Miguel Poblet Orriols (18 March 1928 – 6 April 2013) was a Spanish professional cyclist, who had over 200 professional victories from 1944 to 1962. He was the first Spanish rider to wear the

yellow jersey The general classification of the Tour de France is the most important classification of the race and determines the winner of the race. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification has worn the yellow jersey ( ). History For the first t ...

in 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 ...

, and in 1956 he became the first of only three riders to win stages in the three Grand Tours in the same year. (The other two are Pierino Baffi and

Alessandro Petacchi Alessandro Petacchi (born 3 January 1974) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 1996 and 2015. A specialist Cycling sprinter, sprinter, Petacchi has won 48 Grand Tour (cycling), grand tour stages ...

.) He won the

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

classic race on two occasions and took 26 stage wins in the three Grand Tours. His twenty-stage wins 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 ...

makes him the third most successful foreign rider in the "Giro" behind

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...

(25) and Roger De Vlaeminck (22). Poblet was of short stature who had great power, he was the first Spanish rider to be a specialist in one day races in an age when Spain only produced climbers. He had a lightning fast sprint, but could also climb well, taking the Spanish Mountain championships on three occasions and the mountainous

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 ...

twice. His nickname whilst riding was ''"La Flecha Amarilla"'' (the Yellow Arrow) due to the yellow kit of his Ignis team.

Biography

Poblet was born at

Montcada i Reixac Montcada i Reixac (), often referred to as simply Montcada, is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated at the confluence of the Ripoll river an ...

in the northern suburbs of

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 ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

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, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. His father Enrique owned a bicycle shop in Barcelona and he encouraged his son to take up racing seriously at a young age and supplied him with all the necessary equipment. Despite turning professional in 1944, at the age of 16, Poblet’s career did not really take off internationally until 1955 when he was invited to be part of the Spanish team at the Tour de France; at that time the Tour invited national squads rather than trade teams. Poblet made an immediate effect at the Tour when he won the opening stage between

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

and

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

becoming the first Spaniard to wear the yellow jersey. He held onto the jersey in the afternoon

Team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

but lost it next day to Dutchman Wout Wagtmans. However, Poblet had more glory at that year's Tour when he took the prestigious final stage into

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the

Parc des Princes The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...

stadium. Success at the 1955 Tour ensured an invitation to the 1956 Giro d’Italia where he took four stages, this followed three stage wins in 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 ...

, he took another Tour de France stage win that year between

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

and

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

to complete a grand slam of stages in Grand Tours for 1956. Only Pierino Baffi and

have been able to repeat this. By this time Poblet was riding for the Faema team led by

Rik Van Looy Henri "Rik" Van Looy (20 December 1933 – 17 December 2024) was a Belgian professional Cycle sport, cyclist of the post-World War II, war period. Nicknamed the ''King of the Classics'' or ''Emperor of Herentals'' (after the small Belgian city ...

but he left the team early in 1957 after being told he was not going to ride Milan–San Remo. He signed for the Italian squad Ignis and promptly won

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ...

for them; a week later he was victorious at Milan–San Remo.The 1957 Milan-San Remo
milansanremo.co.uk He stayed with the Ignis squad for the rest of his career. Poblet prepared meticulously for Milan–San Remo, designing a training course in Catalonia similar to the Italian classics parcours with a big climb similar to the Turchino Pass followed by a series of smaller hills. He finished second in 1958 behind Van Looy and then won again in 1959 after breaking away from the peloton with 400 metres to go. He came close to winning

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

in 1958 coming second to Leon Van Daele and third in 1960 when Pino Cerami won. For 45 years, he was the only Spaniard ever to have got on the podium at the

Roubaix Velodrome The Roubaix Velodrome (officially Vélodrome André-Pétrieux) is a velodrome in Roubaix, Nord, France. It was opened in 1936 and has hosted the finish of the one-day " monument classic" cycling race Paris–Roubaix since 1943, and the Paris–Ro ...

, until

Juan Antonio Flecha Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (born 17 September 1977) is an Argentina, Argentine-born Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2000 and 2013. Flecha had a reputation of being a Classic cycle races, C ...

took the third step in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and second in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. After retirement Poblet continued to live in the Barcelona area, in 2001 the local sports arena was named after him and more than 2000 people turned out to pay tribute to him. Poblet was awarded the

Creu de Sant Jordi The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English language, English 'St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia (Spain), surpassed only in protocol by the Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Gold Medal of the G ...

in December 2002, one of the highest civil distinctions in Catalonia. In 2004 he was a special guest of the Vuelta a España as it passed through Catalonia. He died on 6 April 2013 from kidney failure.Marca sports newspaper (in Spanish)
Obituary.

Major results

;1945 : 1st Trofeo Jaumendreu : 3rd Overall

Trofeo Masferrer Trofeo Masferrer was a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute ...

::1st Stage 1 ;1946 : 2nd

GP Pascuas GP Pascuas was a road bicycle race held annually in Pamplona, 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, southernmost ...

: 4th Overall

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos (province), Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In ...

