José Manuel Fuente

José Manuel Fuente Lavandera (September 30, 1945 in Limanes, Spain – July 18, 1996 in Oviedo, Spain) was a professional road racing cyclist and noted climbing specialist.

José Manuel Fuente
Personal information
Full nameJosé-Manuel Fuente Lavandera
NicknameEl Tarangu
Born(1945-09-30)September 30, 1945
Limanes, Spain
DiedJuly 18, 1996(1996-07-18) (aged 50)
Oviedo, Spain
Team information
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimber
Professional teams
1970Karpy Licor
1971–1975Kas-Kaskol
1976Bianchi-Campagnolo
Major wins
Giro d'Italia
King of the Mountains Classification (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974)

Vuelta a España

General classification (1972, 1974)
Tour de Suisse (1973)

Fuente was a professional from 1970 to 1976. He had the same nickname as his father and grandfather, which was "El Tarangu", a word in the Asturian language for a man reputed for his strength and character.[1] Fuente was known as one of the greatest climbers of his generation. He was a two-time winner of the Vuelta a España and won four consecutive climbers classification (or King of the Mountains) at the Giro d'Italia. He was rivals with the great cyclists of his time: Eddy Merckx and Luis Ocaña. He won the Vuelta a España in 1972, which at that time was held in late April and early May. Several weeks later, in the 1972 Giro d'Italia, Fuente had a great battle with Eddy Merckx. Fuente took the pink jersey as leader of the general classification early on in the race but Merckx took it back. On the mountain stage to Bardonecchia, Fuente put in an attack that put pressure on Merckx. Little by little, Merckx increased his pace and came back to Fuente and ended up winning the stage.[2]

Health problems due to kidney disease forced Fuente to retire in 1975. After retirement he opened a successful cycle business in Oviedo and in 1988 was appointed directeur sportif of the Clas team.[3] This lasted only a year, after which he was replaced in 1989 by Juan Fernadez. Fuente died following a long battle with kidney disease at the age of 50.[1]

Major results
1970
1st Stage 9 Volta a Catalunya
1971
Giro d'Italia
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 10
Tour de France
1st Stages 14 & 15
1972
1st Overall Vuelta a España
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 12
2nd Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 4 & 17
1973
1st Overall Tour de Suisse
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 4 & 5
8th Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Mountains Classification
3rd Overall Tour de France
1974
1st Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stages 9 & 13
5th Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Mountains Classification
1st Stages 3, 9, 11a, 16 & 20
gollark: Why would you want *that*?
gollark: NoooooOO! I missed an AP nebula!
gollark: Yay, an AP hatchling and I got it!
gollark: I don't know which spriters have which alts, and some may not want to be bothered.
gollark: Well, probably, it's a chicken with a slightly rude code.

References
  1. "Jose Manuel Fuente RIP". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  2. Merckx, Eddy (1972). Plus d'un Tour dans mon sac; Mes carnets de route 1972. Editions arts et voyages diffusion gamma.
  3. "CLAS - RAZESA". cyclebase.nl. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
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