 Koblet at the 1956Ronde van Nederland | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Hugo Koblet |
| Nickname | Beautiful Hugo Le pédaleur de charme (The charming pedaler) |
| Born | (1925-03-21)21 March 1925 Zürich,Switzerland |
| Died | 6 November 1964(1964-11-06) (aged 39) Uster,Canton of Zurich, Switzerland |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road and Track |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Climber |
| Professional teams | |
| 1946 | Amberg/Mercier-R. Lapebie |
| 1947 | Amberg/Fuchs |
| 1948 | Tebag/Fiorelli |
| 1949 | Cilo |
| 1950–1954 | Cilo/Guerra/La Perle-Hutchinson |
| 1955 | Faema/Cilo |
| 1956 | Cilo/Saint Raphaël-R. Geminiani-Dunlop |
| 1958 | Cilo |
| 1959 | Cilo/Ghigi |
| Major wins | |
| Grand Tours | |
Hugo Koblet (pronounced[ˈhuːɡoˈkoːblɛt]; 21 March 1925 – 6 November 1964[1]) was aSwiss championcyclist. He won theTour de France and theGiro d'Italia as well as competing in six-day and pursuit races on the track. He won 70 races as a professional.[2] He died in a car accident amid speculation that he had committed suicide.
Hugo Koblet was the son of Adolf and Héléna Koblet,[3] bakers inZürich. He lived with his mother, a widow, and with an elder brother. His brother baked bread and cakes and Hugo was restricted to sweeping the floor and making deliveries by bicycle.[4] He left the bakery at 17 and worked as a trainee mechanic at the Oerlikon velodrome in the city. His first race was a 10 km hill-climb, which he won. That caught the attention ofLéo Amberg, a Swiss former Tour de France rider who had come second in the Tour of Switzerland. Amberg insisted Koblet ride the track and Koblet became national amateur pursuit champion in 1945. He turned professional in 1946 and won the New York and Chicago six-day races. It was after the races that he developed a love of the United States, driving to California and Florida. He had learned English by watching American and British films.[4] He won the Swiss pursuit championship every year from 1947 to 1954. In 1947 he finished third and in 1951 and 1954 second in the world championship.
Koblet won the 1950 Swiss road championship and then became the first non-Italian to win theGiro d'Italia.[5][4] In 1951 he defeatedFausto Coppi to win theGrand Prix des Nations, anindividual time trial with the status of unofficial world championship. The most important victory came that year at theTour de France. He won overall and took five stages – two time-trials, two conventional stages and another in the mountains.[6] In 1951 he "rode the best off his wheel" betweenBrive andAgen, saidCycling Plus, "just 20 miles into the stage, then covered 88 miles on his own to win by three minutes. This was despite a frantic chase by such greats as triple Tour winnerLouison Bobet, double winnerGino Bartali andFausto Coppi." The time differences when the Tour ended at theParc des Princes meant he had beatenRaphaël Géminiani by 12 km,Lucien Lazaridès by 18, Bartali by 18 and Coppi by 27.[6]
The 1951 Tour de France started inMetz, the second time outside Paris. The main riders were Louison Bobet for France, Fausto Coppi and an ageing Gino Bartali for Italy. Coppi was hindered by grief at the death of his brother, Serse.[7] Both Coppi and Bobet were pushed out of the running when Koblet won the time-trial from La Guerche to Angers. Their position was confirmed four days later when Koblet attacked on a gentle descent after two hours of the stage from Brive to Agen, a day expected to be a quiet journey towards the Pyrenees. He won again at Luchon, Montpellier and Geneva.
Hugo Koblet was a handsome man whose fame brought beautiful women and a lifestyle that affected his career. He was "the most charming of men to talk to", saidJock Wadley.[8]René de Latour wrote inSporting Cyclist: "Koblet had not an enemy at all. His ready and kindly smile came from deep down inside, and one knows from the start that this was a man without rancour, a rare thing to say of anybody who has raced in top competition on the road where the intense physical struggle often leads to jealousy and dispute."[8]
He never rode again at the same level as the 1951 Tour de France.[9]Jean Bobet said Koblet began to suffer in the mountains at 2,000m, then 1,500, then at 1,000 until "we saw him unable to ride over the smallest hill.".[10] The author Olivier Dazat said photographs showed not the handsome man he had been but a rider suddenly aged, worried and preoccupied.[9] René de Latour wrote: "There is a question mark about Hugo Koblet's life, the mystery of why he was never as good again as in the 1951 Tour. After this year, his pedalling had less power. Soon after that magnificent win, Koblet was invited to Mexico to follow the national amateur tour.[11] When he came back he was still, it seemed, the same incredibly easy pedaller. But the efficiency was partly gone. He visited specialists and took courses of treatment, but without any real success. He went to Mexico in 1951 [and] never came back from the land of guitars and sombreros. And nobody knows why!"[4]
In 1953 he was back in good shape and finished second in theGiro, whenCoppi attacked and left him behind on the climb up theStelvio Pass; in the1954 Giro he had to help hisdomestiqueCarlo Clerici who whas unexpectedly leading the race, and finished again in second place. He retired from competition in 1958.
