Julio Jimenez 'The Clock Maker of Avila'

One the best Spanish climbers of all times whose professional career spanned from 1963 to 1968. His greatest achievement was winning the King of the Mountains prize at the TdF three years in a row - 1965, 1966 and 1967. He also won the same title in the Vuelta España in three occasions. Despite his exploits at alpine stages, and leading the Giro d'Italia 1967 for nearly eleven days, he never managed to win any major Tour - he was close to win the Vuelta España 1964 but he lost to Frenchman Raymond Poulidor due to a poor performance at the crono-stage. He retired from professional racing in 1969.

Some pictures of his classic climbing style in the Pyrenees stages of the TdF of 1965 and 1967.

As usual click image if you want to see an enlarged version. 

Le Tour de France: 1966-1971

Recently I have been given a volume containing the special Tour de France issues of two French cycling magazines -Le Miroir des Sports and Mirior de Ciclisme- and covering the editions of this major race from 1966 to 1971. These were the years of the rivalry between two Frenchmen Anquetil and Poulidor, the rise of Eddy Merckx and the death of Tom Simpson. Plenty of interesting pictures like this one showing a group of domestiques refreshing and fetching water for their respective team leaders in the TdF of 1966. 

As I have a closer look to the magazines I will try to scan and upload more pictures. I think you can click on the image to see enlarged version. Enjoy!