"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.
Alla sua prima apparizione tra i professionisti nella Liegi-Bastogne-Liegi, il giovane talento francese Paul Seixas ha subito lasciato il segno con uno straordinario secondo posto alle spalle del campione del mondo Tadej Pogacar. Un risultato che conferma le enormi aspettative...
Dopo i successi del 2021 e del 2023, Demi Vollering cala i tris e si prende il successo nella Liège/Bastogne/Liège Femmes 2026. La capitana della FDJ United – SUEZ, si è presentata sul traguardo a braccia alzate e con 1’29”...
La Liegi-Bastogne-Liegi di oggi non è andata secondo i piani di Remco Evenepoel. Il campione belga si è dovuto arrendere all’attacco di Tadej Pogacar seguito dal giovanissimo Paul Seixas e alla fine si è dovuto accontentare del terzo posto al...
Tadej POGACAR. 10 e lode. Era l’uomo da battere, ma ogni buon proposito rimane nel cassetto. Provano a metterlo in mezzo, lasciandoselo dietro, ma lui non perde la calma, non smarrisce la strada, visto che è abituato a trovare soluzioni....
Festa in casa del Team Guerrini Senaghese che esulta per la vittoria di Gabriele Gatta a Ponzano, in provincia di La Spezia, dove gli juniores hanno gareggiato nella Coppa 1° Maggio del Ceramista. Il bresciano di Montirone, classe 2008, ha...
Splendido finale del Giro dell'Appennino e spendida doppietta del Team Polti Visti Malta che brinda al successo di Ludovico Crescioli davanti al comapagno Thomas Pesenti con Domenico Pozzovivo che termina i 196 chilometri di gara sul terzo gradino del podio soli...
Un bellissimo braccio di ferro tra gli attaccanti e il gruppo scatenato al loro inseguimento ha caratterizzato la seconda tappa del Tour de Bretagne. E stavolta a far festa sono stati i fuggitivi che hanno conservato pochissimi secondi sul traguardo...
Poker Tadej Pogačar alla Liegi-Bastogne-Liegi 2026! Ma dietro quello che poteva essere il pronostico più facile alla vigilia, c'è il racconto di una corsa imprevedibile e spettacolare che ha visto il campione del mondo protagonista di una giornata incredibile. Come...
Tom Crabbe è certamente una delle rivelazioni della stagione. Nessuno o quasi si sarebbe potuto aspettare un salto di qualità così redditizio e prorompente da parte del ventunenne di Jette che, una volta messosi sulla mappa con la vittoria...
Edgar David Cadena si ripete. Il messicano, già vincitore ieri, ha conquistato un nuovo successo nella quarta e conclusiva tappa della Vuelta Asturias, la Lugones - Oviedo di 152 chilometri. L'atleta del Team Stork oggi ha battuto Adrià Pericas (UAE...
1
1
Ritratti
Oscar
Albi d'Oro
Se sei giá nostro utente esegui il login altrimenti registrati.