Gino Bartali 2X TDF Winner and WWII Holocaust Hero

[armstrong]

I'm assuming this has been discussed here already, but in case it hasn't, this cannot be missed.

"Italian cyclist Gina Bartali won the Tour de France twice, but it's what he did in between - smuggling documents in his bicycle to help Jews during the Second World War - that drew the interest of two Canadian authors."

Racing to heroism
http://www.nationalpost.com/Racing+heroism/6858623/story.html

Hero on a Bike
http://msn.foxsports.com/cycling/story/cyclist-bartali-was-true-hero-062812

 

[The Hitch]

Yes it has been on a number of occasions, http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=11650, but no harm in bringing it out again every now and again, true hero.

Some may say im picking at straws but i do find it sad that 1 of the best riders in history, is simply labelled a 2 x tour de france winner. the Tour was not as big then, and Bartali was not adored by millions for winning the tour as the article claims, but for his many exploits on the bike.

ps here is a very beautiful song about Bartali

 

[Maxiton]

Yes it has been on a number of occasions, http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=11650, but no harm in bringing it out again every now and again, true hero.

Some may say im picking at straws but i do find it sad that 1 of the best riders in history, is simply labelled a 2 x tour de france winner. the Tour was not as big then, and Bartali was not adored by millions for winning the tour as the article claims, but for his many exploits on the bike.

ps here is a very beautiful song about Bartali

You left out the song link.

But, Bartali = yeah, one of the most gifted cyclists the sport has seen, and the sport's most heroic figure.

 

[Magnus]

the Tour was not as big then

What do you mean by this?

 

[Aapjes]

What do you mean by this?

In the past, the Tour was only one of the grand tours, not The Race. Today the strongest GT riders all want to do best in TdF. In the past, the Giro or Vuelta might very well have a stronger field.

So it's unfair to just focus on his TdF wins and ignore his three Giro wins

 

[Microchip]

Thanks for this thread. Such a heroic man, in truth!

 

[Benotti69]

Gino Batali was for me the greatest person ever to ride a bike. To use his talent to save lives at huge risk to his own is greater than any race victory and the manner in the way he never talked about it too cements that.

 

[Microchip]

Here's Part 1 of 4 of a documentary about him. Sounds as if it's in Italian.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=641mPs8pKns

 

[Michele]

Yes italian.

Gino Bartali was one of the most loved sportmen in Italy; Coppi at that time was perhaps the most talented but Bartali was never stupid when talking.

Few years ago they did a tv movie about Bartali on Rai.

 

[slowoldman]

Just here to concur with what has already been said.

Bartali is my favorite rider bar none. He was a great rider, but an even better man.

"Character is what a man is in the dark."
D.L. Moody

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Yes italian.

Gino Bartali was one of the most loved sportmen in Italy; Coppi at that time was perhaps the most talented but Bartali was never stupid when talking.

Few years ago they did a tv movie about Bartali on Rai.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub_qNqzoSMk&feature=related

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Yes it has been on a number of occasions, http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=11650, but no harm in bringing it out again every now and again, true hero.

Some may say im picking at straws but i do find it sad that 1 of the best riders in history, is simply labelled a 2 x tour de france winner. the Tour was not as big then, and Bartali was not adored by millions for winning the tour as the article claims, but for his many exploits on the bike.

ps here is a very beautiful song about Bartali

Are you talking about this song ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSUwt6l8qVA

its about coppi but very nice

 

[Magnus]

In the past, the Tour was only one of the grand tours, not The Race. Today the strongest GT riders all want to do best in TdF. In the past, the Giro or Vuelta might very well have a stronger field.

So it's unfair to just focus on his TdF wins and ignore his three Giro wins

Wasn't the Giro pretty much an Italian affair until the 50'ies?
When I read about past history of cycling I'm often surprised at the importance the races seems to have had back then. Re the importance of giro versus tour I think I read somewhere that Italian media didn't think much of Binda compared to Bottechia because Binda never performed in the tour.

 

[Eshnar]

Wasn't the Giro pretty much an Italian affair until the 50'ies?

it was. But there was a time (let's say the Merckx's age) when Tour and Giro were at the same level. Someone even believes the Giro had the edge in those days. In any case, the absolute egemony of the Tour is quite recent.
PS:
And, in the 40's, despite being an Italian affair, it was quite important thanks to the presence of the two best riders of the time

 

[Peccio89]

Wasn't the Giro pretty much an Italian affair until the 50'ies?
When I read about past history of cycling I'm often surprised at the importance the races seems to have had back then. Re the importance of giro versus tour I think I read somewhere that Italian media didn't think much of Binda compared to Bottechia because Binda never performed in the tour.

