1906: The Birth of a Champion Cyclist

February 5, 1906

Road racing cyclist Mariano Cañardo was born in the town and municipality of Olite in north-central Spain’s autonomous community and province of Navarre. After becoming an orphan at the age of 14, he moved with his sister to the city of Barcelona in northeastern Spain’s autonomous community and province of Catalonia. It was in Barcelona that Cañardo first developed a strong love for bicycles. He began taking part in races as a professional cyclist in 1926.  

Over the next several years, Cañardo achieved renown as a formidable competitor in various races in Spain and beyond. His accomplishments included setting a still-unbroken record for the most wins — a total of seven — in the Volta a Catalunya (Tour of Catalonia). Cañardo specifically finished first in the editions of that annual Spanish road bicycle race that were held in 1928-30, 1932, 1935, 1936, and 1939.

In addition, Cañardo won the Volta a lla Comunitat Valenciana (Tour of the Valencian Community) in 1928 and the Vuelta al Pais Vasco (Tour of the Basque Country) in 1930. He was the first Spaniard to finish first in the latter of those races. Cañardo also won the Tour du Maroc (Tour of Morocco) in both 1937 and 1938. Those editions were the first two of that road bicycle race.

Cañardo retired from professional cycling in 1943. He went on to serve as sports director of several cycling teams. Cañardo also helped organize events such as the Catalonia-based multi-stage road bicycle race known as the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme (Catalan Cycling Week). His other activities included serving on the board of the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation, which is Spain’s national governing body of cycle racing. Cañardo died in Barcelona on May 20 1987. He was 81.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on Mariano Cañardo, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariano_Ca%C3%B1ardo