The International Challenge

The 1960s saw increased international competition challenging French dominance. Spanish climbers arrived with skills honed in their mountainous homeland. Belgian classics specialists brought tactical sophistication from their racing calendar. Italian teams, well-funded and professionally organized, set new standards for systematic preparation.

The Spanish Climbing Revolution

Federico Bahamontes, "The Eagle of Toledo," revolutionized mountain racing. His climbing style—dancing on pedals, accelerating where others merely survived—demoralized rivals. His 1959 Tour victory, Spain's first, announced Spanish cycling's arrival. Behind Bahamontes came waves of Spanish climbers who would dominate mountain classifications for decades.

Spanish riders brought different mentalities shaped by their nation's poverty and isolation. Many came from rural backgrounds where cycling offered rare economic opportunity. They raced with hunger—literal and metaphorical—that comfortable French riders couldn't match. Their willingness to suffer, products of harder lives, gave them advantages when races reached brutal extremes.