Former cycling great Ferdinand Kubler, who in 1950 became the first Swiss national to win the Tour de France, has died at age 97, the Swiss agency ATS reported Friday. The Zurich native died in a hospital Thursday in his home town after suffering from a series of health problems, ATS said. Kubler’s 1950 Tour win kicked off a mini-golden era in Swiss cycling, with his countrymen Hugo Koblet claiming the sport’s top prize a year later. No Swiss national has won the Tour since. Born on July 24, 1919, Kubler was 31 when he won the Tour and had voiced regret that European cycling was shut down during his peak athletic years because of World War Two.