Full name Ferdinand Kubler 1945–1947 Cilo Current team Retired Name Ferdinand Kubler | Discipline Road Role Cyclist Rider type Allround | |
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Nickname Ferdi, The Cowboy, The Eagle of Adliswil Born 24 July 1919 (age 105) Marthalen, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland ( 1919-07-24 ) | ||
Ferdinand "Ferdi" Kübler ( [ˈfɛrdinand ˈkyːblər]; 24 July 1919 – 29 December 2016) was a Swiss cyclist with more than 400 professional victories, including the 1950 Tour de France and the 1951 World Road Race Championship.
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Biography
Kübler was born in Marthalen. He began racing professionally in 1940 but his early career was limited to Switzerland by the Nazi occupation elsewhere. He was multiple Swiss national champion and a three time winner of the Tour de Suisse. Kübler's most successful years in international racing were 1950–1952, when the classics had resumed after the Second World War. He won the La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, both in 1951 and 1952, in a time where these races were still contested in the same weekend. He was also World Road Race Champion in 1951, having placed second in 1949 and third in 1950.
He rode the Giro d'Italia from 1950–1952, placing fourth once, and third twice. Kübler abandoned the 1947 and 1949 Tours de France, despite an early stage win in each. In the 1950 Tour, he benefited from the absence of Fausto Coppi, sidelined after a crash in the Giro. Overcoming Gino Bartali, Kübler became champion by over nine minutes, also winning three stages. In the 1954 Tour, Kübler won the points jersey and came second behind Louison Bobet. Kübler was the first Swiss winner of the Tour de France.
Kübler was a high-spirited and impulsive rider sometimes given to strategically unwise attacks, out of exuberance and competitive drive. He was known as "the cowboy" because of his penchant for Stetson hats. He retired from racing in 1957 at 38.
Kübler died in Zurich on 29 December 2016 at the age of 97. Prior to his death he was the oldest living Tour de France winner.
Major results
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