"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.
Sono dodici gli italiani che domani a Monaco si attaccheranno il numero sulla schiena e affronteranno la crono di apertura della Vuelta España numero 81. Nessuno di loro punta a far classifica, alcuni andranno a caccia di tappe, altri saranno...
Dopo il nostro notiziario, non perdetevi la telefonata che abbiamo avuto lunedì con Fabio Aru. L'abbiamo interpellato sia in chiave Vuelta, essendo l'ultimo corridore italiano ad averla vinta nel 2015, sia in merito alla sua academy in Sardegna, al suo...
Questo Tour de l’Avenir che cambia pelle, aprendo alle compagini sviluppo del World Tour, racconta un’intensa vicenda di passione ereditaria. La impersona, nei ranghi della comunicazione organizzativa, quel Philippe Bouvet che è stato a lungo capo redattore delle pagine...
Sette arrivi in salita, quattro tappe di media montagna, oltre 58mila metri di dislivello: è la Vuelta più dura di sempre, almeno a sentire chi l’ha disegnata. Si comincia ancora fuori dai confini, nel Principato di Monaco, con una breve...
La Vuelta a España 2026 sta per partire e sarà subito caccia alla maglia del miglior scalatore: chi sarà l’erede di Jay Vine? Se c'è una classifica che più di ogni altra racconta l'anima della Vuelta a España, è quella...
Il ritiro di Julian Alaphilippe non è saluto semplice, ma è un addio al ciclismo di Alta Classe. A 34 anni il campione francese ha deciso di ritirarsi, ponendo fine a una carriera che ha lasciato un'impronta indelebile nel mondo...
Manca ormai pochissimo al 3° GP Caffè Borbone, gara ciclistica nazionale per Juniores (17-18 anni) nata dalla collaborazione tra Caffè Borbone e il Team Technipes #inEmiliaRomagna Caffè Borbone, squadra Continental che dal 2026 vede nel proprio nome l’inserimento dell’azienda leader...
Grandi novità in casa CITIZENS: dal 2027 la realtà veronese diventerà ufficialmente GIANNI BUGNO ACADEMY, un passaggio storico che porta a Isola della Scala, il progetto personale del due volte Campione del Mondo Gianni Bugno. Un risultato che nasce da...
Tadej Pogacar è pronto per la Vuelta, l’unico grande giro che non ha ancora vinto: "È un sogno". Sabato il fenomeno sloveno partirà nella cronometro inaugurale di 9 km a Monaco (dove vive) da grande favorito per la conquista della...
La serata di Heusden Zolder si accende con un’altra pagina d’oro per la Nazionale italiana: il quartetto maschile juniores conquista il titolo mondiale nell’inseguimento a squadre, mentre il gruppo femminile porta a casa un bronzo di grande valore tecnico. Il...
Ritratti
Oscar
Albi d'Oro
Se sei giá nostro utente esegui il login altrimenti registrati.