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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ferdinand Kübler |
| Nickname | Ferdi, The Cowboy |
| Date of birth | July 24, 1919 |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Allround |
| Major wins | |
| Winner Tour de France (1950) World Cycling Champion (1951) Winner Tour de France green jersey (1954) |
|
| Infobox last updated on: | |
| April 16, 2007 | |
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Switzerland |
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| Road bicycle racing | |||
| World Championships | |||
| Gold | 1951 Varese | Elite Men's Road Race | |
| Silver | 1949 Copenhagen | Elite Men's Road Race | |
| Bronze | 1950 Moorslede | Elite Men's Road Race | |
Ferdinand "Ferdi" Kübler (born 24 July 1919 in Marthalen} is a retired Swiss cyclist with over 100 professional victories, including the 1950 Tour de France. He began racing professionally in 1940 but his early career was limited to Switzerland by the Nazi occupation elsewhere. He was multiple Swiss national champion and twice winner of the Tour de Suisse.
Kubler’s most successful years in international racing were 1950-1952, when the classics had resumed after the Second World War. He won the La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, both in 1951 and 1952. He was also World Road Race Champion in 1951, having placed second in 1949 and third in 1950.
He rode the Giro d'Italia from 1950-1952, placing fourth once, and third twice. Kubler abandoned the 1947 and 1949 Tours de France, despite an early stage win in each. In the 1950 Tour, he benefited from the absence of Fausto Coppi, sidelined after a crash in the Giro. Overcoming Gino Bartali, Kubler became champion by over nine minutes, also winning three stages. In the 1954 Tour, Kubler was best climber and came second behind Louison Bobet.
Kubler was a high-spirited and impulsive rider sometimes given to strategically-unwise attacks, out of exuberance and competitive drive. He was known as “the cowboy” because of his penchant for Stetson hats. He retired from racing in 1957 at 38. He is the oldest living Tour de France winner.
Palmarès
- 1940
national pursuit champion- 1941
- national pursuit champion
- national mountain champion
- 1942
- national mountain champion
- Tour de Suisse
- 1943
- national pursuit champion
- 1945
- national cyclo-cross champion
- 1947
- Tour de France:
- Winner stages 1 and 5
- Wearing yellow jersey for one day
- Paris-Lille
- 1948
- national road race champion
- Tour de Suisse
- Tour de Romandie
- 1949
- Tour de France:
- Winner stage 5
- national road race champion
- 1950
- Challenge Desgrande-Colombo
- Trophée Edmond Gentil
- national road race champion
- Tour de France:
:Winner overall classification- Winner stages 6, 10 and 20
- 1951
- national road race champion
World road champion- Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- Tour de Romandie
- Flèche Wallonne
- Week-end Ardennais
- Tour de Suisse
- Rome-Naples-Rome
- 1952
- Challenge Desgrande-Colombo
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- Flèche Wallonne
- Week-end Ardennais
- 1953
- Bordeaux-Paris
- 1954
- national road race champion
- Challenge Desgrande-Colombo
- Tour de France:
- 2nd place overall classification
- Winner stages 5 and 14
Winner points classification
- 1956
- Milan-Turin
Teams
- 1945: Cilo
- 1946: Cilo
- 1947: Cilo
- 1948: Peugeot - Dunlop
- 1948: Tebag
- 1949: Tebag
- 1949: Peugeot - Dunlop
- 1949: Bartali
- 1950: Tebag
- 1950: Frejus
- 1951: Frejus
- 1951: Tebag
- 1952: Frejus
- 1952: Fiorelli
- 1952: Tebag
- 1953: La Perle - Hutchinson
- 1953: Fiorelli
- 1953: Tebag
- 1954: La Perle - Hutchinson
- 1954: Fiorelli
- 1954: Tebag
- 1955: La Perle - Hutchinson
- 1955: Fiorelli
- 1955: Tebag
- 1956: Carpano - Coppi
- 1956: Tebag
- 1957: Tebag
External links
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Fausto Coppi |
Winner of the Tour de France 1950 |
Succeeded by Hugo Koblet |
| Preceded by Briek Schotte |
World Road Racing Champion 1951 |
Succeeded by Heinz Müller |
| Preceded by Fritz Schär |
Winner of the green jersey in the Tour de France 1954 |
Succeeded by Stan Ockers |
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