Interesting artice on Gino Bartali

[Darryl Webster]

Seems Gino was quite the unspoken hero during WWII helping save a Jewish family and carrying documents hidden in his bike etc:

http://road.cc/content/news/28770-g...h-family-florence-home-protect-them-holocaust

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The stuff about carrying hidden messages and documents we've known about since his death. The keeping a family in his basement, however, is news to me; Gino was a great guy, willing to use his status for good.

 

[slowoldman]

A few of the many reasons he is and will probably always be my favorite rider.

 

[jens_attacks]

what a great hero!

any more comment is useless.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

from some old cycling mags I had the impression he was a remarkable, upstanding person, but I had not heard any of this about toting messages or helping the Jews. That just confirms his good rep further.

 

[Michele]

The news was reported yesterday on italian tv and they reminded also that he saved some british soldiers by wearing some nazist army outfit and pretending to be arresting them.

He was once caught by trying to save some jewish (or bringing some documents?) and he was saved just cause he was a famous person (as a cyclist).

His son said that his father never wanted it to come out cause he was doing it just for the good of it.

A really great modest man.

 

[Skip Madness]

How many Jews have the current crop of riders ever saved, eh? They don't make 'em like they used to.

Seriously though, finding out about this family in the basement makes me admire him even more than before, which I didn't think possible. Anyone who isn't familiar with his wartime exploits should read up, it's fascinating and inspiring. Winning all those myriad races is one thing, but his acts of heroism in saving lives during fascism make him a bona fide sporting legend.

 

[Race Radio]

I was in Florence when Bartali died. It was like the king had passed.

 

[The Hitch]

True hero.

I think evertime the media uses the word hero to describe athletes who wins a gold or someone who scores a goal it is disrespectful to true heroes like Bartali.

I know Bartoli didnt want to be famous for his acts of valour, but there arent too many instances were the following Latin phrase is more appropriote

cineri gloria sera venit

(Fame to the dead comes to late )

 

[nvpacchi]

Awesome story!

He's not my avatar for nothing.

 

[palmerq]

on the home page today(old thread btw :S)

Bartali honoured for saving Jews during the Holocaust

Hats off to him, amazing fellow.

 

[Thomsena]

Cavs twttering this article now.

Wonder if he sometimes clicks the 'forum button' as well.

 

[Carols]

Wow I'm tearing up. Not only a great cyclist but a True Hero as a person!

 

[RedheadDane]

What a great guy!

Being relatively new to cycling I didn't know the part about carying documents on/in his bike. But... how gutsy is that?
And hiding people in his basement. Wow!

 

[nvpacchi]

I thought I heard rumors of an english biography about gino. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

[craig1985]

I thought I heard rumors of an english biography about gino. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

They've done one on Fausto Coppi, makes sense to do one on Gino.

 

[Afrank]

He was a legend, now he is a hero as well.

 

[Michele]

In Italy 1-2 years ago they did a movie which was shown in 2 parts by talking more of his human side than the sporting side and he was indeed a great man.

 

[nvpacchi]

Reading fotheringhams coppi book, it portrayed gino in a slightly negative fashion. Probably to bring their rivalry to the true forefront

My favorite gino story was coppi's attempt at sabotage one night before msr. Coppi has his brother and a teammate take bartali out on the town the night before, while coppi got an early nights rest. Yet since bartali was used to drinking and smoking till the wee hours of the morning almost daily, this was just another night for him. Needless to say bartali went on to dominate while fausto pulled out early, and serse and company were completely drained of energy from the previous night and couldn't even finish

 

[luckyboy]

There was an article in ProCycling magazine this month about the hero of German track cyclists called Albert Richter who did a similar thing/resisted the regime. He kept his Jewish trainer despite the pressure he was under to get rid of him too.
Someone ratted him out though, and German soldiers murdered him in 1940.

Here he is after a race, refusing to salute.

 

[hatcher]

Inspiring stuff. Proper hero.