Federico Martin Bahamontes

Federico Martín Bahamontes was a Spanish professional road racing cyclist who was nicknamed the "Eagle of Toledo" for his exceptional climbing skills. He was the first Spaniard to win the Tour de France in 1959 and the first cyclist to win the mountain classification in all three Grand Tours: the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. He also won a total of 11 Grand Tour stages and nine mountain classifications between 1954 and 1965. Bahamontes was born on 9 July 1928 in Santo Domingo-Caudilla, Toledo, to a poor family that suffered from hunger and hardship during and after the Spanish Civil War. He started cycling as a way to make money by buying food in nearby villages and selling it on the black market. He also competed in amateur races, often travelling by hitching rides on freight trains. He turned professional in 1953 and joined the French team Splendid. Bahamontes made his debut in the Tour de France in 1954, where he won his first King of the Mountains title and became famous for stopping at an ice-cream van on a mountain stage. He repeated his success in the mountains classification in 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963 and 1964, setting a record that was not equalled until Lucien Van Impe in 1983. He also won seven individual stages in the Tour de France, mostly in the high mountains. His greatest achievement came in 1959, when he won the overall classification of the Tour de France by four minutes over Henry Anglade. He also won the mountains classification and two stages that year. He became a national hero in Spain and was received by General Franco at his palace. He also received a yellow car as a prize from the Tour organizers. Bahamontes also competed in the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España, where he won the mountains classification in 1956 and 1957 respectively. He also won one stage in the Giro d'Italia in 1958 and three stages in the Vuelta a España in 1957, 1958 and 1960. He completed his "career triple" of winning the mountains classification in all three Grand Tours in 1965, when he finished second in the Vuelta a España behind Rolf Wolfshohl. Bahamontes retired from cycling in 1965 at the age of 37. He ran a bicycle and motorcycle shop in Toledo and remained involved in cycling as a commentator and organizer of races. He was named the best climber in the history of the Tour de France by a panel organized by L'Équipe in 2013. He died on 8 August 2023 at the age of 95 from old age-related diseases. He was survived by his wife Fermina Álvarez García, whom he married in 1957, and their four children: Federico, Victoria, Alejandro and José Luis.