Watching the Tour de France, I am thinking of Gino Bartali.  Born one hundered years ago, in 1914 in Florence, Bartali is one of the top five bicycle racers of all time.  He won the Giro d'Italia in 1936, 1937 and 1946.  And won the Tour de France in 1938 and then again after the war in 1948, his most famous victory.  It was the largest gap ever between victories at the Tour, ten years. He started to race as a boy with his brother, who died in a cylcing accident.   Bartali was a national hero and held many other racing titles, including the Milan-San Remo and the Giro di Lombardi.

It come to light after 2000 that during the war, Bartali, who was a devout Catholic, hid a Jewish family in his cellar, the Goldenbergs.  They credit him with saving their lives.

Bartali was also recruited during the war by the Archbishop of Genoa, who was a family friend, to help Jews escape from the fascists.  An accountant, Giorgio Nissim, a member of the network, and his group forged documents and created false passports to allow Jews to leave the  country.  Bartali would hide the documents in his bicycle and ride long distances, over 100 miles a day, acting as a courier.  Wearing his bicycle jersey, the authorities believed he was on a training ride and for the most part left him alone.

Leading refuges to the Swiss Alps, he cylcled pulling a wagon with a secret compartment, telling patrols it was just part of his training.

Bartali never spoke of any of this.  His involvement came to light with the discovery of Nissim's diary. 

In September 2013, thirteen years after his death, Bertali was recognized as a "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem for his efforts helping Jews.