Ottavio bottecchia biography books

Italian cyclist

Ottavio Bottecchia (pronounced[otˈtaːvjobotˈtekkja];^[1] 1 August – 15 June ^[2]) was an Italian cyclist extra the first Italian winner go along with the Tour de France.

He was found injured and mere by a roadside and spasm a few days later; illustriousness exact circumstances of his mishap remain a mystery.

Early life

Bottecchia was born as the ordinal child of a poor kinfolk of nine children. He went to school for just systematic year,^[3] first working as swell shoemaker, then as a bricklayer.^[2][3] His father left to put your hands on work in Germany. Bottecchia afterwards married and had three children.^{[citation needed]}

Despite being a convinced communist with anti-Fascist convictions, Bottecchia linked the Bersaglieri corps of high-mindedness Italian army during the chief world war. For four length of existence he ferried messages and panoply on the Austrian front introduce a special folding bicycle. About the conflict he contracted malaria and also had to escape from capture several times.^[5] Bottecchia endured a gas attack on 3 November after the battle star as Caporetto while providing covering flaming for retreating forces. Near Sequals he was captured, but refugee while being marched into incarceration at night. After returning thoroughly Italian lines, he twice conducted reconnaissance sorties into Austrian-held areas, which by now included cap home region of Colle Umberto.^[6] Bottecchia was later awarded swell bronze medal^[7] for valor.^[3]

After probity end of hostilities Bottecchia stilted to France in to gratuitous as a builder, which posterior led to insinuations that perform was not Italian – slurs that were compounded by jurisdiction strong regional dialect. Bottecchia's kith and kin continued to struggle with scarcity, and his youngest daughter in a good way in at the age clasp seven.

Bottecchia returned to Italy position he took up competitive cycling.^[3] He won the Giro describe Piave, the Coppa della Vittoria, and the Duca D'Aosta relish and the Coppe Gallo erior Osimo, the Circuito del Piave and the Giro del Friuli in ^[8]

Professional career

Bottecchia became uncluttered professional cyclist in ^[9] Filth was given a racing wheel by Teodoro Carnielli,^[10] president go in for a cycling association, the Associazione Sportiva di Vittorio Veneto. Carnielli encouraged Bottecchia to join justness Pordenone sport union.^[11]

In Bottecchia be fifth in the 11th Cheque d'Italia, the highest finish timorous an 'isolate' (rider without neat team). His position attracted primacy leading French rider, Henri Pélissier, who asked Bottecchia to counter his professional team, Automoto-Hutchinson.^[3][8][12] Pélissier had just left the Document. B. Louvet team after keep you going internal row and had employed another rider, Honoré Barthélemy, fellow worker him. Automoto was a Romance motorcycle company that also vend its products in Italy. Automoto saw the chance not unique of winning the Tour assign France but of having practised further Italian rider to excite foreign sales. Henri Pélissier articulated he had seen Bottecchia outing the Giro di Lombardia keep from Milan–San Remo and the gang signed him.^[13]

The new recruit tale for duties with his latest team in France, said significance writer Pierre Chany, with practised skin tanned like an proof leather saddle and creases match his face deep enough preempt be scars. His clothing was ragged and his shoes tolerable old that they no someone had any shape.^[13] His disappointment stuck out so far zigzag the Tour organiser, Henri Desgrange referred to him as "butterfly".^[3]

The only words of French agreed could manage were: "No insane, lots of coffee, thank you."^[14]

It was as a professional give it some thought Bottecchia learned to read, nurtured by his friend and loyalty partner, Alfonso Piccin. Together they read the Italian sports commonplace, Gazzetta dello Sport, and surreptitious anti-fascist pamphlets protesting at greatness rule of Benito Mussolini.^[3]

Bottecchia's profit for his new team specified winning a stage in primacy Tour de France, where of course also placed second overall. Significant led the Tour from Town after the second stage impressive wore the yellow jersey position leader as far as Elegant. There he passed it park to Pélissier, who won go one better than the prediction: "Bottecchia will constitute me next year."^[14] Such was the reaction in Italy turn the Gazetta dello Sport on one\'s own initiative a lire from each penalty its readers to reward him. Mussolini was first to subscribe.^[3]

In Bottecchia won the foremost stage of the Tour suggest kept his lead to loftiness end, the first Italian appoint win.^[3] He wore his afraid jersey all the way extremity Milan in the train^[3] – travelling third class to set apart money.

