Federico Bahamontes

Federico Martín Bahamontes (born 9 July 1928; 9 August 2023) is a Spanish retired professional cyclist. He was the first cyclist to win the "King of the Mountains" competition for best climber in all three Grand Tours, the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.

Federico Bahamontes
Bahamontes in 1962
Personal information
NicknameThe Eagle of Toledo
Born (1928-07-09) 9 July 1928 (age 96)
Santo Domingo-Caudilla, Spain
Team information
DisciplineRoad
RoleRetired
Rider typeClimber
Major wins
Tour de France
General classification (1959)
Mountains classification (1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964)
7 individual stages (1954–1965)

Giro d'Italia

Mountains classification (1956)
1 individual stage (1956–1961)

Vuelta a España

Mountains classification (1957, 1958)
3 individual stages (1955–1965)

Biography

Bahamontes was born in Santo Domingo-Caudilla, Toledo.

Bahamontes was a climbing specialist. He won the Tour de France in 1959, and won the polka dot jersey for the best climber six times, in 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963 and 1964. In total, he won seven Tour stages. Reporters gave him the nickname the 'Eagle of Toledo'.

He was second in the 1957 Vuelta a España and won the mountains competition in 1957 and 1958. He won the mountains competition in the Giro d'Italia in 1956.

Bahamontes retired in 1965 to run a bicycle and motorcycle shop in Toledo.[1]

In 2013 he was named the best climber in the history of the Tour de France by L' Équipe Magazine.[2] Members of the jury included current riders, such as Thomas Voeckler, five-times winner of the race Bernard Hinault and the general director of the Tour de France Christian Prudhomme. The award was given by the French President François Hollande.

He is mentioned in the French film Le Fabuleux Déstin d'Amélie Poulain, known in English as Amelie. Amélie finds a box of toys left behind by an owner of her flat. She returns them to the owner and he is reminded of watching Bahamontes win the 1959 Tour de France.

Palmarès

1950
  Spain national amateur road championship
1952
Vuelta a Albacete
1953
Circuito Sardinero
1954
Nice-Mont Agel
Vuelta a España:
2nd overall
Tour de France:
Winner Mountains classification
1955
Clasica a los Puertos de Guadarrama
Monaco - Golf du Mont Agel
Mont Faron
Vuelta a Asturias
1956
Tour de France:
4th overall
Giro d'Italia:
Winner Mountains classification
Vuelta a España:
4th overall
1957
Mont Faron
Vuelta a España:
Winner Mountains classification
Winner stage 3
2nd overall
Vuelta Ciclista Asturias
1958
  Spain national time trial champion
Giro d'Italia:
Winner stage 4
  Spain National road race championship
Saint-Junien
Subida a Arrate
Tour de France:
Winner stages 14 and 20
Winner Mountains classification
8th place overall classification
Vuelta a España:
Winner Mountains classification
6th overall
1959
Subida a Arrate
Tour de France:
  Winner overall classification
Winner Mountains classification
Winner stage 15
Vuelta a España:
Winner stage 4
1960
Subida a Arrate
Vuelta a España:
Winner stage 13
1961
Cenon
Monaco - Golf du Mont Agel
Nice - Mont Agel
Riberac
Subida a Arrate
1962
GP de la Magdaleine
Juliénas
Mont-Faron
Subida a Arrate
Tour de France:
Winner stage 13
Winner Mountains classification
Ussel
1963
La Touloubre
Miramas (FRA)
Mont-Faron (b) (FRA)
Tour de France:
2nd overall
Winner stage 15
Winner Mountains classification
1964
Escalada a Montjuich
Six Days of Madrid (with Rik Van Steenbergen)
Mont-Faron
Subida al Naranco
Tour de France:
3rd overall
Winner stages 8 and 16
Winner Mountains classification
Ussel
1965
Escalada a Montjuïc
Tour du Sud-Est
Vuelta a España:
10th overall


Federico Bahamontes Media

References

  1. Cycle Sport, UK, August 1998
  2. Fotheringham, Alasdair (8 July 2013). Bahamontes flies into the Tour de France again. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bahamontes-flies-into-the-tour-de-france-again. Retrieved 20 December 2014. 

Further reading

  • Fotheringham, Alasdair (2013) The Eagle of Toledo: The Life and Times of Federico Bahamontes, the Tour's Greatest Climber , London, Aurum Press, [1]

Other websites