26 June 1923 Ottavio Bottecchia’s first stage victory at Tour de France
It started with a new business opportunity. After the years of La Sportive consortium, the usual structure of sponsored teams returned to Tour de France in 1923. Automoto, the team of Pelissier brothers has some commercial interest in Italy, they were searching for more Italian cyclists in the team. They hired several riders, but only one of them arrived right in time for the start of Tour de France. He was Ottavio Bottecchia, a ” bricklayer of Friuli”, as he would be dubbed later, a rider just turned pro one year earlier. He knew only a few words in French: “No bananas, lots of coffee, thank you.” ((” Pas de bananes, beaucoup café, merci.” Quoted… Read More »26 June 1923 Ottavio Bottecchia’s first stage victory at Tour de France