"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

PHILIPSEN. «PRIMO WEEKEND DI CLASSICHE? HO LE FARFALLE NELLO STOMACO»

Due punte per l’Alpecin-Premier Tech e che punte! Sabato all’Omloop Nieuwsblad, al fianco di Van der Poel ci sarà Jasper Philipsen. Il belga, terzo all’Omloop e primo alla Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne lo scorso anno, ha dimostrato di poter davvero dare il massimo...

PROFESSIONISTI

GIRO DI SARDEGNA. DONATI PROVA IL BIS MA A TORTOLÌ SBUCA RAJOVIC! 3° PEÑALVER, ITALIANO IL RESTO DELLA TOP-10

Dopo la vittoria di una Continental e quella di una devo esulta una Professional italiana al Giro di Sardegna! Dusan Rajovic (Solution Tech Nippo Rali) si aggiudica la terza tappa, la prima dedicata "ufficialmente" ai velocisti. Secondo Davide Donati (Red Bull Rookies) che...

PROFESSIONISTI

TOUR DU RWANDA. NUOVA VOLATA VINCENTE DI EINHORN

A Musanze c'e' gloria per l'israeliano Itamar Einhorn, che conquista il suo secondo successo personale ed Ii quarto di squadra: la sesta frazione del Tour du Rwanda finisce con uno sprint a ranghi compatti, come previsto. A completare il successo...

PROFESSIONISTI

MILANO-SANREMO, CRESCE L'ATTESA PER LA CLASSICISSIMA: PRESENTATO IL PERCORSO 2026

Svelato il percorso della 117^ edizione della Milano-Sanremo presented by Crédit Agricole, in programma per il prossimo 21 marzo. Confermata Pavia come sede di partenza, con arrivo in Via Roma a Sanremo dopo 298 km, nove in più rispetto all'edizione...

PROFESSIONISTI

LIDL-TREK, PEDERSEN BRUCIA LE TAPPE E SORPRENDE ANCHE I COMPAGNI

Si sta rivelando quantomai efficace la vera e propria corsa contro il tempo intrapresa da Mads Pedersen per tornare a spillarsi il prima possibile il numero sulla schiena e poter prender parte ad almeno qualcuna delle classiche del Nord,...

APPROFONDIMENTI

RAGGI D'AFRICA. RITORNO SUL MUR DE KIGALI, IL PIU' TROPICALE DEI "LUOGHI POGACARIANI”

Ci ha visto giusto chi ha incastonato ai Tropici un muro da Fiandre. Il resto lo ha fatto Tadej, aggiungendo il suo ennesimo numero d’alta scuola sulla breve, sconnessa e soprattutto terribile ascesa. La storia, recente ma vivida per rimandi...

NEWS

UAE TEAM EMIRATES-XRG, GIAIMI PASSA TRA LE FILA DELLA FORMAZIONE WORLD TOUR CON EFFETTO IMMEDIATO

Con un annuncio piuttosto sorprendente, arrivato a oltre un mese dall’inizio del calendario agonistico 2026, l’UAE Team Emirates-XRG ha comunicato l’estensione contrattuale fino al 2028 e, soprattutto, il passaggio immediato nella rosa World Tour di Luca Giaimi. Classe 2005...

JUNIORES

AUTOZAI CONTRI PRESENTA LA STAGIONE 2026: GIOVANI, TERRITORIO E AMBIZIONE. GALLERY

Si è svolta in un clima di autentico entusiasmo la presentazione ufficiale della stagione 2026 del Team Autozai Contri, un appuntamento che ha riunito atleti, famiglie, sponsor, istituzioni e appassionati per inaugurare il nuovo anno sportivo e condividere visione, obiettivi...

DONNE

VOLLERING RITORNA AL GIRO, ECCO IL PROGRAMMA DELLA CAMPIONESSA EUROPEA

Demi Vollering mancava al Giro Women dal 2021, 5 anni in cui è cambiato veramente tutto. In quell'edizione l'atleta olandese aveva 25 anni ed era già l'erede designata di Anna Van Der Breggen che quella corsa l'aveva vinta per la...

PROFESSIONISTI

VISMA LEASE A BIKE. NIERMANN: «PECCATO PER WOUT, DOMANI GIOCHEREMO LA CARTA LAPORTE»

La Visma-Lease a Bike non potrà contare su Wout Van Aert nel weekend di apertura delle Classiche in Belgio, ma il direttore sportivo Grischa Niermann è ottimista e pensa che nel fine settimana tutto potrà accadere. Il team olandese punterà...