The Diputació de València publishes a book on the history of the Ferrys de Canals cycling teamLift-EMV
The Diputació de València rescues the history of the legendary Ferrys cycling team with the publication of a book written by Ángel Ballester, with a prologue by Juan Osés, author of numerous biographies on ancient figures of the Spanish bicycle. The first vice president of the provincial corporation, Natàlia Enguix, closed this Wednesday the Presentation of the work, which took place at the Canals Cultural Centre with great attendance of neighbors and fans, including the Ferrys cyclists Jesús Roda and Manuel Trenco, as well as the daughters of Julio San Emeterio, one of the stars of the team born in the Costera.
Deputy Natàlia Enguix at the book presentation event in Canals.
Accompanied by the mayor of Canals, Nacho Mira, and the deputy for Culture and colleague in the Diputació Paco Teruel, Natàlia Enguix thanked in her speech “the tireless work of the Councilor for Sports Edu Badal, who has dedicated many hours to promoting this recognition that we do to Vicente Ferri, a historic and unique figure who founded the legendary cycling team that competed in the elite for many yearsand that, let us not forget, was a key player in the industrialization of our regions with his company Géneros de Punto Ferrys.”
Poulidor and Manzaneque in a historical image of cyclists.
Enguix celebrated “the publication of a book that is part of our collective memory, and that through sport and the exploits of different generations of cyclists takes us back to a few years in which the name of our regions went around the world thanks to the sacrifice and humility of businessmen like Vicente Ferri, a native of Aielo de Malferit”. “While in Ontinyent they began to make blankets and clothes for the home, Ferrys dedicated itself to providing us with the best underwear, and to internationally disseminating the potential of our industry and the glories of our athletes”, said Enguix.
Perez Francés in a cycling race from decades ago.
For his part, Mayor Nacho Mira assured that Canals “has always felt special pride in having had a top-level cycling team in his town.” In his opinion, the book published by the Provincial Council “allows older people to recover the memory of Ferrys and its cyclists, but it also represents an unbeatable opportunity for younger people to learn first-hand about the historical and sporting significance of the team.” promoted by Vicente Ferri.” The Culture Deputy, Paco Teruel, expressed his satisfaction with the publication of ‘Grupo Deportivo Ferrys. A history of cycling’, which has become “an essential document to know and value the sporting and business history of Canals”.
Cycling history
Much has been written about José Pérez Francés, Julio San Emeterio, Luis Otaño, Angelino Soler, Ramón Sáez or the Manzaneque brothers, legendary cyclists who competed with the Anquetil, Poulidor, Gimondi, Merckx and Ocaña in Vuelta, Giro and Tour. The book published by the Diputació tells the evolution of a great Spanish team born in Canals at the hands of a businessman in love with cycling, but also with cycling at any time, both elite and amateur sports.
The author of this extraordinary cycling narrative is a specialist in the field, an aficionado and scholar of historical cycling like Ángel Ballester, who is posthumously congratulated by another expert like Juan Osés, who has given biographical portraits of great cyclists such as Jesús Loroño, Bernardo Ruiz, Valentín Uriona, Agustín Tamames, Enrique Martínez Heredia and Juan Manuel Santisteban. Osés is the author of the prologue to this work distributed by the Diputació de València.
The book, “the best surprise that cycling fans and scholars have encountered this year,” according to Juan Osés, reviews the career of the great Ferrys riders; the pioneering component of Valencian cycling; the history of this tough sport in the postwar period; the references of cycling photography, from Torrents and Alguersuari to García Molina and the Galiana brothers, without forgetting Ogalla and Finezas; and of course the evolution and decline of a sports group that achieved three stage victories and a podium in the Tour and 12 stage wins and four podiums in the Vuelta a España.
