Alfredo Binda facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Alfredo Binda

Personal information
Born	(1902-08-11)11 August 1902 Cittiglio, Italy
Died	19 July 1986(1986-07-19) (aged 83) Cittiglio, Italy
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climber, classics specialist
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France 2 individual stages (1930) Giro d'Italia General classification (1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1933) Mountains classification (1933) 41 individual stages (1925–1929, 1931, 1933) One-day races and Classics World Road Race Championships (1927, 1930, 1932) National Road Race Championships (1926, 1927, 1928, 1929) Giro di Lombardia (1925, 1926, 1927, 1931) Milan–San Remo (1929, 1931) Giro del Piemonte (1926, 1927)

Alfredo Binda (born August 11, 1902 – died July 19, 1986) was a famous Italian road cyclist. He was one of the best riders in the 1920s and 1930s. He was the first person to win the Giro d'Italia five times. He also became a world champion three times.

Binda also won the Milan–San Remo race twice. He won the Tour of Lombardy four times. After he stopped racing, he became a manager for the Italian National team. Under his guidance, famous cyclists like Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali won the Tour de France.

Early Life and Beginnings

Alfredo Binda was born in Cittiglio, a town near Varese in Italy. When he was a teenager, he moved to Nice, in southern France. There, he worked with his uncle as an apprentice plasterer. This means he was learning the skill of applying plaster to walls and ceilings.

In their free time, Alfredo and his brother Primo loved to cycle. Alfredo started racing in September 1921, when he was 19 years old. He won his very first race, though he was later disqualified. It was clear right away that he was a very talented rider. He was good at both time trials and climbing hills.

Binda was also a trained trumpet player. Because of this, people nicknamed him "Trombettiere di Cittiglio." This means "The Trumpeter of Cittiglio."

Alfredo Binda's Amazing Cycling Career

In 1924, Alfredo Binda rode his bike all the way from Nice to Milan. He wanted to compete in the Tour of Lombardy race. He was especially interested in a prize for being the "King of the Mountains" on the Ghisallo climb. He won that prize and finished fourth in the race. Because of his great performance, he was quickly offered a contract with the Legnano professional cycling team.

Rivalries and Dominance

The 1925 Giro d'Italia was a big event. Many people thought it would be the last race for the famous cyclist Costante Girardengo. Everyone in Italy hoped he would win. But Binda, who was only 23 and new to the Giro, defeated him. This made Binda very unpopular at first. Girardengo decided to keep racing, and a strong rivalry grew between them.

As Girardengo got older, people hoped Domenico Piemontesi would beat Binda. But Binda was too strong for him, just like he was for many others. In 1929, Girardengo found a new strong rider named Learco Guerra. He said Guerra would be the next big star and would challenge Binda. Guerra was very popular and had many supporters.

Binda, however, was known for being focused only on winning. He once said he wasn't interested in putting on a "show" for the fans. He just wanted to win races. Every time he beat Guerra, some Italian fans liked him less. Guerra was seen as friendly and open, while Binda seemed cold and distant.

Unstoppable Success

Alfredo Binda was so dominant that the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper offered him money to skip the 1930 Giro. They paid him 22,500 lire to not race. Instead, he competed in the Tour de France that year and won two stages.

It wasn't until 1932, when he won his third Cycling World Championship in Rome, that the public started to appreciate him more. By then, he had changed how cyclists trained and raced. Many people considered him one of the greatest cyclists ever.

He won the Giro d'Italia a record five times: in 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1933. In 1933, he also won the first-ever "King of the Mountains" competition in the Giro.

Besides winning the overall races, he won 41 individual stages in the Giro. This was a record until 2003. In 1927, he won an amazing 12 out of 15 stages. In 1929, he won 8 stages in a row!

Binda was also very successful in the World Championships. He won the title three times: in 1927, 1930, and 1932. Only a few other cyclists have matched this record. He also finished third in 1929. By the time he retired, he had won over 120 races. This included the Italian Championships four times.

A cycling club called Società Ciclistica Alfredo Binda is named in his honor.

Major Results

Images for kids

• 

  Binda at the 1927 Giro d'Italia

See also

• Legends of Italian sport - Walk of Fame