Federico Martín Bahamontes, born Alejandro Martín Bahamontes (; 9 July 1928 – 8 August 2023), was a Spanish professional

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most comm ...

. He won the

1959 Tour de France The 1959 Tour de France was the 46th edition of the Tour de France, taking place between 25 June and 18 July. The race featured 120 riders, of which 65 finished. The Tour included 22 stages over . The race was won by Spanish cyclist Federico Ba ...

and a total of 11 Grand Tour stages between 1954 and 1965. He won a total of nine mountain classifications and was the first cyclist to complete a "career triple" by winning the mountain classification in all three Grand Tours. Following his retirement, Bahamontes ran a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

and

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

shop and was named the best climber in the history of the Tour de France by a panel organised by ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

'' in 2013.

Early life

Federico Bahamontes was born on 9 July 1928 in Santo Domingo-Caudilla,

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, to Julián Martín and Victoria Bahamontes. Unlike the usual custom of calling a Spaniard by the first of two surnames, Bahamontes is known by his second; there were too many with the surname Martín in his village so he took up his mother's surname. He was named after his uncle, Federico, who was the head of the family and proclaimed that Bahamontes would be called after him at the baptism in the local church. Between 1929 and 1931, his parents had three more children, all girls. Bahamontes attended a school in

run by nuns, which he did not enjoy. In 1936, the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

broke out, but Bahamontes' father, a veteran of the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Litt ...

, did not fight because he was too old. Along with other civilians in Toledo, however, he was enlisted by Nationalist forces to act as reinforcements as Republican forces closed in on Toledo. He managed to escape this service, but when he returned home, he found soldiers who "called themselves

Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

" and ordered him to open the storehouses on the estate where the family lived. He refused, before running away, and eventually escaping the ensuing manhunt by hiding in a doorway. The family eventually fled to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in July 1936. When the family arrived, the city was held by Republican forces who had withstood an attempted invasion from the Nationalists. In October, however, Nationalist forces decided to lay siege to the city and Julián was enlisted into the Republican reserve forces and led a

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...

team that transported supplies. Meanwhile, Bahamontes, along with his mother and sisters, escaped to the village of

Villarrubia de Santiago Villarrubia de Santiago is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and cal ...

due to the intensifying air raids in Madrid. They were joined by Julián after the war, but the family continued to struggle; as he had been with the Republicans, the losing side, Bahamontes' father received no pension and he was forced to break rocks for road construction in order to earn enough money for the family. The young Bahamontes resorted to

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

in order to sustain himself and the family; he would jump into the trailers of lorries from a bridge over a road before filling a bag with food from the trailer. He also dug out live ammunition from civil war trenches to sell as scrap metal. In 1946, at the age of 18, Bahamontes bought his first bike for 150 pesetas (roughly equivalent to £250 or US$ in 2014) in order to transport food illegally between villages. As rationing was in place due to economic ruin, the

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

for food flourished. It was during this activity that Bahamontes contracted an unknown disease which he believed to be

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

. Whilst hiding from the Civil Guard, who had orders to arrest anyone black marketeering, he stood in stagnant water and was bitten by a mosquito (even though typhoid is not spread via mosquitoes). This led to extreme weight loss, loss of hair and

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

. After being restricted to his house for two months, Bahamontes returned to black marketeering, and competed in his first cycling race after two other black marketeers invited him. On 18 July 1947, he cycled to a nearby village where the race began and, with only a banana and lemon as sustenance, he managed to finish second.

Career

Following victory at his second race, Bahamontes began racing as a full-time

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

; the prize money from such races was significantly more than the wages of what little work there was. He soon formed a friendship and partnership with another cyclist, Ladislau Soria, who was strong on the flat. Together, they dominated the local races with Soria's brother acting as a manager. In his early years as an amateur, Bahamontes won the Tour of Andalusia and Tour of Cadiz; however, he was called up to 18 months of

National service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in July 1949. It was during this time that he opened up a shop in Toledo renting out bikes. Bahamontes first faced professionals at the 1953

Vuelta a Asturias Vuelta Asturias is a professional cycle road race held in Spain in early May each year. The event was first run in 1925 but has not been held consistently until 1968 to present. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI ...

