Speed, Endurance & the Courage to defy Mussolini

First day of summer, I dragged out my bicycle, my wonderful husband pumped up the flat tires, and I vowed to start riding it more and driving the car less.

To inspire myself, I'm writing the story of Gino Bartali, one of the greatest cyclists of all time and a genuine hero.

“Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.”  So said this two-time winner of the Tour de France. Above, Gino Bartali in 1936.

In between his cycling victories, Bartali helped save some 800 Jews from the Nazis. 

​Gino Bartali grew from humble beginnings in rural Tuscany, his father a day laborer, his mother a lace maker.

At age 11 he rode a bicycle to school in Florence from his village Ponte a Ema.

Wheeling through the Tuscany hills, Gino developed a love for cycling, and a heart for tackling mountains.

He won his first race at the age of 17, and at 24, rode to victory in the 1938 Tour de France, gaining international acclaim.

Back in Italy, Benito Mussolini wanted to claim Bartali's victory as proof Italians were part of the master race, but in a risky move, Gino refused to go along with the fascist dictator. 

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In the 1938 Tour de France, Gino Bartali was first over the Col de Vars in the 14th stage.

When World War II sidetracked Gino's cycling career, he found an even more valuable way to use his bike. In 1943, Germany occupied Italy and the Nazis started shipping Italian Jews to concentration camps. Bartali agreed to aid the Italian Resistance as a courier.  

Under the guise of long training rides and wearing an Italian racing jersey, Bartali risked his life transporting photographs and counterfeit documents in the hollow frame and handlebars of his bicycle.

The photos and documents provided Italian Jews with false identity cards to protect them from the Nazis.​​​​​​​ People caught helping Jews evade capture were often executed immediately. 

Bartali saved a friend Giacomo Goldenberg and his family by providing food and hiding them in an apartment he owned in Florence.

Without his help, the family would most probably have died in the Holocaust. At left, the Goldenberg family--Elvira and Giacomo with their son Giorgio and their daughter Tea.  

In July 1944, Bartali was arrested and interrogated at Villa Triste in Florence, where local Fascist officials questioned and tortured prisoners. Fortunately, one of the interrogators had known Bartali before the war and convinced the others he should be let go.

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When the war was over, Gino went back to racing, racking up a third career victory in the Giro d'Italia in 1946, shown above. Then he shocked the cycling world by returning to win the Tour de France again, ten years after his first victory. No other cyclist has achieved that feat.

Bartali was known as a fierce competitor up until he retired at age 40, after being injured in a road accident. He was somewhat of a loudmouth on the cycling circuit, but modest about the fact he's credited with helping save the lives of hundreds of people. The story did not come out before he passed away in 2000.​

Biographer, Ali McConnon told CNN, "He was very modest about it. He held a profound sense that so many had suffered in a much greater capacity than he had. He didn't want to be in the spotlight or diminish the contributions of others."
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Bartali rarely spoke of his actions in the war. When asked by another reporter to recount his greatest victory, Gino said, “I won the challenge of life, winning the love of the people.”​​​​​​​ 

Now, there's a man who's inspiring in a good number of ways!