Updated: October 3/2021

In 1931, Giacinto Benotto founded Bicicletas Benotto in Torino, Italy, and by 1951 Benotto bicycles appeared in 3 world championships. In 1951, Antonio Belivacqua rode a Benotto to first place in the famous Paris-Roubaix. Benotto bicycles were ridden to many high profile victories, including in the 1977 World Championship (San Cristobal, Venezuela) by Francesco Moser and Milan-San Remo in 1978 by Roger DeVlaeminck. That same year, Moser went on to win the Paris-Roubaix. In 1953, Benotto expanded operations into Mexico and the company split its operations between Italy and Latin America. The high-end Benotto racing bicycles were produced in Torino until 1983/84, whereby all European and Latin American production moved to Mexico, possibly with the exception of the 5000 model. Ugo De Rosa was born January 27, 1934 in Milan, Italy. He opened his shop in 1953 building racing bicycles. A few year later (1958), he was asked by Raphaël Géminiani to build him a bike for the upcoming Giro d'Italia. Subsequently, he built bikes for different teams, including Faema , Tbac (1964), and Max Majer (1967). In 1969, De Rosa supplied Gianni Motta's Sanson team with framesets, as well as being Motta's personal mechanic. It was during this period that Eddy Merckx approached De Rosa to have his framesets build by him. Later on (1973), De Rosa became the frame builder and mechanic for Merckx's Molteni team, and the De Rosa-Merckx partnership remained in effect until Merckx's retirement in 1978. A few years later, De Rosa helped Merckx to setup his own bicycle manufacturing facility. During the time that De Rosa was building frames for Molteni, he was approached by Francisco Moser was riding for the famous Filotex team. From about 1968 to 1973 the Filotex bikes were made by Felice Branca and carried Filotex decals. However, Benotto took over the sponsorship of the Filotex team for the 1973/74 season. As one would guess, Benotto had their framesets built by their longtime collaborator Giuseppe Pelà. However, from 1974 onward and at Moser's request, the Filotex team rode bikes from De Rosa's shop - Pelà retired around this time. Starting in 1976 - 1980, the team was sponsored by Sanson. THE BIKE Frame: 1975-77 Benotto team Filotex/Sanson frameset built by Ugo De Rosa in original champagne color with chrome fork - if frameset was repainted its identity as a once team bike would have been lost. Made from Columbus SL tubing, "diamond shaped" chain stays, and Campagnolo 1010A long rear dropouts. Original decals and paint are in good condition. Unlike the dry transfer decals found on my 1973/74 Benotto team Filotex bike by Giuseppe Pelà, the decals on the De Rosa built Benotto are of the waterslide type. Paint and decals are in good condition. Braze-ons for water bottle, downtube shifters, and over the bottom bracket front/rear derailleur cable guides . No braze-ons for the rear brake cable. 53.5 and 54.0 cm (c-to-c) top and seat tubes, respectively. Brakeset: Mid-70s Campagnolo Record brake levers with D-shaped cutouts. Campagnolo Record Calipers with "Patent" center bolt and not the earlier "BREV. CAMP". Handlebars: Cinelli Giro d'Italia with double crest Stem: Polished and milled Cinelli 1A alloy stem (11.5 cm c-to-c) Headset: Campagnolo Record Shifters: Braze-on Campagnolo Record Front Derailleur: Campagnolo Record Rear Derailleur: Campagnolo Super Record dated 1976 Crankset: Campagnolo Record (144 mm bolt circle) dated 1977 Bottom Bracket: Campagnolo Record with thick riffled cups Pedals: Campagnolo Super Record with alloy cages. Fides toe clips and Alfredo Binda straps Wheelset: Campagnolo large flange (dated 1977), laced to Mavic SSC bleu anodized rims Chain: Regina Oro Freewheel: 6 speed Regina Synchro Seatpost: Milled Campagnolo Record Saddle: Cinelli Unicanitor #3 (Buffalo hide) Water bottle/cage: Reg Alloy cage with Campagnolo labeled TA bottle