it's because I lent him a used bicycle with a damaged front fork that I had bought for 15,000 Lire..." Emotions and memories of a fabulous cycling era.

Happy birthday, great and legendary champion.