Federico Bahamontes, one of the greatest climbers in the history of cycling, died on Tuesday at the age of 95. Winner of the
Tour de France in 1959, six times best climber of the Grande Boucle and winner of seven stages left its mark on the 1950s and 1960s, leaving cycling enthusiasts in awe... Former long-time cycling commentator Daniel Mangeas spoke about the legacy of the mythical climber for Cyclism'Actu.
"Federico Bahamontes is my whole childhood. I had the pleasure of meeting him often, he was an empathetic and pleasant person to be around. He was above all an immense champion, one of the greatest and most emblematic climbers of all time. For people of my generation, it was a champion who accompanied us, with this image of an irresistible climber who flew over the passes and his opponents. He fascinated the children of my generation."
"His relations with the French champions of the time? They were good. There was mutual admiration. Raymond Poulidor and Jacques Anquetil admired Federico Bahamontes, and vice versa. They respected each other deeply, and as you go through life and meet each other, respect becomes friendship, and that's what I felt about them."
"I remember my first meeting with him, it was on the Mediterranean Tour organized at the time by another former winner of the Tour, Lucien Aimar. I have the photo at home because around him, there was Raymond Poulidor, Jacques Anquetil, Henri Anglade, Julio Jimenez, Raphaël Géminiani, François Mahé... It is an indelible memory for me to have brought together all these champions in the same photo. If someone had told me one day that I would meet Federico, I would have said that it was impossible. That day, I felt like someone privileged."