. The field included some of the strongest cyclists in Spain and teams from Italy and Belgium. Racing as an independent semi-professional, he won the opening stage and eventually finished twenty-first out of sixty-nine. He competed in more races in

and elsewhere in Spain before moving to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, the wealthiest city in Spain. It was here that he received backing from Santiago Mostajo Trigo, a former cyclist and businessman who was a "hugely influential figure" in Spanish cycling. Due to financial reasons, the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

did not run between 1951 and 1954, so the

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; Tour of Catalonia, ) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of the Basque Country. The race has had ...

was the biggest race in Spain. It was there, in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

, that Bahamontes won the

King of the Mountains The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest ...

. The race received coverage in ''

Mundo Deportivo ''Mundo Deportivo'' (; ) is a Spanish nationwide daily sports newspaper published in Barcelona. History and profile ''Mundo Deportivo'' was first published on 1 February 1906, as a weekly newspaper, and since 1929 daily. It is the oldest sports ...

'', a Catalan sports newspaper, as well as having the support of fourteen sponsors. Teams from across Europe competed, with Bahamontes racing for a team directed by Mostajo and sponsored by Balanzas Berkel, a manufacturer of weighing equipment. He performed above expectations, managing a solo breakaway on stage 8 to secure his mountain classification

jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

French team at the start of the Tour de France 1954

The director of the Spanish team,

Julián Berrendero Julián Berrendero Martín (born San Agustín del Guadalix, 8 April 1912, died Madrid, 1 August 1995) was a Spanish road racing cyclist. He is most famous for having won the third and fourth editions of the Vuelta a España in 1941 and 1942. He ...

, picked Bahamontes for the

1954 Tour de France The 1954 Tour de France was the 41st edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 8 July to 1 August 1954. It consisted of 23 stages over . The race was won by Louison Bobet, the second of his three consecutive wins. Teams As was the cust ...

in the summer of 1953, with instructions to "try to win it". He initially declined, stating that he did not know French and "had no suitcase", but later accepted the offer with a few weeks to go after discussing with his parents. The Spanish team included

1948 Vuelta a España The 8th ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance Bicycle racing, bicycle Stage (bicycle race), stage race and one of the three Grand Tour (cycling), grand tours, was held from 13 June to 4 July 1948. It consisted of 20 stages covering ...

winner

Bernardo Ruiz Bernardo Ruiz Navarrete (born 8 January 1925) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer who won the General classification, overall and King of the Mountains, climbers competition at the 1948 Vuelta a España. He went on to become the ...

, former national champion Francisco Masip, and 1953 Volta a Catalunya winner

Salvador Botella Salvador Botella Rodrigo (March 27, 1929 – December 18, 2006) was a Spanish road bicycle racing, road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 1953 to 1962. He won the ''Volta a Catalunya'' in 1953 and 1959. He participated in 19 Grand ...

. The first half of the race was relaxed for Bahamontes, until stage eleven where he broke away from the

peloton In a road Cycle sport, bicycle race, the peloton (, originally meaning ) is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting (racing), drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The ...

and went over the

Col d'Aubisque The Col d'Aubisque () (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the Pyrenees south of Tarbes and Pau in the department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Aquitaine region of France.Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire du Tour de France, La Ma ...

in first place. It was on the

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

-covered descent, however, that he crashed, eventually finishing thirty-second. Bahamontes continued to score well in the mountain classifications; he was first over the

Col du Tourmalet Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds ...

and

Col de Peyresourde The Col de Peyresourde () (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of the department of Haute-Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées in France. It is situated on the D618 road between Bagnères-de-Luchon and Arreau. Details ...

. It was the

Col du Galibier The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the France, French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth List of highest paved roads in Europe, highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the List of highe ...

