Ortelli

“Vito Ortelli (Born in Faenza, Italy, July 5, 1921) was a famous professional road and track cyclist. He rode professionally between 1940 and 1952, has a stage win in the Giro d’Italia and three Italian titles, one road and two on the track.”

“Racing for the Bianchi, Benotto, Olympia, Rabeneick, Atala and Lygie teams, Vito distinguished himself both on the road and on the track. His main victories were the Tour of Tuscany in 1942, the Milan-Turin in 1945 and in 1946, the Tour of Piedmont in 1947, the Giro di Romagna and the Italian league in 1948. On track he was Italian champion in pursuit in 1945 and 1946.”

“His stage win in the Giro came in 1946 where he came 3rd overall, wearing the pink jersey for six days. He came 4th in 1948, with five days in the pink jersey.”

“After the death of Caesar Del Cancia in April of 2011, Vito Ortelli became the oldest rider still alive to have worn the pink jersey.”

“Frames were made under his name in his birthplace Faenza from the early 1950s to the late 1980s and are renowned for very fancy lug work featuring a ‘v’ in an ‘O’ cutouts.”