1. Raymond Poulidor was known as "The Eternal Second", because he never won the Tour de France despite finishing in second place three times, and in third place five times.
33 Facts About Raymond Poulidor
1. 2.
Raymond Poulidor did win one Grand Tour, the 1964 Vuelta a Espana.
3.
Raymond Poulidor was the son of Martial and Maria Poulidor, small farmers outside the hamlet of Masbaraud-Merignat, where the Creuse region east of Limoges meets the departement of Haute-Vienne.
4.
Raymond Poulidor continued to help out on his parents' farm even after he turned professional.
5.
Raymond Poulidor was given his first bike by a local shop owner at the age of 14.
6.
Raymond Poulidor started racing bicycles at the age of 16, picking up the interest from the magazine Miroir-Sprint given to him by one of his school teachers.
7.
Raymond Poulidor initially hid his passion from his mother, who was afraid of the dangers the sport entailed.
8.
Raymond Poulidor won his first race after army service by six minutes.
9.
Raymond Poulidor turned professional in 1960 with the Mercier team, directed by former Tour winner Antonin Magne.
10.
Magne convinced him to continue and Raymond Poulidor bridged the gap.
11.
Raymond Poulidor's riding style was aggressive and attacking, whereas Anquetil preferred to control the race in the mountains and win time in the time-trials.
12.
Raymond Poulidor became the darling of the French public, to the ire of Anquetil.
13.
Raymond Poulidor's mid-France upbringing and his slow Limousin speech contrasted with Anquetil's northern background and sharper accent.
14.
Raymond Poulidor's face was deeply tanned and furrowed; Anquetil had high cheekbones, a smoother face and brushed-up blond hair.
15.
Anquetil rode on the inside by the mountain wall while Raymond Poulidor took the outer edge by the precipice.
16.
Raymond Poulidor says he was so tired that he has no memory of the two touching, although a photograph shows that they did.
17.
Raymond Poulidor gained time but when they reached Paris, Anquetil still had a 55-second lead and won his last Tour de France thanks to the time-trial on the final day.
18.
Raymond Poulidor was no match for Merckx, although he offered much resistance.
19.
Raymond Poulidor has been repeatedly investigated by police and has been convicted of illegally practising medicine and incitement to doping.
20.
GAN, said Sainz, demanded that Raymond Poulidor be in the team photo even if all he did was train with the team at the start of the season.
21.
Raymond Poulidor was the first rider to be tested for drugs in the Tour de France.
22.
Raymond Poulidor dismissed their protests and stayed at the back of the strike.
23.
Raymond Poulidor said his indifference to the controls and the strike harmed his relations with fellow riders.
24.
Raymond Poulidor has several times accepted that his career was handicapped by a lack of ambition and by the psychological domination of Jacques Anquetil.
25.
Raymond Poulidor said in an interview in 1992: I knew straight away that I was getting places everywhere.
26.
On 25 January 1973 Raymond Poulidor was made a Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur.
27.
Raymond Poulidor has a rose named after him, reflecting his love of gardening in general and roses in particular.
28.
Raymond Poulidor lived with his wife Gisele in Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat, east of Limoges, where he made short trips on his mountain bike.
29.
Raymond Poulidor worked in public relations for Credit Lyonnais, sponsor of the yellow jersey, during the Tour.
30.
Raymond Poulidor had bicycles made under his name by the France-Loire company, and has appeared in television commercials aimed at older people.
31.
Raymond Poulidor has written several biographies, the first of which was Gloire sans le Maillot Jaune, written in 1964.
32.
Raymond Poulidor Intime was published in May 2007 by Editions Jacob-Duvernet in France.
33.
Raymond Poulidor had been in a hospital for two months prior, having suffered from heart problems.