History

Alfonsina Strada the first and only woman to compete in the men's Giro d’Italia in 1924 In the history of cycling, there are names synonymous with heroism, but few are as groundbreaking as Alfonsina Strada-Morini (1891–1959). While the early 20th-century cycling world was a purely male stronghold, this Italian pioneer literally cycled through the barriers. In 1924, she did what no woman has done since: competed in the Giro d’Italia among the men. A Record-Breaking Start Alfonsina Morini was born in 1891 into a large, poor family in Castelfranco Emilia. In 1915, she married Luigi Strada. Unlike her family, Luigi...

El Cojo de Bilbao (The Cripple of Bilbao) Vicente Blanco was no ordinary athlete. He worked in the steel mills of the Basque Country, where two separate accidents cost him a large part of the function in his feet. He walked with great difficulty, but discovered that on a bicycle, his disability hardly hindered him at all. He was good—very good. Vicente won the very first Spanish National Cycling Championship in 1908 and repeated the feat in 1909. In 1910, he decided he wanted to compete in the Tour de France. There was just one problem: the Spanish champion had...

In the long and storied history of the Peugeot cycling team, the years between 1956 and 1960 stand out as perhaps the most fascinating of all. It’s a tale of setbacks and comebacks, and of a hard-earned sporting truth: French flair is beautiful, but without Belgian grit, you simply won’t survive the cobbles.

When the peloton rolled through Europe in the late 1950s, one shade of green became closely associated with French racing style: deep emerald with clean white sponsor bands, the trademark look of the Helyett professional cycling team. Wearing a Helyett-inspired vintage jersey today is a way to connect with a French brand that mixed performance, elegance and quiet ambition, and that supported some of the greatest riders of its era, including Jacques Anquetil.

Zou jij je leven riskeren om dat van een ander te redden? Het is een vraag die moeilijk te beantwoorden is als je nooit in zo’n situatie hebt verkeerd. Voor de Italiaanse wielerlegende Gino Bartali was het echter geen hypothetische vraag, maar een dagelijkse realiteit tijdens de donkere dagen van de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Bartali, bekend als drievoudig winnaar van de Giro d’Italia en tweevoudig winnaar van de Tour de France, gebruikte zijn fiets niet alleen om sportieve overwinningen te behalen, maar ook om levens te redden. Zijn moedige acties als verzetsheld hielpen honderden Joden te ontsnappen aan deportatie en de...

In the world of cycling, there are names that stick, stories that are passed on for generations. One of those names is Piet Damen, a cycling legend from Lieshout and the oldest living Dutch professional cyclist. But what makes it so special? His impressive victory in the 1958 Peace Race, a feat that no other Dutchman has ever imitated. The Peace Race: The Tour de France of the Eastern Bloc The Peace Race, also known as the "Internationale Friedensfahrt", was one of the most prestigious cycling races in the former Eastern Bloc. At a time when the Cold War divided...