Articles

This morning we received the sad news that Federico Bahamontes has passed away at the age of 95. Until his death, Bahamontes was the oldest living Tour de France winner.

Federico Martin Bahamontes grew up in a very poor family. The family was so destitute that at times, they were forced to eat street cats that his loving mother served as "baby goats." When Federico, working as a fruit vendor on the black market, discovered his exceptional ability to ride a bicycle uphill and excelled as a cyclist in the mountains, he embraced his mother's surname, Bahamontes, which means something like "over the mountains." Federico Bahamontes soared over the mountains like the "Eagle of Toledo," escaping the depression that General Franco had plunged Spain into.

On his bike, in the mountains, Bahamontes danced along the path paved by legends like Santiago Mostajo Trigo and Bernardo Ruiz Navarrete before him. On the slopes of mythical mountains such as the Col d'Aubisque, Col du Tourmalet, and Col du Galibier, Bahamontes became the best climber of his generation. General classifications initially didn't concern him much. It was all about the mountains for him. When the Tour de France reached the legendary volcanic summit of the Puy de Dôme for the second time in 1959, the cycling world couldn't have wished for a better winner. 

The fact that a Spaniard could win the Tour, and that he did so ahead of four (!) French riders, must have been a blow to the Tour organization and everything French. In the years that followed, everything was done to guide the French favourite Jacques Anquetil to Tour success. They succeeded, five times even... Federico Bahamontes stood on the final podium of a grand tour four times, winning one.

Federico Bahamontes didn't just win in the Tour. With his victory on July 9, 1958, in Luchon, he became the eighth cyclist in history to win a stage in all three grand tours.

Even more impressive were his performances in the mountain classifications. Federico Bahamontes won them all, although he had to share the honor in the 1956 Giro d'Italia with... Charly Gaul. In that race, two mountain prizes were awarded. One for the king of the Dolomites (Gaul) and one for the best climber in the Apennines (Bahamontes).

Only one rider managed to achieve winning the mountain jersey in all three Grand Tours after Bahamontes: Luis Alberto 'Lucho' Herrera.

In total, Federico Bahamontes won nine mountain classifications in grand tours. In the Tour de France, only Richard 'Lionheart' Virenque took the polka dot jersey home more times than the Spaniard (7 to 6). When the Tour de France celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013, a select group of luminaries on behalf of l'Équipe chose Bahamontes over Virenque as the greatest climber in Tour history. With a total of nine mountain classification victories, Bahamontes equaled the legend of legends: Gino Bartali.

After his career, the Eagle of Toledo had a shop in his hometown where he sold bicycles and motorcycles. After the passing of Roger Walkowiak in 2017, he became the oldest living Tour de France winner. That honor now belongs to the Dutchman Jan Janssen, who won the Tour in 1968.