Bernardo Ruiz Navarrete was born on 8 January 1925 and is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer who won the overall and climbers competition at the 1948 Vuelta a Espana.
12 Facts About Bernardo Ruiz
2.
Bernardo Ruiz went on to become the first Spaniard to take two wins in a single edition of the Tour de France in 1951, the first to finish on the overall podium at the Tour the following year, and the first to win a stage of the Giro d'Italia in 1955.
3.
Bernardo Ruiz was the only survivor, although injured, by a Russian grenade thrown at his machine gun post, and received a war pension which enabled him to lend Ruiz the money to pay for his first bicycle, an Alcyon.
4.
Bernardo Ruiz bought the bike to replace the family's donkey, which had died in a road accident, as a means of transport.
5.
Bernardo Ruiz took a breakthrough win at the Valencia regional championships, organised by the Franco regime's sole legal party, the FET y de las JONS, whilst still a teenager.
6.
In 1945 Bernardo Ruiz won the Volta a Catalunya, then Spain's most lucrative bike race, at the age of 20.
7.
Bernardo Ruiz described the experience of riding the race as "terrifying".
8.
In 1949, Bernardo Ruiz competed in the Tour de France as part of the Spain national team.
9.
Bernardo Ruiz took two stage wins, the first for Spain since the Civil War, and finished ninth overall.
10.
Bernardo Ruiz later said he could not have overhauled Coppi for the win, but that he had lost out on being runner-up due to his cautious descending down Mont Ventoux, which lost him four minutes to Coppi and Ockers - Bernardo Ruiz stated that he was careful in his descent because he was worried about his tyres overheating.
11.
Bernardo Ruiz had to race with heavy equipment because Spain was going through a depression.
12.
Bernardo Ruiz is one of the few riders to complete all three Grand Tours in a single season, which he did on three occasions.