A moment in time Switzerland’s short-lived success
By the time the 1940s rolled into the 1950s, a total of 73 Swiss riders had taken to the start line of a Tour de France, with a solitary podium place between them – Léo Amberg finishing third in 1937. If Switzerland hadn’t exactly set the race alight so far, with the 1950s around the corner the country at last looked to have a couple of riders with a genuine shot at the yellow jersey.
Ferdinand Kübler made his Tour debut in 1947. Billed as the ‘Tour of the Liberation’, the first race of the post-World War II era saw Kübler win the opening stage