, however, that was the most important; Bahamontes rode down

Jean Dotto Jean-Baptiste Dotto (27 March 1928, in St-Nazaire – 20 February 2000, in Ollioules, Francefranc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th century ...

(roughly $250 in 2021) prize as well as mountain points which secured him the mountain classification victory. He finished 25th in the

General classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...

. The next year, Bahamontes competed at the

1955 Vuelta a España The 10th ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 25 April to 8 May 1955. It consisted of 15 stages covering a total of , and was won by Jean Dotto. Fiorenzo Magni won ...

. He gained the nickname ''el Gitano'' (the gypsy) when he started to sell bike parts to other riders he had bought from factories in France. The race did not go well for Bahamontes; during stage five, he got a "twisted tendon" in his left knee and had a

limp A limp is a type of asymmetric abnormality of the gait. Limping may be caused by pain, weakness, neuromuscular imbalance, or a skeletal deformity. The most common underlying cause of a painful limp is physical trauma; however, in the absence ...

when off the bike. The injury was so serious that a protrusion could be felt on his knee several decades later. As a result, Bahamontes would not achieve another Tour de France mountain classification victory until 1958. After receiving treatment for his injury which reduced the pain and

inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin ''calor'', '' ...

, Bahamontes continued to race. He won the 1955 Vuelta a Asturias, Vuelta a los Puertos and a hill climb on

Mont Faron Mont Faron is a mountain overlooking the city and roadstead of Toulon, France. It is 584m high. At its peak is a memorial dedicated to the 1944 Allied landings in Provence (Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), kn ...

. Despite the success, a medical examination before the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

prevented him from competing and he was replaced by national champion

Antonio Gelabert Antonio Gelabert Amengual (7 September 1921 in Santa Maria del Camí – 13 December 1956 in Palma de Mallorca) was a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He became Spanish national champion in 1950 and 1955. Major results ;1949 : Trof ...

. He won the

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

, and won the Tour's

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

(also called the "King of the Mountains") six times (1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964). He also took second and third places overall in 1963 and 1964 respectively. In total, he won seven Tour stages. He was also second in the

1957 Vuelta a España The 12th ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance Bicycle racing, bicycle Stage (bicycle race), stage race and one of the three Grand Tour (cycling), grand tours, was held from 26 April to 12 May 1957. It consisted of 16 stages coveri ...

, and won the mountains competition then and the following year, 1958, when he finished 6th. He also won the mountains competition in the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. In the

, Bahamontes benefited from an early escape on a stage in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

, and then won a mountain

time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

to the

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2021, it had a population of 662,285.Charly Gaul Charly Gaul Sporting Cyclist, UK, undated cutting (8 December 1932 – 6 December 2005)Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, and although

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

riders

Henry Anglade Henry Anglade (6 July 1933 – 10 November 2022) was a French cycle sport, cyclist. In 1959 Tour de France, 1959 he was closest to winning the Tour de France, when he won a stage and finished second, 4:01 behind Federico Bahamontes. In 1960 he wo ...

and

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

cut their deficits, neither made up enough time to threaten Bahamontes' overall lead. He won by just over four minutes from Anglade, and became King of the Mountains too. In 1960, Bahamontes got no further than the first few days of the Tour, after falling ill. In the

1963 Tour de France The 1963 Tour de France was the 50th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between 23 June and 14 July, with 21 stages covering a distance of . Stages 2 and 6 were both two part stages, t ...

, Anquetil beat Bahamontes into second place. Bahamontes and Anquetil performed well in the Alps and after stage 16 were only three seconds apart in first and second place respectively. Anquetil was able to stay with Bahamontes, the superior climber, over the steep climb of the

Col de la Forclaz Col de la Forclaz (el. ) is a mountain pass in the Alps in the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. It connects Martigny at and Le Châtelard ( Finhaut). The road from Martigny to the Col has an average gradient of 6% but in parts is closer to 8%. ...

on the following stage, won by Bahamontes. This allowed Anquetil to use his advantage in the

to overcome his deficit and claim a fourth Tour victory, while Bahamontes finished second. A year later, in the

1964 Tour de France The 1964 Tour de France was the 51st edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between 22 June and 14 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . Stages 3, 10 and 22 were all two-part stage ...

