Cosme Saavedra

During the interwar period Cosme Saavedra racked up an impressive set of cycling wins in his native Argentina, where he was considered a pioneer of the sport. In 1924 Saavedra won the Clásica del Oeste-Doble Bragado stage race in Buenos Aires for the first time, before retaining his title the following year. He would dominate in the race for the next few years, winning four consecutive titles from 1927 to 1930. In addition to his wins at the Doble Bragado, he captured the national road race title in 1926, before winning it again in 1931 and 1933. Saavedra also was the Argentine Endurance Champion in 1922, 1926, and 1931, and won the Buenos Aires-Dolores-Mar del Plata race in 1933.

On the back of his first win at the Doble Bragado, Saavedra was selected to compete at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He finished 30th in the individual road race, almost an hour behind the winning time, and competed in the 50 kilometres event on the track. He returned to the Olympics four years later for the Amsterdam Games, where this time he came 15th in the road race.