Six years after his retirement, Koblet died at 39, four days after a car crash, with speculation that his death may have beensuicide. He had been profligate with his money[12] and was in debt. He was being pursued for unpaid tax[12] and his marriage had broken up. A witness, Émile Isler, saw Koblet driving his whiteAlfa Romeo at 120–140 kmh.[12][9] between Zürich andEsslingen. He drove past a pear tree, turned then drove back. He passed it again finally turned a third time and drove into it.[13]
Koblet married a 22-year-old model, Sonja Buhl, in 1953.[12] They spent their honeymoon in Spain and bought a villa at Forch, overlooking the lake at Zürich.Pirelli andAlfa-Romeo employed him in South America but the couple returned, Koblet disappointed and confused.[12] The marriage began to break up. His confusion included forgetting that he had signed a contract for 7 millionlire for a comb to be made in his name in Italy.[12] He and Sonja parted and Koblet moved alone into a studio apartment alongside a garage he opened near the Oerlikon velodrome.
He asked Buhl for a reconciliation in 1964 but she refused.[12] It was later that year that he died. Buhl refused her husband's inheritance rather than take on his debts.[12]
Koblet always carried a comb and a bottle ofeau de cologne when he raced, sometimes combing his hair before the finish, always cleaning his face before meeting photographers.[14][15] Philippe Brunel wrote inL'Equipe that at the end of his long ride to Agen in 1951, "followers were astonished to see him sit up, blow kisses to girls and take out of his pocket a sponge soaked in water. He was barely across the line when he rinsed his face inPerrier,[16] combed his hair, then started his stopwatch."[12] The music hall artist Jacques Grello nicknamed him thePédaleur de Charme inParisien Libéré in 1951.[4][5][9]
Koblet's life was the subject of a cinema film,Hugo Koblet: Pédaleur de Charme, in 2010. It starred Manuel Löwensberg as Koblet, Sarah Bühlmann as his wife Sonja Buhl, Chantal Le Moign and Dominique Müller.[17] It attributed his decline to "doping abuse."[18] It was directed by Daniel von Aarburg, who included archive film and interviews with Koblet's contemporaries.
OverallGiro d'Italia
Mountains classification
OverallTour de France OverallTour de Romandie OverallTour de Suisse
Road Race, National Road Championships OverallTour de Suisse Individual Pursuit, National Amateur Track Championships Individual Pursuit, National Track Championships Individual Pursuit, National Track Championships Individual Pursuit, National Track Championships Individual Pursuit, National Track Championships Individual Pursuit, National Track Championships Individual Pursuit, National Track Championships
Individual Pursuit,European Track Cycling Championships Individual Pursuit, National Track Championships Madison,European Track Cycling Championships Individual Pursuit, National Track Championships| 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | 1 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 10 | DNE |
| Stages won | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Mountains classification | 1 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | — |
| Points classification | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Tour de France | DNE | 1 | DNE | DNF-10 | DNF-13 | DNE | DNE |
| Stages won | — | 5 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Mountains classification | — | 3 | — | — | NR | NR | — |
| Points classification | N/A | N/A | N/A | — | NR | NR | — |
| Vuelta a España | DNE | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | DNE | DNF |
| Stages won | — | — | 1 | ||||
| Mountains classification | — | — | NR | ||||
| Points classification | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1 | Winner |
| 2–3 | Top three-finish |
| 4–10 | Top ten-finish |
| 11– | Other finish |
| DNE | Did not enter |
| DNF-x | Did not finish (retired on stage x) |
| DNS-x | Did not start (not started on stage x) |
| HD-x | Finished outside time limit (occurred on stage x) |
| DSQ | Disqualified |
| N/A | Race/classification not held |
| NR | Not ranked in this classification |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Swiss Sportsman of the Year 1951 | Succeeded by |
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*In 1912, Giro was contested solely by teams, with no individual classification |
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