Charly Gaul, 72, Tour de France Champ in 1958
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Charly Gaul, a former Tour de France champion and two-time Giro d’Italia winner, died yesterday of a lung hemorrhage in a Luxembourg hospital, Luxembourg radio reported. He was 72.
Known as the “Angel of the Mountains,” Gaul was the first non-Italian to win the Giro – in 1956 and 1959. He won the Tour de France in 1958.
The cyclist was the strongest mountain climber of the 1950s and finished third in the Tour de France in 1955 and 1961. He readily disclosed his secret to climbing: use the lowest gear and spin as fast as possible.
Gaul would have turned 73 on Thursday.