, Anquetil took his fifth victory and the margin over Bahamontes in third was 4:44;

Raymond Poulidor Raymond Poulidor (; 15 April 1936 – 13 November 2019), nicknamed "Pou-Pou" (), was a French professional road bicycle racing, racing cyclist, who rode for his entire career. His distinguished career coincided with two other outstanding ride ...

took second place. Bahamontes had his sixth King of the Mountains win and two more stage wins (bringing his total Tour de France stage wins to seven). His final Tour de France came in 1965, where he abandoned on stage 10, having finished the previous day's stage second to last, 40 minutes down. On his final stage, he made one last attack on the

Col de Portet d'Aspet The Col de Portet d'Aspet (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees in the department of Haute-Garonne in France. It is situated on the D618 road between Aspet and Saint-Girons and connects the Ger and Bouigane valleys, on the slo ...

, in his own words "to show them he audiencewhat they would be missing".

Retirement

Following his retirement, Bahamontes opened a bicycle and motorcycle shop in Toledo and offered to lead visitors through a museum dedicated to his career. In 2013, during his 85th birthday that coincided with the 100th edition of Le Tour de France, he was named the best climber in the history of the race, ahead of French rider

Richard Virenque Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", ...

, by a jury selected by ''L' Équipe'' newspaper. Members of the jury included active riders, such as the popular French rider

Thomas Voeckler Thomas Voeckler (; born 22 June 1979) is a French former road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2017, for the team and its previous iterations. One of the most prominent French riders of his gener ...

, and others such as five-time winner of the race

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...

, as well as the general director of Le Tour de France

Christian Prudhomme Christian Prudhomme (born 11 November 1960) is a French journalist and general director of the Tour de France since 2007. Pre-Tour career Born in Paris, Prudhomme studied at the ESJ school of journalism in Lille from 1983 to 1985. He joined RT ...

. The award was given by the French President

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

. Also, he has been honoured with the ''Premio Nacional Francisco Fernández Ochoa''. Following the death of

Roger Walkowiak Roger Walkowiak (; 2 March 1927 – 6 February 2017) was a French road bicycle racer who won the 1956 Tour de France. He was a professional rider from 1950 until 1960. He died on 6 February 2017 at the age of 89. Early life Walkowiak grew up in ...

in 2017, Bahamontes became the oldest living Tour de France winner. Following Bahamontes' death, 1968 Tour winner

Jan Janssen Johannes Adrianus "Jan" Janssen (born 19 May 1940) is a Dutch former professional cyclist. He was UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, world champion and winner of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, the first Dutch rider ...

took over this position. Bahamontes died on 8 August 2023. He was 95 years old. His home town of Toledo declared two days of mourning following his death.

Career achievements

Major results

Source: ;1949 :1st Overall Tour d'Ávila ;1950 :1st Road race, National Amateur Road Championships ;1951 :1st Overall Tour d'Ávila ;1952 :1st Vuelta a Albacete ;1953 :1st Circuit Sardiniero :2nd Trofeo Jaumendreu :8th Overall

;1954 :

::1st

:1st Nice–Mont Agel :3rd Overall Vuelta a Mallorca :1st Stage 3a :2nd Overall Gran Premio de la Bicicleta Eibarresa ;1955 :1st Clasica a los Puertos de Guadarrama :1st Monaco–Golf du Mont Agel :1st

hill climb :1st Overall

::1st Stage 6 :1st Stage 2 Gran Premio de la Bicicleta Eibarresa :5th Overall

::1st Stages 6 & 9 ;1956 :1st

(shared) :2nd Mont Faron Hill Climb :4th Overall

:4th Overall

;1957 :1st Overall

::1st Stage 1 :1st

hill climb :2nd Overall

::1st

::1st Stage 3 :5th Overall

Vuelta a Levante The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often used as preparation for the sprin ...

