"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

PISTA

MONDIALI. ORO DI JACOPO VENDRAMIN NELL'ELIMINAZIONE JUNIORES

Jacopo Vendramin si prende il titolo iridato nella Eliminazione juniores ai Mondiali su pista di Heusden Zolder, firmando una prova di grande freddezza tattica. L’azzurro di Marghera, portacolori della Industrial Forniture Moro C&G Capital, ha gestito ogni fase con controllo...

PROFESSIONISTI

L'ADDIO DI ALAPHILIPPE. «UN VIAGGIO BELLISSIMO, SPERO DI AVERVI REGALATO QUALCOSA DI BELLO»

E’ arrivato l’ultimo applauso per Julian Alaphilippe. Loulou ha scelto di scendere dalla bici e con quelle parole che solo i grandi campioni sanno dire, ha deciso di salutare il mondo del ciclismo: «Mi ritiro con immensa gratitudine» Ci sono...

DONNE

KONVERT KORTRIJK KOERSE. VAN ROOIKEN RITROVA LA VITTORIA DOPO DIECI MESI

Quasi dieci mesi dopo l'ultima volta, Sofie van Rooijen torna ad alzare le braccia al cielo. La velocista olandese di UAE Team L'IMAD ha conquistato oggi la Konvert Kortrijk Koerse, in Belgio, imponendosi con grande forza nello sprint finale. La...

PROFESSIONISTI

RENEWI TOUR. IL PICCOLO FIANDRE È DI BERCKMOES, TAPPA E MAGLIA! 2° PHILIPSEN, 8° FIORELLI

Sulle strade del Giro delle Fiandre fa festa un fiammingo: Jenno Berckmoes ha vinto la terza tappa del Renewi Tour 2026 con arrivo a Geraardsbergen. Il corridore della Lotto Intermarché aveva attaccato sul Muur assieme ad Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious),...

DILETTANTI

AVENIR. MAXI CADUTA E NEUTRALIZZAZIONE, VINCE SOLEN SU CAPRA E DELLE VEDOVE: 5° STELLA, 6° LORELLO

L’olandese Keije Solen ha conquistato la seconda tappa del Tour de l’Avenir, la Nogent‑le‑Rotrou – Amboise di 116 chilometri, completando la doppietta per la Lotto Group Wanty dopo il successo inaugurale di Driesen. In uno sprint molto serrato, Solen ha...

PROFESSIONISTI

DEUTSCHLAND TOUR. MAGAGNOTTI BATTE MAGNIER IN VOLATA. VIDEO

Sprint vincente di Alessio Magagnotti al termine dei 197 chilometri della Schwäbisch Hall / Offenbach an der Queich, seconda tappa del Deutschland Tour. Il 19enne trentino della Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe ha concluso a braccia alzate una appassionante lotta...

PROFESSIONISTI

LIMOUSIN-PÉRIGORD. BIS DI ISIDORE NELL'ATTO CONCLUSIVO! 10° MERIS, GENERALE A COSTIOU

La Decathlon CMA CGM fa ancora la voce grossa al Tour du Limousin-Périgord 2026, con Noa Isidore che ci ha preso gusto e ha centrato la seconda vittoria della sua corsa e della sua carriera sul traguardo di Limoges. Il...

DONNE

TOUR OF BRITAIN WOMEN. LE COURT PIENAAR SHOW A GREAT ORME, TAPPA E MAGLIA PER L'ATLETA DELLE MAURITIUS

Kim le Court Pienaar ha vinto la terza tappa del Tour of Britain Women, è bastato un attacco a 3 km dal traguardo per diventare imprendibile. L'atleta delle Mauritius aveva cerchiato la frazione di 104, 7 da Mold a Great...

VUELTA

LE VOCI DELLA VUELTA. ROGLIC: «NON PENSAVO DI FARCELA, NON SO COSA MI ASPETTA»

Primoz Roglic sarà al via della Vuelta a España. Domani lo sloveno prenderà posto sulla rampa di partenza di Monaco per affrontare l'ultimo Grande Giro della stagione, ma questa volta senza l'obbligo di inseguire il quinto successo. Dopo quattro trionfi...

VUELTA

LE VOCI DELLA VUELTA. CARAPAZ: «PRONTI A DARE SPETTACOLO E SFRUTTARE OGNI OCCASIONE»

Per la Locomodora del Carchi questa sarà la settima Vuelta a España, e la correrà con una voglia di attaccare che non è mai venuta meno e quella capacità, quasi unica, di trasformare una giornata qualunque in un momento da...