Ferdinand "Ferdy" Kübler, the first Swiss to win the Tour de France, has died at the age of 97. He was the oldest living winner of the most famous cycling road race.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch
The cycling legend, who was named the “Swiss sportsperson of the century” in 1983, died in a Zurich hospital on Thursday. He was admitted on account of a severe cold.
Kübler entered professional cycling in 1940 but took a while to reach elite status. He won the Tour de France in 1950 at the age of 31 and the World Road Race a year later. A native of Marthalen in canton Zurich, he won the Tour de Suisse three times, in 1942, 1948 and 1951.
More
More
The life of Ferdy Kübler
This content was published on
These historic images show some of Kübler’s greatest sporting moments.
He said his greatest regret was not winning the Tour de France in 1949. He got a puncture while in the lead and had to wait 20 minutes until a rescue vehicle turned up because his own vehicle had met with an accident.
He had rivalry going on with fellow Swiss Hugo Koblet, who became the first non-Italian to win the Giro d’Italia in 1950 and went on to win the Tour de France the year after Kübler. They remain the only Swiss to have won the Tour de France.
Kübler retired from cycling in 1957. The mantle of the oldest living Tour de France winner now passes to Frenchman Roger Walkowiak, who won the race in 1956. He is 89 years old.
Red Cross: 22 staff killed in Middle East since October
This content was published on
The Red Cross and Red Crescent network in Gaza and Israel has lost 22 staff members since last October, the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) said on Wednesday.
Dortmund’s Kobel is first Swiss goalie to reach Champions League final
This content was published on
Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel has achieved history by becoming the first Swiss goalkeeper to reach a Champion’s League final.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
His world tour was an epic 122,000 kilometres long and took him through 60 countries in four continents. Starting in his hometown of Geneva in 1994, Claude first travelled through the southern republics of the former Soviet Union, across the Indian subcontinent and into China, South Korea and Japan. He then cycled across North and…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.