“Athletic Club and cycling” opens at San Mames

As part of Athletic's 125th anniversary celebrations and with the Grand Depart of the Tour de France on the horizon, the Athletic Club Museum has organised a new exhibition with the aim of raising awareness about the historical relationship between the Club and cycling.

The exhibition, which will open at San Mames on 19 June, follows on from the appointment of Joane Somarriba and Marino Lejarreta as 125th anniversary ambassadors last May. Both were named as representatives in tribute to the Basque cycling community.

The "Athletic Club and Cycling" exhibition has been put on display in San Mames South Hall and explains the relationship between the club and the two-wheeled sport.

It is a link that goes back a long way, as Juan Astorquia, one of Athletic Club's founding Members and former president, was also a great lover of cycling and was appointed vice-president of the Spanish cycling federation.

What's more, Roger Moser, Honorary Member of the Club, was a major driving force behind the Sociedad Ciclista Bilbaina, one of the longest-running cycling associations in Europe. Vicente Blanco, who became the first Basque rider to compete in the Tour de France, was also a member of this organisation.

During the 1920s, Athletic Club set up a series of sports teams to join the football side, such as: athletics, mountaineering, Basque pelota, hockey, swimming and cycling. Between 1924 and 1929, the cycling team competed in the main races on the official Basque calendar and organised races exclusively for Club Members.

More than 20 riders wore the Athletic jersey. Among them were some celebrated riders such as Federico Ezquerra, who took part in four editions of the Grand Bouclé, beating the record for the ascent of the Galibier on three occasions and even winning a stage on 19 July 1936.

Francisco Cepeda rode with Los Rojiblancos for two years, and died during his third appearance in the Tour due to a serious accident suffered on 14 July 1935.

Balendin Enbeita is known for his work as a bertsolari, but he was also a member of the Athletic cycling team.

San Mames has also been the stage for great cycling moments. This was the case with the 1960, 1961, 2019 and 2020 editions of La Vuelta, as well as the imminent start of the 2023 Tour. Our fans have embraced some of the sports most famed champions like Jesús Loroño, Eddy Merckx, Marino Lejarreta, Miguel Indurain, Roberto Laiseka, Iban Mayo, Igor Astarloa, Joane Somarriba, Javi Conde, Javier Otxoa and Samuel Sánchez, as well as the Euskatel-Euskadi team who took a ceremonial kick-off at The Cathedral.

The exhibition includes photographs, documents and objects that have never been seen before. For example, there are original photos of the 5,000-capacity Bilbao Velodrome inaugurated in 1896, all the Athletic cycling team's preserved trophies, and bicycles such as that belonging to Federico Ezquerra when he became the first Basque from the South Basque Country to win a stage of the Tour, or the one our  ambassador Joana Somarriba used to win the 2003 World Time Trial in Hamilton, Canada.

The exhibition would have been impossible to put together without the collaboration of the families of many cyclists, and the inauguration will be attended by members of Athletic Club's board of directors, representatives of various institutions, members of current professional cycling teams and a significant representation of former riders.