Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S first cycling legend, Bernardo Ruiz, died aged 100 on Thursday in his home city of Orihuela.
He won La Vuelta in 1948 and was the first Spaniard to reach the podium of the Tour de France in 1952, when he finished third.
La Vuelta’s social media account paid tribute to a pioneer: “Rest in peace Bernardo Ruiz, legend of Spanish cycling. He was a pioneer and legend in an era dominated by giants like Coppi. We say goodbye to an eternal reference of sport.”
Modern Spanish star, Murcia’s Alejandro Valverde said he was ‘one of the first great icons of Spanish cycling’.
‘El Pipa’, the nickname given to him by his family as a child, was a professional between 1945 and 1958.
He won stages in the Giro d’Italia and also the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in 1957.
After retiring, Ruiz was a cycle team manager, helping Angelino Soler to win La Vuelta in 1961.
He later opened up a bicycle and motorbike store in Orihuela that quickly established itself as one of the best in the Vega Baja region.
He was named a ‘Favourite Son’ of Orihuela with several public spaces dedicated to him and where a tribute was recently paid to him on his 100th birthday, where he attended an exhibition of photos highlighting his career.
Ruiz was also awarded the medal for Sports Merit by the Valencian government in 2015.
Orihuela City Council decreed two days of official mourning on Thursday and Friday, with flags at half-mast at all public buildings.
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