Federico Bahamontes

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.

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

• Fotheringham, Alasdair (9 July 2009). "Federico Bahamontes: The fiery Eagle who flew up the mountains". The Independent. Retrieved 20 December 2014.

• Complete Palmarès Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Frederico Bahamontes at the Cycling Archives
• Official Tour de France results for Federico Bahamontes

Tour de France Maillot jaune (Yellow jersey) winners

1903 Maurice Garin · 1904 Henri Cornet · 1905 Louis Trousselier · 1906 René Pottier · 1907-1908 Lucien Petit-Breton · 1909 François Faber · 1910 Octave Lapize · 1911 Gustave Garrigou · 1912 Odile Defraye · 1913-1914 Philippe Thys · 1915-1918 World War I · 1919 Firmin Lambot · 1920 Philippe Thys · 1921 Léon Scieur · 1922 Firmin Lambot · 1923 Henri Pélissier · 1924-1925 Ottavio Bottecchia · 1926 Lucien Buysse · 1927-1928 Nicolas Frantz · 1929 Maurice De Waele · 1930 André Leducq · 1931 Antonin Magne · 1932 André Leducq · 1933 Georges Speicher · 1934 Antonin Magne · 1935 Romain Maes · 1936 Sylvère Maes · 1937 Roger Lapébie · 1938 Gino Bartali · 1939 Sylvère Maes · 1940-1946 World War II · 1947 Jean Robic · 1948 Gino Bartali · 1949 Fausto Coppi · 1950 Ferdinand Kübler · 1951 Hugo Koblet · 1952 Fausto Coppi · 1953-1955 Louison Bobet · 1956 Roger Walkowiak · 1957 Jacques Anquetil · 1958 Charly Gaul · 1959 Federico Bahamontes · 1960 Gastone Nencini · 1961-1964 Jacques Anquetil · 1965 Felice Gimondi · 1966 Lucien Aimar · 1967 Roger Pingeon · 1968 Jan Janssen · 1969-1972 Eddy Merckx · 1973 Luis Ocaña · 1974 Eddy Merckx · 1975 Bernard Thévenet · 1976 Lucien Van Impe · 1977 Bernard Thévenet · 1978-1979 Bernard Hinault · 1980 Joop Zoetemelk · 1981-1982 Bernard Hinault · 1983-1984 Laurent Fignon · 1985 Bernard Hinault · 1986 Greg LeMond · 1987 Stephen Roche · 1988 Pedro Delgado · 1989-1990 Greg LeMond · 1991-1995 Miguel Indurain · 1996 Bjarne Riis · 1997 Jan Ullrich · 1998 Marco Pantani · 1999-2005 Lance Armstrong, disqualified · 2006 Óscar Pereiro (Floyd Landis, disqualified) · 2007 Alberto Contador · 2008 Carlos Sastre · 2009–10 Alberto Contador · 2011 Cadel Evans · 2012 Bradley Wiggins · 2013 Chris Froome · 2014 Vincenzo Nibali