"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

NEWS

UCI E MAPEI RAFFORZANO LA LORO COLLABORAZIONE: MAPEI BELGIO E' PARTNER DEI MONDIALI DI CICLOCROSS 2027

L'Union Cycliste Internationale e Mapei annunciano che l'azienda italiana, tramite la sua controllata Mapei Belgium, sarà Partner Ufficiale dei Campionati Mondiali di Ciclocross UCI 2027, che si terranno a Ostenda, Belgio, dal 29 al 31 gennaio 2027. Specifico per questa...

APPUNTAMENTI

LA NOVE COLLI PROTAGONISTA A CESENATICO PER LA GIORNATA DELLO SPORT ITALIANO NEL MONDO. GALLERY

Lunedì 9 novembre, nella prestigiosa cornice della Residenza dell'Ambasciatrice d'Italia a Copenaghen, la storica granfondo organizzata dall'ASD G.C. Fausto Coppi di Cesenatico è stata protagonista della Giornata dello Sport Italiano nel Mondo, iniziativa promossa dall'Ambasciata d'Italia in Danimarca per valorizzare...

LUTTO

LA VENDEE U PIANGE LA MORTE DEL SUO DIESSE STEVEN LAURENT, AVEVA SOLO 36 ANNI

Poche ore dopo aver festeggiato l'annuncio del nuovo sponsor che assicura la continuità alla formazione ProTour, la Vendée U-Primeo Energie deve fare i conti con una notizia dolorosa: la scomparsa del suo direttore sportivo Steven Laurent a soli 36 anni. «Direttore...

APPUNTAMENTI

SEI ANNI FA L'ADDIO AD ANTONIO MAIOCCHI, MARTEDI' A SEREGNO GLI AMICI LO RICORDERANNO

Il 17 novembre del 2020 si spegneva il nostro storico presidente Antonio Maiocchi. Sono trascorsi già sei anni, ma il suo ricordo è sempre vivo in noi. Come da tradizione, ci ritroveremo per salutarlo al cimitero di Seregno, presso la tomba...

APPROFONDIMENTI

IL BELGIO E' LA NAZIONE PIU' MEDAGLIATA DEL 2026 MA SULLA STRADA VERSO LA2028...

Il Belgio si conferma, anche per la stagione 2026, la nazione più “medagliata” nel ciclismo internazionale: otto podi in un colpo solo ai Campionati Europei di ciclocross a Zeddam hanno portato il bottino complessivo delle grandi rassegne dell’anno allo stesso...

APPROFONDIMENTI

POG1 - THE MAKING OF A LEGEND. ECCO QUATTRO TRAILER DEL DOCUFILM CHE VEDREMO DOMANI. VIDEO

«POG1 – The Making of a Legend»: è il titolo di un nuovo film prodotto da Colnago Cultura e dedicato al numero uno del ciclismo mondiale, Tadej Pogacar. Il film esplora la persona, le relazioni e i momenti decisivi dietro il...

MERCATO

REALINI PASSA ALLA PICNIC POSTNL: «TANTA FIDUCIA TRA ATLETE E STAFF, CIÒ DI CUI HO BISOGNO PER RIPARTIRE ALLA GRANDE»

"Mettere un punto a tutto e ripartire alla grande". Dopo le prime due stagioni in Lidl Trek tra prime vittorie da professionista e top-10 nei grandi giri, e le altre due dove la ruota è girata in senso inverso tra...

MERCATO

SOLUTION TECH NIPPO RALI, ESTENSIONI ANNUALI PER VIVIANI E VERRANDO

Giorno dopo giorno, le tessere del puzzle della Solution Tech NIPPO Rali 2027 stanno andando tutte al loro posto. Nelle ultime ore infatti, dopo la notizia dell’acquisto di Itamar Einhorn e delle conferme di Dusan Rajovic, Matteo Fabbro, Matteo Regnanti,...

MERCATO

PICNIC POSTNL, SI DELINEANO ULTERIORMENTE I ROSTER WORLD TOUR E DEVO: INGAGGIATI HESTERS, HOOGENDOORN, HOGENELST E KUBENA

Continuano a prendere forma gli organici della Picnic PostNL 2027 sia per quanto concerne il team di sviluppo sia per quanto riguarda la formazione maggiore. Quest’ultima, dopo Paul Penhoët, Bert Bolle, Louka Lesueur, Jochem Kerckhaert, Mees Vlot e Milan De...

INTERVISTA

BELTRAMI A CUORE APERTO: IL TEAM CONTINENTAL, "LA RISORSA", I CALENDARI, I SENZA SQUADRA, LA SECONDA OCCASIONE...

Il 22 e 23 novembre aprirà le porte della sua Beltrami TSA agli addetti ai lavori e agli appassionati di ciclismo per il tradizionale “Open House”, due giorni di workshop, presentazioni, talk e premiazioni. In un ideale prologo all’evento, tuttobiciweb...