Paolo Mazzer, 80 years old, an unforgettable cyclist from the golden era, passed away on Tuesday, April 21. A resident of San Fior (Treviso), he is survived by his wife Mirella, his son Emilio, also a former cyclist, his daughter-in-law Cinzia, and his brothers Luciano, Bruno, and Angelo. The funeral service will be held today at 3:30 PM in the Arcipretale Church of San Fior.

Paolo Mazzer began his career as an ice cream maker and worked for 20 years as an employee in his brother Luciano Mazzer's company, the prestigious Tegola Canadese.

But as a cyclist, he achieved great success. He was a prominent figure in the cycling world in the late 1960s with the Cs Pianzano team. He won the Gran Premio di Castrocaro Terme, which he claimed by a significant margin with the Piccinato team from Brugnera. He was a climber, but he had a good sprint and was strong in time trials. Among his victories, the Coppa Adriana time trial stands out, as well as the Bologna Raticosa classic climb and Malga Ciapela, where all the great champions competed: Marco Pantani's performance there was legendary. "He also did well in stage races," recalls his son Emilio, "with a strong second-place finish at the Giro del Friuli amateur race, losing by just two seconds. Coincidentally, I also finished second at the Giro del Friuli, also by two seconds."

"I was a passer-climber," Emilio recalls, "my most beautiful victories came in climbing races. Feltre-Croce D'Aune, Vittorio Cansiglio, Trofeo Tricolore on the Gaiardin summit, Udine-Ravascletto. As an amateur, I won many international races including a stage and overall victory at the Giro dell'Umbria, Gran Premio Scomigo Sanson, a stage and second place at the Giro del Friuli, and a stage of the Giro 5 Giorni del Sole."

Emilio raced for the Pool Ciclistico directed by the late Vendramino Bariviera, Zalf Euromobil Désirée Fior, and finally De Nardi, based in San Fior. Emilio is a project manager at Tema srl, a building materials company.

Alessandro, son of Luciano and one of the owners of Tegola Canadese, wishes to remember him with this letter. "He left us a good soul," Alessandro recalls, "with a message—to try to emulate him in carrying forward, with dedication, that life message that distinguished him, offering help to the less fortunate, the sick, the needy without distinction, dispensing smiles as only he knew how to give. You were: determined, stubborn, and ambitious, but above all, good. You didn't like controversy; you used words to dialogue and explain..."

"Paolo, you had this charm," his nephew Alessandro remembers, "accompanied by an always sharp intelligence, you knew where to go, what to look at, what to suggest, and above all, who to listen to... Uncle Paolo, you were one of the few souls whose scars you dressed with authoritative awareness, and your beauty was simply the carriage with which you carried yourself forward. Our great 'Papa Paolo,' a climber on the bike and a climber in life, who brought nourishment to all of us."