Bernardo Ruiz

Bernardo Ruiz Navarrete (; 8 January 1925 – 14 August 2025) was a Spanish professional road bicycle racer who won the overall and climbers competition at the 1948 Vuelta a España. He went on to become the first Spaniard to take two wins in a single edition of the Tour de France in 1951, the first to finish on the overall podium at the Tour the following year, and the first to win a stage of the Giro d'Italia in 1955.

Early life Ruiz was born into a Communist Party-supporting family in Orihuela and grew up in the Valencian Community: he himself was a member of the pioneer movement in Spain during his youth. After the defeat of the Republican faction in the Spanish Civil War, his family suffered discrimination in the White Terror for their political views, with his father being banned from formal employment and forced to report to the local police station every two weeks. Being unable to find work, the family milled flour and transported it with a donkey and cart to Valencia to sell.

Legacy Ruiz had to race with heavy equipment because Spain was going through a depression. Ruiz is one of the few riders to have completed all three Grand Tours in a single season, which he did on three occasions. As of 2020 only two other riders have accomplished this more than three times. During his career he rode a total of 21 Grand Tours, and completed 12 Grand Tours consecutively. and died on 14 August of the same year.

Major results

1945

1946

1st Trofeo Jaumendreu 4th Trofeo Masferrer 5th Overall Volta a Catalunya 1st Stage 7 1947

2nd Road race, National Road Championships 2nd Overall Gran Premio Cataluña 1st Stages 4 & 6 2nd Trofeo Jaumendreu 4th Overall Vuelta a Levante 1st Stages 4 & 5 7th Trofeo Masferrer 7th GP Pascuas 1948

1st Stages 1 (ITT), 4 & 12 1949 3rd Overall Gran Premio Cataluña 1st Stage 4 (ITT) 3rd Trofeo Masferrer 1950 1st Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama 2nd Road race, National Road Championships 4th Overall Vuelta a España 1st Stage 8b 5th Overall Volta a Catalunya 1st Stage 5 5th Trofeo Masferrer 1951

1st Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama 1st Stage 3 Tour de Romandie 1st Stage 11 Volta a Catalunya 3rd Trofeo Masferrer 9th Overall Tour de France 1st Stages 10 & 21 1952 3rd Overall Tour de France 4th Overall Vuelta a Castilla 1st Stage 5 (ITT) 8th Overall Volta a Catalunya 1953 2nd Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama 3rd Trofeo Masferrer 6th Overall Volta a Catalunya 8th Road race, National Road Championships 1954

1st Stage 4 (ITT) 2nd Road race, National Road Championships 2nd GP Pascuas 3rd Overall Vuelta a Levante 1st Stage 2 3rd Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama 1955 1st Stage 10 Giro d'Italia 3rd Overall Eibarko Bizikleta 1st Stage 4 (ITT) 4th GP Pascuas 6th Trofeo Masferrer 9th Overall Volta a Catalunya 1956 2nd Road race, National Road Championships 2nd Overall Trofeo Mallorca 1st Stage 2 (ITT) 2nd GP Pascuas 1957

3rd Overall Vuelta a España 7th Overall Volta a Catalunya 1958 7th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía 10th Overall Vuelta a Levante

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish NH Not Held