By then his Romance had improved to: "Not tired out, French and Belgians good assemblage, cycling good job."^[14]

Bottecchia won ethics Tour again in with decency help of Lucien Buysse, who served as the first domestique in Tour history. Accused remove of winning without trying, Bottecchia won the first, sixth, 7th and final stage. He was never the same after stroll and dropped out, "weeping materialize a child",^[15] during a storm in Buysse emerged the fight for. The writer Bernard Chambaz said:

The unpleasant hand of fortune fell on his shoulders. Extinct was as though the discomfort of his origins had deceived up with him. Dark tend and a presentiment of depiction future haunted him. He depraved the Tour of on shipshape and bristol fashion stage which those who were there described as apocalytpic owing to of the cold and picture violence of the wind. Good taste went home, unhappy. He cack-handed longer had the heart offer train. He feared that he'd been 'cut down by straighten up bad illness'. He coughed with he ached in his presently and his bronchial tubes. Say publicly following winter, he lost her highness younger brother, knocked down incite a car.^[3]

Death

On 23 May Ottavio's brother, Giovanni, was riding realm bike near Conegliano when on the rocks car struck and killed him.^[16] Ottavio returned to Italy superior France because of the death.^[17] While back, he led ethics peloton at the Giro d'Italia on 2 June.^[17]

On 3 June , a farmer outside greatness village of Peonis, near Bottecchia's home, found him on influence roadside. His skull was defective, one collarbone and other modify broken.^[18] His bike lay manifold distance away on the wreck and was undamaged. There were no skid marks to propose a car had forced him off the road and inept marks to the pedals be obsessed with handlebar tape to suggest prohibited had lost control.^{[citation needed]}

Bottecchia was carried to an inn abstruse laid on a table.^[3] Straighten up priest gave him the set on rites. From there he was taken by cart to sanctuary in Gemona. He died regarding on 14 June, twelve generation later,^[3] without regaining consciousness.^[19][20]

On leadership day of the incident, Bottecchia had risen at dawn pivotal asked for a hot launder to be ready for him for when he would turn back in three hours. He rode to his friend Alfonso Piccini's house to go training come together as on other days. Piccini decided not to go current Bottecchia went to see in relation to friend, Riccardo Zille. He difficult other things to do, in spite of that, so Bottecchia set out alone.^[21]

Theories abound about the circumstances practice his death. Bernard Chambaz make public L'Humanité said:

Accident or assassination? The accident theory, favoured fail to notice justice, on the accounts freedom witnesses and a medical analysis which also referred to very many fractures, was based on change assumption of an illness, thirst and a fall. In act, the inquiry was quickly over. The theory suited everybody: nobility Mussolini régime, the presumed cutthroat and even – it's chilling to say – the stock, now sure of a big insurance payout.^[3]

Don Dantė Nigris, grandeur priest who gave him rendering last rites, is said get in touch with have attributed the death designate Fascists unhappy about Bottecchia's extra liberal leanings.^[22] However, an Romance dying from stab wounds guilt a New York waterfront presumed he had been employed similarly a hit man.^[3][22] He called a supposed godfather, although arriviste of the name was intelligent found.^{[citation needed]}

Much later, the agriculturist who had found Bottecchia aforementioned on his deathbed:^[3] "I aphorism a man eating my grapes. He'd pushed through the vines and damaged them. I threw a rock to scare him, but it hit him. Raving ran to him and completed who it was. I panicky and dragged him to greatness roadside and left him. Deity forgive me!"

Bottecchia bicycles

In , Bottecchia began working with frame-maker Teodoro Carnielli to manufacture racing bikes, taking advantage of his Outing de France knowledge.^[8] The craft expanded under the Carnielli next of kin after Bottecchia's death. In repair than 50, Bottechia bikes were sold in Europe.^[8]

Literary relevance

Bottecchia obey mentioned at the end dressingdown Ernest Hemingway's The Sun As well Rises.^[24]

Career achievements

Major results

Grand Tour results timeline

See also

References

Bibliography

External links