# Raymond Poulidor

Raymond Poulidor (French pronunciation:; 15 April 1936 – 13 November 2019), nicknamed "Pou-Pou" (pronounced), was a French professional racing cyclist, who rode for Mercier his entire career.
His distinguished career coincided with two other outstanding riders – Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx. This underdog position may have been the reason Poulidor was a favourite of the public. He was known as "The Eternal Second", because he never won the Tour de France despite finishing in second place three times, and in third place five times (including his final Tour at the age of 40). Despite his consistency, he never wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification in 14 Tours (of which he completed 12). He did win one Grand Tour, the 1964 Vuelta a España. Of the eighteen Grand Tours that he entered in his career, he finished in the top 10 fifteen times.

## Early life and amateur career

Raymond Poulidor was the son of Martial and Maria Poulidor, small farmers outside the hamlet of Masbaraud-Mérignat, where the Creuse region east of Limoges meets the département of Haute-Vienne. Poulidor began working on the farm where, he remembered, "the soil was poor and we had to work hard; farming incomes were poor." The need for working hands on the farm meant he left school at 14 even though he wanted to continue his studies. Local entertainment went little further than village fairs, with coconut shies, sack-races, competitions for bottles of home-made jam... and inter-village cycle races. Poulidor continued to help out on his parents' farm even after he turned professional.
Poulidor was given his first bike by a local shop owner at the age of 14. He started racing bicycles at the age of 16, picking up the interest from the magazine Miroir-Sprint given to him by one of his school teachers. He initially hid his passion from his mother, who was afraid of the dangers the sport entailed.
It was only when Poulidor was taken into the army for compulsory national service in 1955 that he first travelled in a train. Pierre Chany, a French reporter who followed 49 Tours de France, drew the comparison with Poulidor's eventual rival, Jacques Anquetil: by the time Poulidor first stepped into a train, Anquetil had already been to Helsinki, ridden the Olympic Games, won a medal for France, turned professional and won the Grand Prix des Nations. Yet there was less than two years between them.
The army sent Poulidor to the war then going on in Algeria, where he worked as a driver and put on 12 kg through lack of exercise. In 1960 he dedicated himself to cycling again and lost the weight in a month. He won his first race after army service by six minutes. When he then came second in the GP de Peyrat-le-Château and won 80,000 old francs, he calculated that he had won more in one race than he would have earned in six years on the farm.

## Professional career

Poulidor turned professional in 1960 with the Mercier team, directed by former Tour winner Antonin Magne. Magne offered Poulidor 25,000 old francs a month. Poulidor asked for 30,000. Magne countered that that was more than he paid Gauthier and Louis Privat and refused. Later, aware that he had a rival for Anquetil, he conceded.
In just his second season, Poulidor won Milan–San Remo, one of cycling's "monument classics". 125 km (78 mi) from the finish, he was about to abandon after he suffered a puncture and was two minutes behind the leading riders. Magne convinced him to continue and Poulidor bridged the gap. On the climb of the Capo Berta, he attacked, joined by Albertus Geldermans and teammate Jean-Claude Annaert, who set the tempo until they reached the foot of the final climb, the Poggio. Here, Poulidor attacked again and opened a gap. Despite being guided in the wrong direction by a police man in the final corner, he was able to hold off the chasing field by three seconds to take the victory. Also in 1961, he became French road race champion.

