26 Facts About Hugo Koblet

Hugo Koblet won the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia as well as competing in six-day and pursuit races on the track.

Hugo Koblet died in a car accident amid speculation that he had committed suicide.

Hugo Koblet was the son of Adolf and Helena Koblet, bakers in Zurich.

Hugo Koblet lived with his mother, a widow, and with an elder brother.

Hugo Koblet's brother baked bread and cakes and Hugo was restricted to sweeping the floor and making deliveries by bicycle.

Hugo Koblet left the bakery at 17 and worked as a trainee mechanic at the Oerlikon velodrome in the city.

Amberg insisted Koblet ride the track and Koblet became national amateur pursuit champion in 1945.

Hugo Koblet turned professional in 1946 and won the New York and Chicago six-day races.

Hugo Koblet had learned English by watching American and British films.

Hugo Koblet won the Swiss pursuit championship every year from 1947 to 1954.

Hugo Koblet won the 1950 Swiss road championship and then became the first non-Italian to win the Giro d'Italia.

Hugo Koblet was a handsome man whose fame brought beautiful women and a lifestyle that affected his career.

Hugo Koblet was "the most charming of men to talk to", said Jock Wadley.

Hugo Koblet's ready and kindly smile came from deep down inside, and one knows from the start that this was a man without rancour, a rare thing to say of anybody who has raced in top competition on the road where the intense physical struggle often leads to jealousy and dispute.

Hugo Koblet never rode again at the same level as the 1951 Tour de France.

Hugo Koblet visited specialists and took courses of treatment, but without any real success.

Hugo Koblet went to Mexico in 1951 [and] never came back from the land of guitars and sombreros.

Hugo Koblet had been profligate with his money and was in debt.

Hugo Koblet was being pursued for unpaid tax and his marriage had broken up.

Hugo Koblet drove past a pear tree, turned then drove back.

Hugo Koblet passed it again finally turned a third time and drove into it.

Pirelli and Alfa-Romeo employed him in South America but the couple returned, Hugo Koblet disappointed and confused.

Hugo Koblet's confusion included forgetting that he had signed a contract for 7 million lire for a comb to be made in his name in Italy.

Hugo Koblet asked Buhl for a reconciliation in 1964 but she refused.

Hugo Koblet always carried a comb and a bottle of eau de cologne when he raced, sometimes combing his hair before the finish, always cleaning his face before meeting photographers.

Hugo Koblet was barely across the line when he rinsed his face in Perrier, combed his hair, then started his stopwatch.