Renato Longo (9 August 1937 – 8 June 2023) was an Italian
cyclo-cross
Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...
racer. Longo won the
World Cyclo-cross Championships
The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships are the world championships for cyclo-cross organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Starting in 2022, seven events are organized each year – men's elite, women's elite, men's under 23, wom ...
five times in 1959, 1962, 1964, 1965 and 1967 and was the
Italian Cyclo-cross champion 12 times.
Biography
Longo competed as a professional from 1960 to 1972 and for most of his career, he rode with the Salvarani team of
Felice Gimondi
Felice Gimondi (; 29 September 1942 – 16 August 2019) was an Italian professional racing cyclist. With his 1968 Vuelta a España, 1968 victory at the Vuelta a España, only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Gimondi, nicknamed ...
. Longo's first wins in the World Championships in 1959 and 1962 were obtained after a battle with German
Rolf Wolfshohl
Rolf Wolfshohl (27 December 1938 – 18 September 2024) was a German professional road bicycle racing and cyclo-cross racing cyclist. Wolfshohl is best known in cyclo-cross for winning the then unofficial cyclo-cross world championship three tim ...
who won the title ahead of Longo in 1960, 1961 and 1963. In 1964, Wolfshohl focused on road racing and Longo became the master of cyclo-cross until
Eric De Vlaeminck arrived – although Longo beat de Vlaeminck for his last world title in 1967. In total he won more than 230 cyclo-cross races in his professional career.
Longo died on 8 June 2023, at the age of 85.
See also
*
UCI Hall of Fame
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longo, Renato
1937 births
2023 deaths
Sportspeople from Vittorio Veneto
Italian male cyclists
Italian cyclo-cross cyclists
UCI Cyclo-cross World Champions (men)
Cyclists from the Province of Treviso
20th-century Italian sportsmen