### The Anquetil years

Poulidor's rivalry with Anquetil is a legend in cycling. While a good climber, Poulidor had a hard time matching Anquetil in the individual time trial, often having victory snatched from him by losing time in time-trial stages of the Tour de France.
Poulidor's riding style was aggressive and attacking, whereas Anquetil preferred to control the race in the mountains and win time in the time-trials. Poulidor became the darling of the French public, to the ire of Anquetil. Poulidor's mid-France upbringing and his slow Limousin speech also contrasted with Anquetil's northern background and sharper accent. Poulidor's face was deeply tanned and furrowed; Anquetil had high cheekbones, a smoother face and brushed-up blond hair.
Poulidor's best chance of defeating Anquetil came in the 1964 Tour de France, in the finish on the Puy de Dôme. Anquetil rode beside Poulidor but both were so exhausted that only in the last few hundred metres could Poulidor take nearly enough time to threaten Anquetil's first place in the general classification. The Tour organiser, Jacques Goddet, was behind the pair as they turned off the main road and climbed through what police estimated as half a million spectators.
Anquetil rode on the inside by the mountain wall while Poulidor took the outer edge by the precipice. They could sometimes feel the other's hot gasps on their bare arms. At the end, Anquetil cracked, after a battle of wills and legs so intense that at times they banged elbows. Poulidor says he was so tired that he has no memory of the two touching, although a photograph shows that they did. Of Anquetil, the veteran French reporter Pierre Chany wrote: "His face, until then purple, lost all its colour; the sweat ran down in drops through the creases of his cheeks." Anquetil was only semiconscious, he said. Poulidor gained time but when they reached Paris, Anquetil still had a 55-second lead and won his last Tour de France thanks to the time-trial on the final day.

### Anquetil-Poulidor: the social significance

Anquetil unfailingly beat Poulidor in the Tour de France and yet Poulidor remained the more popular. "The more unlucky I was, the more the public liked me and the more money I earned", he said. Divisions between fans became marked, which two sociologists studying the impact of the Tour on French society say became emblematic of France old and new. Research showed that more than 4,000 newspaper articles appeared about him in France in just 1974 and that no other rider "had ever incited so many sociological investigations, so many university theses, seeking to find the cause of his prodigious popularity."

### Poupou, the nickname

Poulidor's original nickname was Pouli. It was Émile Besson of the daily newspaper L'Humanité who first wrote of Poupou. The name was taken up throughout France, leading to headlines such as "Poupoularité" in L'Équipe. A poupée is a doll and the nickname hints at that and follows the French tradition of repeating the first syllable of a word in childspeak. Poulidor never liked the name but accepted it.

### The Merckx years

The end of the Anquetil era presented opportunities for Poulidor to finally win the Tour de France. This was not to be due to injuries in 1967 and 1968, and the arrival of Eddy Merckx in 1969. Poulidor was no match for Merckx, although he offered much resistance.
In the 1973 Tour Poulidor almost lost his life on the descent from the Col de Portet d'Aspet when he plunged into a ravine, taking a serious blow to the head and crawling out with the help of the race director, Jacques Goddet.

### Poulidor and Dr Mabuse

Antonin Magne remained manager of Poulidor's Mercier team until 1970, when he was replaced by another former rider, Louis Caput. Caput brought with him as deputy directeur sportif a man who described himself as a homeopath, Bernard Sainz. Sainz is known in cycling as Dr Mabuse, after a pulp-fiction character created by Norbert Jacques. Mabuse is a criminal mastermind who becomes rich through hypnotic powers. He plots to take over the world but is foiled by the police. From his cell he masterminds criminal plots by writing endless gibberish. Sainz recognises the nickname and used it in the name of his autobiography.
Sainz is a former velodrome rider of national level who stopped racing after a fall and became involved in horse racing, where he was twice convicted of maltreating horses. It was in horse-racing, where he turned unremarkable animals into champions, that he acquired his nickname. He has been repeatedly investigated by police and has been convicted of illegally practising medicine and incitement to doping. Sainz claims that he only engages in homeopathic treatment, though whatever methods he engages in are effective, casting doubt on this claim.
Louis Caput approached Edmond Mercier, the bicycle-maker behind Poulidor's team, and asked to bring Sainz into the team management. Mercier agreed, said Sainz, because he was already treating Mercier for his own health problems. Mercier had also brought in the insurance company, GAN, as main sponsor. GAN, said Sainz, demanded that Poulidor be in the team photo even if all he did was train with the team at the start of the season. In 1971 Poulidor had decided against riding any more. The tactic, Sainz said, was bluff, to increase his motivation. In Paris–Nice, the first important stage race of the season, Poulidor was 22 seconds behind Eddy Merckx on the morning of the last day. Poulidor attacked from the start, setting a speed record on the Col de la Turbie that stood for more than 10 years and won Paris–Nice by two seconds. Next year he won Paris–Nice again and also the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

