1970's "Gibi" Rossin pista

Last week "catch". Apparently this frame was made for one of Rossin’s first professional racers, Gianbattista Baronchelli (GIBI). The Rossin bicycle brand enjoys widespread consideration and appeal. The history of Rossin bicycles is relatively short, but at the same time glorious. Rossin was born to win and astonish thanks to exclusive aesthetics and functional features. The year was 1973, the promising Gibi Baronchelli of the Iclas Sports Group won the Giro d’Italia baby and Tour de France amateurs. Iclas and Itla are the teams of the munificent patron Vittorio Ghezzi. Using bicycles provided by Ernesto Colnago, a popular manufacturer. Ghezzi and Domenico Garbelli, sports director and manager of Itla, wanted to create a team of professionals, above all to promote Baronchelli and other home-made talents into the higher category. The idea was to continue working with Colnago. But the Milan manufacturer was also the supplier of Scic, a team operating at professional level since ’69. And instead of favouring the birth of Ghezzi’s new professional team with the most promising athletes of the Itla nursery, Colnago facilitated Baronchelli’s move to Scic. This occurrence made patron Ghezzi, Alberto Inzaghi, Garbelli and the other members of the Itla staff really mad. Competitive 1973 had not yet come to a close. Despite this, Ghezzi and Garbelli changed their cyclists’ bikes. “We’ll finish the season with Bianchi. And the team will also be riding Bianchis in 1974”, says Ghezzi. In fact, the creative Inzaghi and Ghezzi wanted to pull something new out of the hat. Domenico Garbelli, always full of ideas, gave them the input: “Instead of promoting Colnago athletes, already well placed on the market, why don’t we start making top-quality bicycles and frames? We must be the strongly advancing new players. We have the skills and the means to make it“. Ghezzi approved the project: “Colnago is clever. No doubt about it. Let’s show it that we’re also clever in the field. Let’s set up a company and manufacture highly competitive bikes”. Technically speaking, Garbelli’s ideas were very clear: “I have just the man we need to organise frame production - Mario Rossin – currently free. He worked for years in the Colnago welding department. He knows all the secrets of tubes and welding. He’s a wizard at measuring the athletes and making individually tailored frames”. Mario Rossin, from Cavenago in Brianza, with Verona origins, was immediately involved in the project. And on 14 September, 1974, Rossin officially saw the light in Cavenago. 5 partners were involved in the project: Vittorio Ghezzi and his son Giuseppe, then Inzaghi, Garbelli and Rossin. “The bikes will be called Rossin”, agree Inzaghi, the Ghezzis, father and son, and Domenico. 57x57