The day Bahamontes was caught carrying an ‘ice cream cart’

Disrespectful freshness or stable cold. Intrigue devoured every journalist and passerby who found themselves in the ditch, trying to guess why the race leader runner got off his bike at the top of the Col de Romeyère to treat himself and give a pleasant lick. . sa an ice cream, as if it were a Sunday route and not a stage of a Tour de France. He painted a rude act of nonsense Federico Martin Bahamontes (Toledo, 1928), a fiery fugue. What kind of disrespect is that? Is he proud of his 14-minute lead in the peloton? Instead, the man intended to flee from disturbing impatience.

“I ran away with three other runners, Leguilly, Lazaride and a Belgian with glasses. His car told him not to pull the group because I would let them climb and when the car passed, it hit a rock,” he said. by Bahamontes. Thin Parakeet on a TV show. And the fate of that rock was the rear wheel of the Toledo bicycle and, the victim, the two spokes on either side that broke. Always ready to attack the Bahamontes, he released the brakes, attacked and single-handedly headed towards the top of the pass. But conscience warned his instinct at the time: I can’t go down without the brakes.

So get off the ground and wait for Julián Berrendero’s car to change tires. And instead of letting yourself find yourself in monotony, what better way to lose yourself in a small but intense pleasure contained in a cornet with two vanilla balls “I saw two ice cream carts, I went there, I ordered ice cream and I put it in the container. They took a picture of me in the back and I thought “Damn! Is my ass more handsome than my face or what? And that’s where I gained the popularity of “the one with the ice cream”, said the Toledo man to Perico. “I lost a lot of time, 14 minutes and what it took to change the tire”, He added.

Bahamontes, now with 93 years, saw the chance to win the escape at that stage of the 1954 Tour disputed between Lyon and Grenoble but that moment of savoring happiness no one took it away from him and increased his charisma. He exploded with attacks and poured spontaneity into the pleasure he gave to the palate, showing off the brave and friendly cyclist at first. ‘Grand Boucle’ of his life, decorated in Paris with the dress he wore up to six times, that in king of the mountain

Everything is possible to do on a bicycle for the Bahamontes, who, before satisfying himself with an ice cream like someone making it on a terrace -and in his early years as a runner-, went to the canal for sleep on the bike It is impossible to apply the saying ‘Fresher than lettuce’ to ‘Águila de Toledo’, as he is ‘Lechuga’, his former nickname. The remarkable thing is that in the same place where the anecdote is told that crowned the character, it is also the place where the athlete will succeed.

The habit that discovered him, was what made the unique personality of the Bahamontes famous, to eat Among the Spanish dishes, some good crumbs, the conversation removed the Bahamontes from the deria for mountain jersey. In the winter before the 1959 Tour, the man from Toledo invited a hunt on his land Fausto Coppi, Miquel Poblet, Raphaël Géminiani and Fausto Coppi. A good troop, come on. And from a hunt that brings together such elites only good business can be lost. Tasting these crumbs, Coppi revealed to Bahamontes that if he stopped in too many mountains he could win the Tour and sign for his team, Tricofilina Coppi.

It turns yellow … in the same port of ice cream

Forget the infamous Vuelta a España in 1959 where he retired for a anthraxBahamontes added spice to his irreparable rivalry Jesus Lorono, the same of which they came to blow in a battle in 1957 Vuelta in one of the many scenes of their feud that fragmented Spain on two sides. The scene before the 1959 Tour took place behind the scenes, when the Toledo native asked the national coach, Dalmacio Langarica, less than the choice between father and mother: either Loroño or he. At that time, the Tour ran of countries. The decision turned towards the Bahamontes to cause a sharp explosion of unpopularity in the Basque Country, land of Loroño.

And finally the notable Bahamontes is for dressing up as a yellow lamp on a stage with the same port where he left everything frozen after an attack made on Charly, which lasted four minutes in Paris Henry Anglade and five to Jacques Anquetil. In his own way, he discovered to Spanish fans the feeling of having a cyclist at the top of Paris as the first rider in the country to enjoy it. A July 18in the twenties of Franco’s coup d’état, the Bahamontes carried out the idea of ​​communist instigation Fausto Coppi. Such a paradox the man from Toledo and even funny he left the Tour. It was in 1965, his last involvement: if he showed himself on the ground, he would also descend on ‘Grande Bouclé’ in the same way.

He changed speed on the ramps of the Aspet on the 1965 Tour a day after a ‘bird’ in a lie attack: once at a distance he hid in between some shrubs and then he got into the car as the question of whether he retreated or continued tormented the platoon and he burst out laughing. It was Bahamontes, which was not even there. Except for his name – his name was Alejandro but his uncle was forced to call him Federico and called the others – everyone was really in ‘Águila de Toledo’, did what he wanted, faithful even when he was caught. with ‘the ice cream cart’.