## Drug testing

Raymond Poulidor was the first rider to be tested for drugs in the Tour de France. Testers arrived at the Tour for the first time in 1966, in Bordeaux, although only after word had spread and many riders had left their hotels. The first competitor they found was Poulidor.
A few other riders were found, including Rik Van Looy, and some obliged and others refused. Next morning, the race left the city on the way to the Pyrenees and stopped in the suburb of Gradignan, in the university area of La House. The riders climbed off and began walking, shouting protests in general and in particular abuse at the race doctor, Pierre Dumas, whom some demanded should also take a test to see if he'd been drinking wine or taking aspirin to make his own job easier. Riders also criticised Poulidor for accepting to be tested. He dismissed their protests and stayed at the back of the strike. Other prominent riders, including Jacques Anquetil, were at the front. Poulidor said his indifference to the controls and the strike harmed his relations with fellow riders. "After that, they did me no favours in the peloton", he said.

## Retirement and death

Poulidor has several times accepted that his career was handicapped by a lack of ambition and by the psychological domination of Jacques Anquetil. Poulidor said in an interview in 1992: I knew straight away that I was getting places everywhere. I got all the leaders' jerseys but I used to lose them. Tonin [Magne] said to me "Raymond, you're always in a daydream!" And was that true? Were you distracted? It was true. I thought what was happening to me was already marvellous enough. I never thought of winning. Never, ever, did I get up in the morning with the idea of winning!
On 25 January 1973 Poulidor was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. In 2003 the President, Jacques Chirac increased the award. Poulidor also has a rose named after him, reflecting his love of gardening in general and roses in particular.
He lived with his wife Gisèle in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, east of Limoges, where he made short trips on his mountain bike. Their daughter, Corinne, is married to the former world cyclo-cross champion and Tour of Flanders winner Adri van der Poel. His grandsons David and Mathieu van der Poel are also cyclists: Mathieu became cyclo-cross world champion six times, and won three of the five Monuments and a stage in the 2021 Tour de France at which he dedicated his win and yellow jersey to his grandfather.
Poulidor worked in public relations for Crédit Lyonnais, sponsor of the yellow jersey, during the Tour. He had bicycles made under his name by the France-Loire company, and has appeared in television commercials aimed at older people.
When asked about his longevity compared to fellow cyclists, Poulidor said he took things in moderation and did not overstretch himself.
Poulidor has written several biographies, the first of which was Gloire sans le Maillot Jaune, written in 1964. Poulidor Intime was published in May 2007 by Éditions Jacob-Duvernet in France. In 2004 he helped write Poulidor par Raymond Poulidor with the radio reporter Jean-Paul Brouchon. The preface is by Eddy Merckx.
On 13 November 2019, Raymond Poulidor died in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat. He had been in a hospital for two months prior, having suffered from heart problems.

## Career achievements
### Major results

Source:

#### 1959

    3rd Grand Prix d'Oradour-sur-Vayres

#### 1960

    1st Bordeaux–Saintes
    2nd Circuit des Boucles de la Seine
    3rd Overall Grand Prix de Fourmies
    4th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    5th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    6th Overall Tour du Sud-Est
       1st Stage 2
    7th Paris–Tours
    7th Circuit de l'Aulne
    8th Grand Prix d'Isbergues
    10th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

#### 1961

    1st Road race, National Road Championships
    1st Milan–San Remo
    1st Mont Faron Hill Climb
    2nd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
       1st Mountains classification
    3rd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    3rd Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    3rd Genoa–Nice
    3rd Grand Prix de Cannes
    4th Manx Trophy
    7th Bordeaux–Paris
    9th Overall Paris–Nice
    9th Paris–Brussels
    10th Gran Premio di Lugano

