The Eagle of Toledo: The Life and Times of Federico Bahamontes

The Eagle of Toledo: The Life and Times of Federico Bahamontes is a biography of a cyclist regarded by many as not only the greatest climber in cycling history but also as the godfather of Spanish cycling. Bahamontes, the first Spaniard to win in 1959 the Tour de France and six times champion of the race''s gruelling ''King of the Mountains'' classification, may be less well known in Britain than some of his successors, but his life from his birth in 1928 to his retirement in 1965 coincides with one of the most troubled periods in Spain’s history and provides a fascinating subject for a biography.

The author, Alasdair Fotherigham, a freelance journalist based in Spain, has covered 20 Tours de France and 18 Vuelta a España races and writes in the Independent and the Independent on Sunday both about Spain and about cycling.