"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

PROFESSIONISTI

ULISSI NON SI FERMA: CORRERA' ANCHE NEL 2027 CON LA XDS ASTANA

Diego Ulissi, reduce dal Tour de Pologne dove ha svolto un ruolo chiave di supporto per Christian Scaroni e Alberto Bettiol, continuerà a correre per il Team XDS Astana nella stagione 2027. Ulissi è attualmente alla sua seconda stagione con...

PROFESSIONISTI

IL MONT VENTOUX DI NORVEGIA E LA MAGIA DELLE VESTERÅLEN: IL PERCORSO DELL’ARCTIC RACE OF NORWAY 2026

Sarà nuovamente una magia per gli occhi quella che gli appassionati, sul posto e da casa, potranno vivere durante l’Arctic Race of Norway 2026. In programma da giovedì 13 a domenica 16 agosto, la breve corsa a tappe norvegese...

MERCATO

ROGLIC. LA VUELTA E' ANCORA IN DUBBIO, IL FUTURO POTREBBE VEDERLO ALLA LOTTO INTERMARCHE'

Corre poco, suo malgrado, ma di lui si parla tanto. Primoz Roglic è da settimane nell'occhio del ciclone: dopo essere stato investito in allenamento a fine luglio, lo sloveno è stato costretto a saltare San Sebastian e la Vuelta a...

PROFESSIONISTI

LE STATISTICHE DEL WORLDTOUR. BRENNER DICE 55, L'ITALIA SALE A QUOTA 14

Il successo di Marco Brenner ha fatto calare il sipario sul Giro di Polonia, 28ª competizione disputata sulle 36 totali inserite nel calendario World Tour 2026. Con le prime affermazioni stagionali nelle corse del principale circuito UCI dell’olandese Bart Lemmen,...

PROFESSIONISTI

LA BARDIANI-CSF 7 SABER FA ROTTA VERSO IL CZECH TOUR

La Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber sarà al via del Czech Tour, corsa a tappe in programma dal 13 al 16 agosto su quattro frazioni. Luca Covili e Alex Tolio saranno i riferimenti per le tappe più impegnative, mentre Manuele Tarozzi proverà a...

PROFESSIONISTI

VISMA, KRUIJSWIJK SI RITIRERÀ A FINE STAGIONE. NEL 2016 PERSE IL GIRO PER UNA CADUTA

Steven Kruijswijk si ritirerà al termine della stagione. L'annuncio è stato confermato dallo stesso corridore della Visma | Lease a Bike: il 39enne, professionista dal 2010, parteciperà alla Vuelta a Espana 2026, ultimo grande giro della carriera, poi il definitivo...

LUTTO

IL CICLISMO DICE ADDIO ALL'EX DILETTANTE ANDREA DREI, AVEVA 53 ANNI

Si è spento a Faenza Andrea Drei, 53 anni di Reda. Era nato il 9 gennaio 1973 a Faenza (Ravenna). Lascia la mamma, la moglie e il figlio. L’addio verrà celebrato giovedì a Reda alle ore 9, 15. Tra i...

DONNE

MOOLMAN-PASIO: «NEL 2028 VOGLIAMO L'AFRICA AL TOUR FEMMES, CI SAREMO CON IL TEAM AMANI»

Facciamo ammenda nei confronti del ciclismo africano, dove “si fanno cose”, per dirla con Nanni Moretti. Perchè a Tour de France Femmes concluso, quasi è sfuggito - o passato in secondo piano - l’annuncio autorevole fatto da Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (“nel...

STORIA

I BUONI DEL PASTO. QUELLA LEGNANO DEL 1940; BARTALI, COPPI E IO, SUCCI...

Il tempo è tiranno, ma lo è anche lo spazio. Anzi, i due sono complici: il tempo satura lo spazio. E con il Covid o l’estate, arriva il momento del repulisti. Si comincia puntando a liberare la soffitta, ci si...

PREPARAZIONE

LA RED BULL BORA E I BENEFICI DI LIVIGNO PRE-VUELTA: «ALTITUDINE IDEALE, BELLEZZA SPETTACOLARE»

La Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe sta preparando la Vuelta a España in un'altura che stiamo conoscendo sempre meglio come eccellenza italiana in materia: l'alta Valtellina, per la precisione Livigno. È lì che Primoz Roglic e compagni stanno preparando il grande...