Federico Bahamontes

**Federico Martín Bahamontes** (born 9 July 1928; 9 August 2023) is a Spanish retired professional cyclist. He was the first cyclist to win the "King of the Mountains"  competition for best climber in all three Grand Tours, the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.

## Biography

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.

In 2013 he was named the best climber in the history of the Tour de France by L' Équipe Magazine. 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.

## Palmarès

- 1950
- national amateur road championship
- 1952
- Vuelta a Albacete
- 1953
- Circuito Sardinero
- 1954
- Nice-Mont Agel
- Vuelta a España:
    - 2nd overall
- Tour de France:
    - Winner Mountains classification
- 1955
- Clasica a los Puertos de Guadarrama
- Monaco - Golf du Mont Agel
- Mont Faron
- Vuelta a Asturias
- 1956
- Tour de France:
    - 4th overall
- Giro d'Italia:
    - Winner Mountains classification
- Vuelta a España:
    - 4th overall
- 1957
- Mont Faron
- Vuelta a España:
    - Winner Mountains classification
    - Winner stage 3
    - 2nd overall
- Vuelta Ciclista Asturias
- 1958
- national time trial champion
- Giro d'Italia:
    - Winner stage 4
- National road race championship
- Saint-Junien
- Subida a Arrate
- Tour de France:
    - Winner stages 14 and 20
    - Winner Mountains classification
    - 8th place overall classification
- Vuelta a España:
    - Winner Mountains classification
    - 6th overall
- 1959
- Subida a Arrate
- Tour de France:
    - **Winner overall classification**
    - Winner Mountains classification
    - Winner stage 15
- Vuelta a España:
    - Winner stage 4
- 1960
- Subida a Arrate
- Vuelta a España:
    - Winner stage 13
- 1961
- Cenon
- Monaco - Golf du Mont Agel
- Nice - Mont Agel
- Riberac
- Subida a Arrate
- 1962
- GP de la Magdaleine
- Juliénas
- Mont-Faron
- Subida a Arrate
- Tour de France:
    - Winner stage 13
    - Winner Mountains classification
- Ussel
- 1963
- La Touloubre
- Miramas (FRA)
- Mont-Faron (b) (FRA)
- Tour de France:
    - 2nd overall
    - Winner stage 15
    - Winner Mountains classification
- 1964
- Escalada a Montjuich
- Six Days of Madrid (with Rik Van Steenbergen)
- Mont-Faron
- Subida al Naranco
- Tour de France:
    - 3rd overall
    - Winner stages 8 and 16
    - Winner Mountains classification
- Ussel
- 1965
- Escalada a Montjuïc
- Tour du Sud-Est
- Vuelta a España:
    - 10th overall

## Further reading

- Fotheringham, Alasdair (2013) _The Eagle of Toledo: The Life and Times of Federico Bahamontes, the Tour's Greatest Climber _, London, Aurum Press,  https://books.google.com/books?id=msRdLwEACAAJ

## Other websites

- Complete Palmarès
- Frederico Bahamontes at the Cycling Archives
- Official Tour de France results for Federico Bahamontes

## Infobox (cyclist)

- **name**: Federico Bahamontes
- **image**: Federico Bahamontes (1962).jpg
- **caption**: Bahamontes in 1962
- **full name**: Alejandro Martín Bahamontes
- **nickname**: The Eagle of Province of Toledo, Toledo
- **birth place**: Santo Domingo-Caudilla, Spain
- **discipline**: Road
- **role**: Retired
- **ridertype**: Climber
- **proyears1**: 1953–1954
- **proteam1**: Splendid
- **proyears2**: 1955
- **proteam2**: Terrot–Hutchinson
- **proyears3**: 1956
- **proteam3**: Girardengo–ICEP
- **proyears4**: 1957
- **proteam4**: Mobylette
- **proyears5**: 1958
- **proteam5**: Faema–Guerra
- **proyears6**: 1959
- **proteam6**: Tricofilina–Coppi/Kas (cycling team), Kas
- **proyears7**: 1960
- **proteam7**: Faema
- **proyears8**: 1961
- **proteam8**: VOV
- **proyears9**: 1962–1965
- **proteam9**: Margnat–Paloma-Inuri
- **majorwins**: **Tour de France**
: General classification in the Tour de France, General classification (1959 Tour de France, 1959)
:Mountains classification in the Tour de France, Mountains classification (1954 Tour de France, 1954, 1958 Tour de France, 1958, 1959 Tour de France, 1959, 1962 Tour de France, 1962, 1963 Tour de France, 1963, 1964 Tour de France, 1964)
:7 individual stages (1954–1965)
**Giro d'Italia**
:Mountains classification in the Giro d'Italia, Mountains classification (1956 Giro d'Italia, 1956)
:1 individual stage (1956–1961)
**Vuelta a España**
:Mountains classification in the Vuelta a España, Mountains classification (1957 Vuelta a España, 1957, 1958 Vuelta a España, 1958)
:3 individual stages (1955–1965)