Actually Binda was thought to be the best cyclist alive back in the 30s, they even paid him in ordert to not race in a giro because otherwise he would have won easily.

 

[Echoes]

I've already given my comment on Bartali as a rider and was trashed for that.

Bartali is overrated.

Bore de France aside, almost all of his wins were Italian. And the Italian races at that time were raced among Italians with a pretty poor field.

Not just Bore d'Italia, of course. Youngsters of these boards should also know about Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Lombardy!
Between the two wars, the three major Italian races were raced among Italians, which accounts for the seemingly huge palmarès built up by the three campionissimi: Girardengo, Binda and Guerra (Prior to WWI, the two great classics had a decent international field, for their era, which means Italy + France + Belgium + isolated cases from other countries but this was NOT the case for Bore d'Italia). All three made their careers on these races + the Worlds.
Besides, the Italians invented the myth of the campionissimo and his dedicated gregarii, sometimes the second best being a gregario himself. The great cycle factories controlled races (Bianchi, Legnano, etc.). The 20's were as boring as today.

In a nutshell, most observers would argue that HENRI PÉLISSIER > COSTANTE GIRARDENGO

Even with Binda, it's arguable.

Bartali was the same kind of riders, only he won Bore de France.

Coppi might've been immature as a man, but as a rider, he won Paris-Roubaix, the Walloon Arrow, the Nations GP, the Worlds (Pursuit & RR), broke the Hour and he even should even have won the Omloop. That's quite different, isn't it?

Besides, Coppi was a modernist. Introduced new training methods and changed diet. He was way ahead of Bartali. Bobet and Geminiani would argue he was the Father of Modern Cycling, a bit what Lendl was for tennis.

And don't tell me that Bartali lost much because of the war. Without the war he would still do the same: Italian races + Bore de France.

Besides I've already argued that both Coppi and Bartali DID race during that war AND Coppi was beating Bartali more often that not during that war, and more particularly in the year 1941. And when he beat him, he actually crushed him, while Bartali could only beat him in a sprint.

Case closed!

 

[Arnout]

Troll detected.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

So, what exactly is the objection to the thread?

"Gino Bartali: 2x Tour de France winner"? Nope, can't be that.

"Gino Bartali: WWII Holocaust Hero"? Clearly not, as you haven't even mentioned it.

So what exactly is the point, other than to weaken your argument about the historical amazingness of Milan-San Remo and how only idiots suggest sprinters can win it by saying that back in the days when non-sprinters won it it had bad fields?

 

[slowoldman]

Besides, Coppi was a modernist. Introduced new training methods and changed diet. He was way ahead of Bartali. Bobet and Geminiani would argue he was the Father of Modern Cycling, a bit what Lendl was for tennis.

Case closed!

Too much more of this and it may be clinic material.......

So Bartali goes outside of Italy (not like Girardengo, Guerra and Binda) and wins the Tour de France and you call it the Bore de France.......

It seems to me you should give him credit for going outside of Italy, if as you claim no Italians did, and competing and beating the rest of the world. Maybe he was a trailblazer for Coppi. Maybe without Gino, Fausto would have been like the prior campionissimo and just raced in Italy.

Yet another feather in Gino's cap!!

 

[Echoes]

Just like his predecessors, Bartali's palmares consists of 90% Italian wins, which in his days were all Italian affairs, with a depleted field.

Binda, Girardengo and Guerra have all become World champion and the rest of their palmares was Italian.

It did not change with Bartali except late in his career (his Milan-Sanremo win in 1950 had an international field, and it was a bunch sprint by the way), when the Desgrange Colombo Challenge (created in 1948, forerunner of the WT) allowed for internationalizing.


Bartali won two Tour de France (OK I'll name it that way). But that's not enough to be an all-time great. You've gotta win classics. And I don't think Bartali had the tank to win a lot. He was a climber/sprinter. Coppi was an ITT specialist, which Bartali was not. That allowed Coppi to win so many classics and stage races.

 

[Benotti69]

Just like his predecessors, Bartali's palmares consists of 90% Italian wins, which in his days were all Italian affairs, with a depleted field.

Binda, Girardengo and Guerra have all become World champion and the rest of their palmares was Italian.

It did not change with Bartali except late in his career (his Milan-Sanremo win in 1950 had an international field, and it was a bunch sprint by the way), when the Desgrange Colombo Challenge (created in 1948, forerunner of the WT) allowed for internationalizing.

Bartali won two Tour de France (OK I'll name it that way). But that's not enough to be an all-time great. You've gotta win classics. And I don't think Bartali had the tank to win a lot. He was a climber/sprinter. Coppi was an ITT specialist, which Bartali was not. That allowed Coppi to win so many classics and stage races.

