Читать книгу Tour Climbs: The complete guide to every mountain stage on the Tour de France - Chris Sidwells - Страница 16

A Spaniard called Vicente Trueba, who was nicknamed the Torrelavega Flea because he was so slight, was the first winner of the King of the Mountains title. Many great climbers and Tour winners have gone on to win the title, including the Italians Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi, but in the mid-1950s the title was taken by two of the greatest climbers the Tour de France has ever seen, Frederico Bahamontes of Spain and Luxembourg’s Charly Gaul.

Bahamontes, who journalists christened the Eagle of Toledo, and Gaul, who they referred to as the Angel of the Mountains, both went on to win the Tour de France overall, and Bahamontes was six times the King of the Mountains champion. They were both capable of attacking early on a mountain stage and decimating the entire field. That was how they won their Tours.

Bahamontes might have won more than once, only his career overlapped that of Jacques Anquetil, and their battles were a classic confrontation of a time trial specialist who could climb against a pure climber. Anquetil was the time trial specialist and was content to limit his losses on the climbs, but on occasions, and especially against Bahamontes, he had to climb incredibly well to do that.

Their battles came to a head in the 1963 Tour de France on the Col de la Forclaz. Bahamontes, in the yellow jersey, was determined to destroy Anquetil that day and win his second Tour de France, but Anquetil knew that he couldn’t let him have any more of a lead. He had to stay with the Spanish climbing star, and he had to summon all of his strength to do it. Anquetil suffered, but he clung onto the Spaniard, surviving all his attacks. He even beat Bahamontes to the line at the end of the stage. Later, Anquetil won the final time trial and his fourth Tour de France.