::1st Stage 3b :10th Overall

;1958 : National Road Championships ::1st Road race ::1st

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

: 1st Stage 4

: 1st

Subida a Arrate The Subida a Arrate was a road bicycle race held annually in the Basque Country, Spain from 1941 until 1986. It then merged with the Gran Premio de la Bicicleta Eibarresa, which became the Euskal Bizikleta Euskal Bizikleta (Spanish: ''Bicicleta ...

: 6th Overall

::1st

Mountains classification : 8th Overall

::1st

Mountains classification ::1st Stages 14 & 20 ;1959 :1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st

Mountains classification ::1st Stage 15 :1st Stage 4

:1st

:1st National Hill Climb Championship :3rd Overall

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calend ...

::1st Stages 3 & 5 ;1960 :1st Stage 13

:1st

:1st Overall Grand Prix de Pliego ::1st 2 stages ;1961 :1st

:1st Nice–Golf du Mont Agel :1st Monaco–Golf du Mont Agel :1st Stage 4

Giro di Sardegna Giro di Sardegna (Tour of Sardinia) was a stage road bicycle race held on the island of Sardinia, an Italian region. It was rated 2.1 on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were ...

:2nd Mont Faron hill climb ;1962 :

::1st Mountains classification ::1st Stage 13 :1st Mont Faron road race :1st Mont Faron hill climb :1st

:1st Nice–Golf du Mont Agel :1st Monaco–Golf du Mont Agel :4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré :5th Overall

Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a UCI race classifications, 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the UCI World Tour, World Tour, by the ...

:7th Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

::1st Stage 3 ;1963 :1st Mont Faron hill climb :2nd Overall

::1st Mountains classification ::1st Stage 15 :2nd Overall

:2nd

:4th Overall

Grand Prix du Midi Libre The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (referred to as just Midi Libre) was a multiple-stage road cycling course in the south of France. The race, named after the newspaper that organized it, was first organized in 1949 and was an important preparation co ...

:5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Mountains classification ;1964 :1st Mont Faron road race :1st Mont Faron hill climb :1st

Subida al Naranco Subida al Naranco is a professional cycle road race held in Spain in early June each year. The event was first run in 1941 but was not held consistently until 1981. Between 2005 and 2010, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Eur ...

:1st

Six Days of Madrid The Six Days of Madrid is a former six-day cycling event, held in Madrid, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, s ...

(with

Rik Van Steenbergen Hendrik Van Steenbergen (9 September 1924 – 15 May 2003) was a Belgium, Belgian racing cyclist, considered to be one of the best among the great number of successful Belgian cyclists. Early life Van Steenbergen was born in Arendonk into ...

) :3rd Overall

::1st

Mountains classification ::1st Stages 8 & 16 :6th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ;1965 :1st Circuit du Provençal :1st

Escalada a Montjuïc The Escalada a Montjuïc (in Catalan, English: ''Scaling of Montjuïc'', Spanish: ''Escalada a Montjuïc'') was a one-day, two-stage road bicycle racing race held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1965. It was held in the middle of October, as ...

:2nd

:3rd

Subida a Urkiola Subida a Urkiola is a one-day cycling race in Durango, Biscay in the Basque Country whose starts in Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

:10th Overall

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

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Official Tour de France results for Federico Bahamontes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahamontes, Federico 1928 births 2023 deaths Spanish male cyclists Tour de France winners Spanish Tour de France stage winners Spanish Giro d'Italia stage winners Spanish Vuelta a España stage winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Cyclists from Castilla-La Mancha Sportspeople from the Province of Toledo Vuelta a Asturias winners 20th-century Spanish sportsmen

Early life

Career

Retirement

Career achievements

Major results

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

See also

References

Bibliography

External links