::1st Stages 2 & 4 : 10th Trofeo Jaumendreu ;1947 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Gran Premio Cataluña ::1st Stages 2, 3, 5 & 7 : 1st

Klasika Primavera The Klasika Primavera () is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in Amorebieta, Spain. Since 2005, the race is organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Established in 1946 as ''Gran Premio de Primavera'', it is now he ...

: 1st Trofeo Jaumendreu : 5th Overall

::1st Stages 1b, 6 & 8 ;1948 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Gran Premio Cataluña ::1st Stages 1b & 2 : 1st

: 1st Stage 2

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 ...

: 2nd Trofeo Jaumendreu : 7th Overall

::1st Stages 7 & 8 ;1949 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 1, 3, 6 & 7 : 6th Overall Gran Premio Cataluña ::1st Stages 2 & 5 ;1951 :

::1st Stages 2 & 12 : 2nd

: 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castilla ::1st Stages 1, 3, 4 & 9 ;1952 : 1st MaillotVolta

Overall

::1st Stages 1, 3 & 6 : 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castilla ::1st Stages 1, 6, 9 & 10 ;1953 :

::1st Stages 1 & 6 ;1954 : 1st

: 1st Stage 6

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 ...

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stages 6, 9, 10 & 11 : 3rd Overall

Vuelta a Aragón Vuelta a Aragón is a professional bicycle road race held in Spain in May of each year. The event was first run in 1939, and was not held between 2006 and 2017. The future of the race is uncertain; there had been plans to organise it again, but an ...

::1st Stages 1, 4, 5, 8 & 9 : 4th

: 9th Overall Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico ;1955 : 1st

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 ...

::1st Stages 1a & 22 ::Held Jersey yellow

after Stages 1a & 1b ::Held Jersey green

after Stages 1a, 1b & 9 : 1st Stage 1

Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI ...

: 1st Stage 3

Euskal Bizikleta Euskal Bizikleta (Spanish: ''Bicicleta Vasca'', English: ''Basque Bicycle'') was an annual road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in June. From 2005 to 2008, the race was organized as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, it ...

: 2nd

Critérium des As The ''Critérium des As'' (''Race of the Aces'') was a cycle race that was generally held at the end of the season, with entry by invitation only, for the leading riders of the season. Competitors rode behind pacers on tandems or motorcycles. It w ...

: 5th Road race, National Road Championships ;1956 : 1st Stage 8

::1st Stages 4, 9, 16 & 18 :

::1st Stages 3, 5 & 6 : 4th Overall

::1st Stages 2, 6b, 8 & 9 : 6th

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...

;1957 : 1st

: 1st

::1st Stages 1a & 8 : 2nd Overall Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico ::1st Stages 6b, 7 & 8c : 5th

Trofeo Baracchi The Trofeo Baracchi was a major Italian cycling race that ran for 50 years. It was created by Giacomo Baracchi, in memory of his father Angelo who was a great cycle racing fan. Originally (from 1941) an amateur individual time trial An indiv ...

(with Francisco Masip) : 6th Overall

::1st Stages 3, 9, 10 & 18 : 7th

: 10th

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

;1958 : 1st Stage 5b

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

: 1st Stage 7

: 2nd Overall Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico ::1st Stages 1, 5, 6b, 7a & 7b : 2nd

: 2nd

: 5th Road race, National Road Championships : 5th

Gran Premio di Lugano The Gran Premio di Lugano () is a road bicycle race held annually in Lugano, Switzerland. Prior to 1981 it was held as an individual time trial but in recent years it has been organised as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe T ...

: 6th Overall

::1st

Points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points c ...

::1st Stages 16, 19 & 20 : 10th Driedaagse van Antwerpen ::1st Stage 1b ;1959 : 1st

::1st Stages 1, 6 & 9 : 1st Stage 8

: 3rd

Paris–Brussels The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar. History Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur eve ...

: 4th Road race, National Road Championships : 4th

: 5th Overall Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico ::1st Stages 4 & 8b : 6th Overall

::1st Stages 6, 13 & 15 ;1960 : 1st MaillotVolta

Overall

::1st Stages 2, 3a ( TTT), 4 & 6 : 1st Classica Sarda : 1st Stage 2 Giro di Sardegna :

::1st Stages 3, 7a ( ITT) & 9b ( ITT) ''(victory shared with

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 ...

)'' : 2nd Giro della Romagna : 3rd

: 6th Overall Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico ::1st Jersey green

Mountains classification ::1st Stages 2a, 5a & 6a : 8th

;1961 :

::1st Stages 1, 2 & 21 ::Held Jersey pink

after Stages 1–6 :

::1st Stages 2, 3, 6 & 8 : 3rd

Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato The Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Prato, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicyc ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Classics results timeline

References

External links

*
Tour de France database
on Miguel Poblet {{DEFAULTSORT:Poblet, Miguel 1928 births 2013 deaths Spanish male cyclists Spanish Tour de France stage winners Spanish Giro d'Italia stage winners Spanish Vuelta a España stage winners People from Vallès Occidental Cyclists from the Province of Barcelona Deaths from kidney failure 20th-century Spanish sportsmen