"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.

COMMENTI

Per poter commentare i post devi esser registrato.
Se sei giá nostro utente esegui il login altrimenti registrati.

TBRADIO

00:00

APPROFONDIMENTI

IL TOUR COME ALGORITMO DELLA FATICA

Il Tour de France 2026 non sarà soltanto il nuovo capitolo della rivalità tra Tadej Pogačar e Jonas Vingegaard. Sarebbe una lettura corretta, ma incompleta. La prossima Grande Boucle va osservata come un laboratorio statistico sulla selezione estrema: una...

TUTTOBICI

BLABLABIKE, CIONI E GANNA: «IL PERCORSO NON ERA IL PIÙ ADATTO, VINCERE IL TRICOLORE NON ERA SCONTATO»

I campionati italiani in Piemonte si sono aperti con la cronometro da 40 chilometri di giovedì, dal santuario di Vicoforte a Barolo, e col dominio totale di Filippo Ganna al 7° titolo tricolore contro il tempo. Dopo la gara, il...

BICICLETTE

IL TEAM PINARELLO Q36.5 AFFRONTERA' IL TOUR CON UNA DOGMA F DALLA COLORAZIONE ESCLUSIVA

Il Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team si schiererà al via del Tour de France 2026 in sella a una Dogma F impreziosita con una nuova ed esclusiva colorazione in cui le nuove tonalità Titan in finitura opaca e Luxter Venice donano alla bici un’estetica di forte impatto. La nuova...

STORIA

VERSO IL TOUR. 1986, L'ULTIMA VOLTA DI HINAULT CON IL PASSAGGIO D CONSEGNE / GALLERY

Il Tour de France 2026 vivrà il suo 27° Grand Départ all'estero il 4 luglio prossimo. Esattamente un secolo fa, era il 1926, la corsa visse un momento storico quando la partenza fu data da Evian, per la prima volta...

TURISMO

LIVIGNO E BIKE ZONE 1816, UN COMPLESSO DI ECCELLENZE PER ESALTARE GLI AMANTI DELLE DUE RUOTE

Quello di Livigno è un nome che da anni rimbalza tra gli appassionati di ciclismo. Sempre più di frequente, infatti, nelle ultime stagioni professionisti, amatori o anche semplici vacanzieri hanno fatto visita alla località dell’Alta Valtellina riportandone entusiasti pregi...

SCARPE

SIDI PRESENTA LE NOVITA' 2027 ALLA MARATONA DLES DOLOMITES

SIDI annuncia la propria partecipazione alla 39ª Maratona dles Dolomites, una delle manifestazioni ciclistiche amatoriali più prestigiose e partecipate al mondo, in programma domenica 5 luglio 2026. Ad anticipare la celebre manifestazione, da giovedì 2 a sabato 4 luglio presso la località di San...

NEWS

SEGAFREDO È OFFICIAL COFFEE PARTNER DELLA MARATONA DLES DOLOMITES

Segafredo diventa Official Coffee Partner della Maratona dles Dolomites 2026 e partecipa all'evento schierando la propria squadra composta da venti ciclisti pronti a sfidare le pendenze dolomitiche. Domenica 5 luglio, infatti, in veste di Sponsor Ufficiale, il brand presidierà con...

JUNIORES

SC CARNAGHESE. DOMENICA 5 LUGLIO TORNA IL GRAN PREMIO DELL’ARNO

Sarà l’edizione numero 29 del Gran Premio dell’Arno – Coppa d’Argento Comune di Solbiate Arno quella che si correrà domenica 5 luglio a Solbiate Arno. La manifestazione organizzata dalla Società Ciclistica Carngahese è stata presentata ufficialmente al Centro Congressi Ville...

GIOVANI

TRICOLORI GIOVANILI. LA SICUREZZA IN PRIMO PIANO: BEN 68 PUNTI DI PRESIDIO SUL PERCORSO

La buona riuscita di una corsa di ciclismo non può prescindere dalla sicurezza che si riesce a garantire agli atleti in gara. Lo staff della Libertas Laives ha rivolto fin da subito grande attenzione a questo aspetto, cercando di curare...

JUNIORES

SABATO 22 AGOSTO TORNA IL GP CAFFÈ BORBONE IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA

Anche nel 2026 il 3° GP Caffè Borbone aggiunge un appuntamento di qualità al calendario agonistico nazionale del ciclismo Juniores (17-18 anni) in Italia grazie alla collaborazione tra Caffè Borbone e il Team Technipes #inEmiliaRomagna Caffè Borbone, squadra Continental che...