"EL PIPA" BERNARDO RUIZ: 100 YEARS OF THE CHAMPION WHO MADE HISTORY AND HAD COPPI IN HIS HEART
EVENTS | 10/01/2025 | 08:10 di Francesca Monzone Bernardo Ruiz, known to everyone as El Pipa, is considered the first professional Spanish cyclist in history and last Tuesday turned 100 years old. Born in 1925, El Pipa was the first Spaniard to stand on the Tour de France podium in 1952 and won the Vuelta in 1948. Spain celebrated him as they do with great heroes and he, with great emotion and humility, accepted meeting journalists, the city council, and many fans and sports personalities who came to Orihuela. Bernardo Ruiz made Spanish sports history and in 100 years, the former cyclist from Alicante province has seen everything happen in his life, but he will always be remembered for being the first Spaniard to stand on the Tour de France podium in 1952, behind Fausto Coppi and Belgian Stan Ockers. He also had success in Italy and, although he never made the podium of the Giro, he won a stage in Rome in 1955. In his homeland, he was the best cyclist for a long time, after winning the Vuelta in 1948 and having three National Championships to his credit. For Bernardo Ruiz, like most people born before the Great War, sport was a necessity for survival and he started cycling after the Civil War. At 11 years old, he went to the black market and regularly covered the distance between Orihuela, his hometown, and Cartagena, over 80 kilometers, carrying 50 kilos of food, drinks, and all kinds of goods. Moreover, he did this on roads in terrible condition. What he did to survive transformed into experience and helped him win an amateur race and understand he could have a future in cycling. El Pipa, who was one of the cycling greats in his Spain, had an idol who was not from his land, but was Italian. It was Fausto Coppi, the Heron to everyone, with whom he loved to race. "The best rider I ever saw was Fausto Coppi" – Ruiz recalled during his 100-year celebration - "I appreciated him both on and off the road. He was a gentleman, a humble guy. But when he started shooting with his bike, no one could follow him". Bernardo's merit, according to all those close to him who could tell his story, was maintaining the humility that always characterized him. Every time he went to France to race the Tour, he returned home loaded with tires, sprockets, and other spare parts. Even the pharmacists in his town asked him to bring penicillin because at that time there was none.Everything was for his friends, for his family. He was always willing to help because he knew there was little money for cycling in Spain. The government during the years he raced was not very supportive of him, but El Pipa never stopped, proving he could compete with Italians, French, and Belgians. In his hometown of Orihuela, Bernardo Ruiz crossed the entrance of the municipal theater in his wheelchair and many people were waiting for him. In difficult moments, when roads were rough, Bernardo Ruiz paved the way for subsequent generations. But the true success that Spain recognized in this champion of another era was not the multitude of trophies won, but the ability to achieve his dream of becoming a cyclist in those years when Spain was going through true poverty and he, with his bike, had the strength to race for himself and for all those Spanish cyclists who would arrive in the following years and who today, a hundred years after his birth, have come to say thank you.
Venenum in cauda. Oppure dulcis in fundo, per chi è maggiormente vicino alle sue posizioni. L'atto finale, o meglio post-finale, della domenica Open House in Beltrami TSA a Reggio Emilia, un Nota Bene o un Post Scriptum a suon di...
Arricchimento e networking, formazione e coinvolgimento. Non solo vendita. La quarta edizione della Open House di Beltrami TSA, nel quartier generale dell'azienda di rivendita e distribuzione di materiali da ciclismo di Graziano Beltrami (e famiglia) a Reggio Emilia, ha aggiunto...
Il fenomeno eritreo di 25 anni, già un uomo che ha fatto la storia, maglia verde del Tour de France e vincitore di più tappe, nonché fonte di ispirazione, si unisce al NSN Cycling Team come ciclista di punta in...
Nel weekend la FDJ United – SUEZ ha iniziato il suo avvicinamento al 2026 con un evento che i dirigenti della formazione francese hanno voluto intitolare “Grand Depart”. Sul palco della Futuroscope Arena sono salite le atlete che nella prossima...
A 51 anni Paolo Bettini, oltre ad avere gli occhi più critici e attenti sul panorama ciclistico, con la compagna e attrice Marianella Bargilli sta portando in giro per l'Italia "Pedale Rosso", in cui unisce impegno sociale e cultura con...
Ieri a Montebello Vicentino, è stato Inaugurato un Cippo Funerario dedicato a Davide Rebellin, scomparso tragicamente il 30 novembre del 2022 dopo essere stato travolto da un camionista tedesco. Alla cerimonia sono intervenuti, tra gli altri, i sindaci dei Comuni...
Si parte sempre da lontano. A piedi, in bici, in bus. Dalla culla, dall’infanzia, da casa. In questo libro parto dal fondo, dalla terzultima pagina. C’è una Polaroid, a sinistra “il Berni”, a destra Gino Bartali. Al Salone del ciclo,...
«Trovare una soluzione è difficile, puntarsi il dito a vicenda non serve: cominciamo da noi» Abbigliamento ben visibile, casco ben allacciato, luci ben visibili, evitare distrazioni dovute a cellulari e cuffiette, in gruppo tenere la fila indiana mantenendo comunque dello...
Il Trofeo Triveneto di ciclocross ha fatto tappa in Friuli Venezia Giulia e precisamente a Colloredo di Monte Albano, in provincia di Udine, per il Jam’s Cross Mels, gara valida come campionato regionale. La competizione è stata perfettamente organizzata dalla...
Thibau Nys coglie il bis in Coppa del Mondo di Ciclocross. Dopo Tabor il belga conquista anche il traguardo francese di Flamanville dove stamane è andata in scena la seconda prova riservata agli Elite. Primato in classifica consolidato per Nys...
1
1
Ritratti
Oscar
Albi d'Oro
Se sei giá nostro utente esegui il login altrimenti registrati.