#### 1962

    2nd Mont Faron Hill Climb
    3rd Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 19
    3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    5th Paris–Roubaix
    6th Overall Tour du Sud-Est
    7th Overall Paris–Nice
    8th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    10th Overall Tour du Var

#### 1963

    1st La Flèche Wallonne
    1st Grand Prix des Nations
    1st Gran Premio di Lugano
    2nd Overall Critérium National de la Route
       1st Stage 1
    2nd Overall Tour du Sud-Est
    2nd Genoa–Nice
    2nd Grand Prix de Cannes
    2nd Trofeo Baracchi (with Jacques Anquetil)
    3rd Overall Paris–Luxembourg
       1st Stage 2
    3rd Paris–Tours
    5th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    5th Grand Prix du Parisien (TTT)
    6th Paris–Roubaix
    8th Overall Tour de France
    8th Circuit de l'Aulne
    9th Tour of Flanders
    10th Critérium des As

#### 1964

    1st Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Stage 15 (ITT)
    1st Overall Critérium National de la Route
       1st Stage 3 (ITT)
    1st Grand Prix de Cannes
    1st Stage 7 Paris–Nice
    1st Stage 2a Circuit du Provençal
    2nd Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 15
    2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
       1st Stages 2 & 4a (ITT)
    2nd Milan–San Remo
    3rd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    4th Overall Paris–Luxembourg
    6th Trofeo Baracchi (with Henry Anglade)

#### 1965

    1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
       1st Stages 1a & 1b (ITT)
    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    2nd Overall Tour de France
       1st Stages 5b (ITT) & 14
    2nd Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Stages 4a (ITT) & 16 (ITT)
       Held after Stages 4a–7
    2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    2nd Overall Critérium National de la Route
       1st Stage 2
    3rd Grand Prix des Nations
    4th Overall Paris–Nice
    4th Trofeo Baracchi (with Georges Chappe)
    6th Overall Circuit du Provençal
       1st Stage 3a
    6th Giro di Lombardia
    10th Circuit de l'Aulne
    10th Genoa–Nice

#### 1966

    1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
       1st Stage 7b (ITT)
    1st Overall Critérium National de la Route
       1st Stage 3 (ITT)
    1st Subida a Arrate
    1st Mont Faron Hill Climb
    2nd Overall Paris–Nice
       1st Stages 6b (ITT)
    2nd Trofeo Baracchi (with Georges Chappe)
    3rd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    3rd Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 14b (ITT)
    3rd Giro di Lombardia
    3rd Grand Prix d'Aix-en-Provence
    3rd Critérium des As
    5th Genoa–Nice
    5th Grand Prix des Nations
    6th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
    7th Milan–San Remo
    9th Paris–Tours
    9th Circuit des Boucles de la Seine

#### 1967

    1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
       1st Stage 1b (ITT)
    1st Circuit de l'Aulne
    1st Bol d'Or des Monédières Chaumeil
    1st A Travers Lausanne
    2nd Critérium National de la Route
    3rd Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    3rd Giro di Lombardia
    3rd Polymultipliée
    5th Circuit des Boucles de la Seine
    5th Trofeo Baracchi (with Roger Pingeon)
    6th GP du canton d'Argovie
    7th Paris–Roubaix
    7th Coppa Agostoni
    7th Gran Premio di Lugano
    8th Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Stage 15b (ITT)
    9th Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 22b (ITT)

#### 1968

    1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
       1st Stages 1a & 1b (ITT)
    1st Critérium National de la Route
    1st Subida a Arrate
    2nd Circuit de l'Aulne
    2nd Critérium des As
    3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
       1st Stage 3b (ITT)
    3rd Overall A Travers Lausanne
    3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    4th Overall Tour of Belgium
       1st Stage 3
    5th Milan–San Remo
    6th Paris–Roubaix
    7th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    8th Overall Tour de Suisse
    8th Overall Polymultipliée
       1st Stage 2 (ITT)
    9th Overall Paris–Luxembourg

