TitleMr.
Name:Gino
Surname:Bartali
Nationality:ITA  Italy
Date of Birth:18/07/1914
Died:05/05/2000
Function:Athlete
 
Biography:
Gino Bartali, who died on May 5 2000, aged 85, was one of the greatest and most respected riders in the sport and also one of the last links back to the pre-war days of the sport, when the Tour de France was still ridden without gears, riders carried tyres over their shoulders and mountain roads were often little more than gravel-strewn tracks. In a career which spanned the Second World War, he rode against three generations of champions, starting with Learco Guerra and Andre Leducq, then against Coppi and Bobet, and finished his career as Jacques Anquetil was rising to prominence. A solidly built rider, Bartali was born in Ponte a Enna, near Florence, on July 18 1914. After a promising amateur career, he turned professional in 1935 and soon made his mark: a stage in the Giro, plus the first of his seven climbers titles in that race; the Coppa Bernocchi, second in the Italian road championship and Tour of Romagna, third in the season-ending Tour of Lombardy. The following year the victories came thick and fast: his first Giro, the Tour of Milan, the Tour of Lombardy. Yet 1936 also bought tragedy, after his brother Giulio was killed in a racing accident, Bartali didn't touch his bike for two months and considered giving up the sport. His deeply held Catholic faith - he was nicknamed "Gino the pious" - dates from this incident. By 1937, he felt ready to race abroad for the first time in the Tour de France. It was a partial triumph: Gino won a stage and held the yellow jersey, but a crash eventually caused his retirement. For 1938, Bartali staked everything on the Tour, skipping the Giro even though he would almost certainly have won it for a third time. He was rewarded with a strong victory against the Belgians Vervaecke and Wissers, before returning to Italy for the close season.
 
Related Database Events:
Cycling5/5/2000

         
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