Background
Binda was born in Cittiglio near Varese but moved to Nice, in southern France as a teenager.
Binda was born in Cittiglio near Varese but moved to Nice, in southern France as a teenager.
Later he would manage the Italian National team Under him, Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali and Gastone Nencini all triumphed at the Tour de France. He began racing in September 1921, aged 19.
Binda was a trained trumpet player, and was nicknamed "Trombettiere di Cittiglio" ("The Trumpeter of Cittiglio").
Enticed by a 500 lire King of the Mountains prize on the Ghisallo climb, Binda rode from Nice to Milan in order to compete in the 1924 Tour of Lombardy. The 1925 Giro d"Italia was to be the last of the legendary campionissimo Costante Girardengo.
All of Italy hoped he would prevail, and his defeat at the hands of Binda, a 23-year-old Giro debutant, was deeply unpopular. In the event Girardengo resolved to continue racing, and the two of them developed a caustic, deeply personal rivalry.
As Girardengo"s powers waned, Italians looked to Domenico Piemontesi to usurp Binda but, much like everyone else, he was hopelessly out of his depth against the fuoriclasse.
In 1929 Girardengo "discovered" a prodigiously strong track rider from Veneto, Learco Guerra. He famously annointed him as his heir apparent, a new "anti-Binda". Guerra closely resembled Girardengo as a cyclist, and was hugely popular.
He enjoyed the support of the Italian Fascist Party, and by extension the press and wider sporting public.
Binda, on the other hand, famously declared that he"d no interest in producing spettacolo. Rather he was simply in the business of winning bike races, and each time he defeated Guerra the Italian public"s antipathy grew.
Whilst Guerra was homespun, expansive and open, Binda was perceived as cold and detached, pompous even. So dominant was he that the Gazzetta dello Sport offered him 22,500 lire to miss the Giro of 1930.
Instead, he took part in that year"s Tour de France, winning two stages.
By then he had redefined both training and racing methodology, and was inarguably the greatest cyclist ever to have lived. In the World Championships, Binda was also very successful. In addition, he placed third in 1929.
Società Ciclistica Alfredo Binda is named in his honor.