#### 1969

    1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
       1st Stages 1a (ITT) & 5a (ITT)
    1st Tour du Haut Var
    2nd Overall Paris–Nice
       1st Stage 1a (ITT)
    2nd Grand Prix d'Aix-en-Provence
    2nd Grand Prix des Nations
    3rd Overall Tour de France
    4th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    4th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
    5th Giro di Lombardia
    5th Trofeo Laigueglia
    7th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
       1st Stage 4b (ITT)
    7th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
    7th Polymultipliée
    8th Genoa–Nice
    9th Critérium National de la Route

#### 1970

    2nd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
    2nd Overall A Travers Lausanne
    4th Overall Paris–Nice
    4th Polymultipliée
    6th Genoa–Nice
    7th Overall Tour de France
    8th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
    8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    8th Critérium des As
    8th Grand Prix des Nations
    10th La Flèche Wallonne

#### 1971

    1st Overall Étoile des Espoirs
       1st Stage 5 (ITT)
    1st Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
    1st Critérium National de la Route
    2nd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    5th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
    5th GP Union Dortmund
    6th Grand Prix des Nations
    9th Overall Vuelta a España

#### 1972

    1st Overall Paris–Nice
       1st Stage 7b (ITT)
    1st Critérium National de la Route
    1st Critérium des As
    2nd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
       1st Stage 1b (ITT)
    2nd La Flèche Wallonne
    3rd Overall Tour de France
    4th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    4th Grand Prix des Nations
    5th Bruxelles–Meulebeke
    7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    10th Paris–Roubaix

#### 1973

    1st Overall Paris–Nice
    1st Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    3rd Overall A Travers Lausanne
    4th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
    4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    5th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
    6th Grand Prix de Wallonie
    7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    7th Circuit de l'Aulne
    9th Grand Prix des Nations
    10th Paris–Roubaix

#### 1974

    2nd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    2nd Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 16
    2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
       1st Mountains classification
       1st Stage 6b (ITT)
    4th Critérium National de la Route
    5th Overall Paris–Nice
    5th Overall Tour de Romandie
       1st Prologue
    5th Grand Prix de Fourmies
    6th Critérium des As

#### 1975

    2nd Overall Tour du Limousin
       1st Stage 3
    3rd Paris–Bourges
    4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    7th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    7th Overall Tour de l'Oise
    8th Grand Prix de Monaco
    10th Critérium des As

#### 1976

    2nd Paris–Tours
    3rd Overall Tour de France
    4th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    5th Giro di Lombardia
    7th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
    7th Grand Prix des Nations
    8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège

#### 1977

    4th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
    6th Overall Paris–Nice
    7th Overall Tour de l'Aude
    7th Critérium des As
    9th Overall Tour Cycliste du Tarn

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 |
| Vuelta a España | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | 8 | — | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Giro d'Italia | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career | Did not contest during career |
| Tour de France | — | — | 3 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | DNF | 3 | 7 | — | 3 | DNF | 2 | 19 | 3 | — |

### Classics results timeline

Monuments results timeline :
| Monument | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 |
| Milan–San Remo | — | 1 | — | 57 | 2 | 41 | 7 | 33 | 5 | 53 | 62 | — | — | 46 | — | — | 48 | — |
| Tour of Flanders | — | 17 | — | 9 | 30 | 32 | 36 | 27 | 14 | — | — | 67 | 28 | — | 27 | — | 42 | — |
| Paris–Roubaix | 19 | 36 | 5 | 6 | — | — | DSQ | 7 | 6 | — | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 24 | — | 13 | 12 |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | 8 | — | — | 4 | — | — | 8 | — |
| Giro di Lombardia | 96 | 12 | — | 13 | — | 6 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 5 | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | 5 | — |

### Major championship results timeline

| | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 |
| World Championships | 5 | 3 | 25 | 5 | 3 | DNF | 3 | 24 | 7 | 56 | 37 | 45 | 33 | 35 | 2 | 17 | 24 | 32 |
| National Championships | — | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |
| DSQ | Disqualified |