That Coppi was a big time patron of 'the clinic' may have something to do with more wins than Bartali who was clean.

But not to consider Bartali a great is pathetic. Bartali was one who introduced gearing to bikes.

Trolling.

 

[Benotti69]

Some people who disagree with the troll

"You do not have to follow cycling to relish Bartali’s story....Like Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit before it, Road to Valor is about an unlikely, headstrong champion who transcended his sport to make a deep impact on the broader world.” – Sports Illustrated

“This thoroughly documented biography is both inspiring and immensely enjoyable.” – Publishers Weekly

“[Road to Valor] tells a dramatic and moving story that is virtually unknown to most readers....An important addition to World War II biography and also to the history of twentieth-century cycling.” – Booklist

“Impeccably researched and thrillingly told....This is truly an amazing tale of a poor Tuscan boy who pedaled his way not only to sports immortality, but into true heroism.” –The Globe and Mail

“‘Thou shall not stand idly by’ is a powerful Biblical command. In Aili and Andres McConnon’s book it offers a moving example of moral courage. A simple citizen and great athlete chose to oppose a cruel and racist political dictatorship by saving Jewish victims in Italy. Was it so hard to become a hero then? It was enough--enough to remain human. And yet.” – Elie Wiesel

“The two Tours de France won by Bartali are more than mere entries in the record book of winners. The fact that they were won many years apart proves what an exceptional champion he really was. Above all, the war years separating these victories now reveal Gino to have been a true hero.” – Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France

"Whether you are a Tour de France fan, a history buff, or looking for an entertaining way to learn about both, Road to Valor will have you turning the pages with more conviction and speed than Bartali could turn the pedals! An engaging and mesmerizing read." – Craig Hummer, Tour de France broadcaster for NBC Sports

“A gritty, scary story of endurance, Road to Valor traces one man’s harrowing journey from the resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Italy to a comeback triumph in the Tour de France—told with verve and an affecting appreciation of the human spirit.” – Bruce Porter, New York Times bestselling author of Blow


“Road to Valor is the rigorously researched account of a true champion and role model, Gino Bartali, who became stronger when faced with extreme adversity. His bicycle became the tool with which he saved countless lives during WWII and inspired a broken nation. It is a profoundly uplifting story.” – Michael Barry, Professional Tour cyclist and New York Times contributor



“Bartali is one of cycling's great icons, and this book adds another important dimension to this man's world.” – Sir Paul Smith

“It is with genuine pleasure that I recommend to men and women of all ages and all religious and ethnic backgrounds Road to Valor by Aili and Andres McConnon. It recounts a true story that is marvelously exciting and inspiring as well. The heroism of so many Italians during World War II and afterwards is a tale that needs to be told, and the authors tell it masterfully. Their readers will be deeply touched by the courage of the hero of the book, Gino Bartali, and others who put their lives at risk to protect the innocent and defend both their faith and their commitment to democracy.” – Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York

“At a time when so many sports figures have come to personify scandal and bad behavior, how refreshing it is to read the inspiring tale of Gino Bartali's life. The McConnons have drawn a portrait of the Italian cycling legend that uplifts the spirit, and reminds us of the many ways tenacity and faith can reshape the world. This lively book will ride off with your heart and cycle through your memory for years to come.” – Raymond Arroyo, New York Times bestselling author and host of EWTN's The World Over Live

 

[Echoes]

I'd like to point out that I haven't insulted anybody ...


And that I'm in a most serene mood.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

But your opinions are askew and slant any objective judgment. Saying Coppi was a better rider is a good argument. But the way you were piling on with that subjective laundry list eliminated the chance of others taking you seriously.

Yes, some of those years were with depleted fields, but there was a world war going on! The biggest war in the history of the plant, actually! There's not a lot he could do about that. Actually, there was something he could do, as a human being: Be a hero. And that's exactly what he did.

Case closed.

 

[elapid]

I've just finished reading Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto and there are a few salient points in this book relevant to this discussion.

Racing in post-WWII Italy was difficult both physically and morally. Physically because the roads were in such poor condition because of the ravages of war. Morally because the Italians had been soundly beaten and were living in poverty with very little light at the end of the tunnel.

Bartali and Coppi both provided the Italian nation with this light through their wins, both home and abroad. According to the author, Italians were divided in their loyalty to the two great riders with some definitely in the Bartali camp and others in the Coppi camp. Coppi's successes, especially in the 1946-1952 era, were largely inspired by his insecurities over his arch-rival Bartali. Even more so, Bartali helped Coppi to some victories when the TdF was battled by national teams.

I just wanted to make the point that Bartali, as well as Coppi, in addition to everything else that has been mentioned about them, were also responsible for lifting the spirits of a nation during a period of marked poverty and despondency.