Ottavio Bottecchia was a talented Italian cyclist who became the first Italian to win the prestigious Tour De France in 1924. He followed that historic feat up with another victory in the world's most famous cycling race in 1925. Some might imagine that with him being so successful, he might have lived long after his cycling days, but, he wasn't that fortunate. On June 14, 1927, Bottecchia was found dead on the side of the road not far from his home. His bike was found nearby completely undamaged, and there were no skid marks were found to indicate that he was run off the road. But Bottecchia was in a horrible state. His skull was smashed in, his collarbone was snapped, and several other bones were badly broken. Some theories were that he was either in a bike crash or he had been wounded in a fight.
Whatever theory you choose to believe, his death was never explained, and his killer was never behind bars.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
