Raymond Poulidor (; 15 April 1936 – 13 November 2019), nicknamed "Pou-Pou" (), was a French professional

racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...

, who rode for his entire career. His distinguished career coincided with two other outstanding riders –

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the y ...

and

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

. This underdog position may have been the reason Poulidor was a favourite of the public. He was known as "The Eternal Second", because he never won the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

despite finishing in second place three times, and in third place five times (including his final Tour at the age of 40). Despite his consistency, he never wore the yellow jersey as leader of the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

in 14 Tours (of which he completed 12). He did win one

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

, the 1964 Vuelta a España. Of the eighteen Grand Tours that he entered in his career, he finished in the top 10 fifteen times.

Early life and amateur career

Raymond Poulidor was the son of Martial and Maria Poulidor, small farmers outside the hamlet of Masbaraud-Mérignat, where the

Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...

region east of

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

meets the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; oc, Nauta Vinhana, ; English: Upper Vienne) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitai ...

. Poulidor began working on the farm where, he remembered, "the soil was poor and we had to work hard; farming incomes were poor."Colin, Jacques (2001): ''Paroles de Peloton'', Éditions Solar, France The need for working hands on the farm meant he left school at 14 even though he wanted to continue his studies. Local entertainment went little further than village fairs, with coconut shies, sack-races, competitions for bottles of home-made jam... and inter-village cycle races. Poulidor continued to help out on his parents' farm even after he turned professional. Poulidor was given his first bike by a local shop owner at the age of 14. He 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. He initially hid his passion from his mother, who was afraid of the dangers the sport entailed. It was only when Poulidor was taken into the army for compulsory

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in 1955 that he first travelled in a train.

Pierre Chany Pierre Chany (16 December 1922 – 18 June 1996) was a French cycling journalist. He covered the Tour de France 49 times and was for a long time the main cycling writer for the daily newspaper, ''L'Équipe''. Biography Chany was born in L ...

, a French reporter who followed 49 Tours de France, drew the comparison with Poulidor's eventual rival,

: by the time Poulidor first stepped into a train, Anquetil had already been to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, ridden the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, won a medal for France, turned professional and won the

Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa ...

. Yet there was less than two years between them. The army sent Poulidor to the war then going on in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, where he worked as a driver and put on 12 kg through lack of exercise. In 1960 he dedicated himself to cycling again and lost the weight in a month. He won his first race after army service by six minutes. When he then came second in the GP de Peyrat-le-Château and won 80,000 old francs, he calculated that he had won more in one race than he would have earned in six years on the farm.

Professional career

Poulidor turned professional in 1960 with the Mercier team, directed by former Tour winner Antonin Magne. Magne offered Poulidor 25,000 old francs a month. Poulidor asked for 30,000. Magne countered that that was more than he paid Gauthier and Louis Privat and refused. Later, aware that he had a rival for Anquetil, he conceded.''L'indemodable'', L'Équipe, France, 27 June 2003 In just his second season, Poulidor won

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

, one of cycling's " monument classics". from the finish, he was about to abandon after he suffered a puncture and was two minutes behind the leading riders. Magne convinced him to continue and Poulidor bridged the gap. On the climb of the Capo Berta, he attacked, joined by Albertus Geldermans and teammate Jean-Claude Annaert, who set the tempo until they reached the foot of the final climb, the Poggio. Here, Poulidor attacked again and opened a gap. Despite being guided in the wrong direction by a police man in the final corner, he was able to hold off the chasing field by three seconds to take the victory. Also in 1961, he became French road race champion.

The Anquetil years

Poulidor's rivalry with Anquetil is a legend in cycling. While a good climber, Poulidor had a hard time matching Anquetil in the

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...

, often having victory snatched from him by losing time in time-trial stages of the Tour de France. 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. Poulidor became the darling of the French public, to the ire of Anquetil. Poulidor's mid-France upbringing and his slow Limousin speech also contrasted with Anquetil's northern background and sharper accent. Poulidor's face was deeply tanned and furrowed; Anquetil had high cheekbones, a smoother face and brushed-up blond hair. Poulidor's best chance of defeating Anquetil came in the

1964 Tour de France The 1964 Tour de France was the 51st edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 22 June and 14 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . Stages 3, 10 and 22 were all two-part stages with the first half ...

, in the finish on the

Puy de Dôme Puy de Dôme (, ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Puèi Domat or ) is a lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in the region of Massif Central in central France. This chain of volcanoes including numerous cinder cones, lava domes and maars is ...

. Anquetil rode beside Poulidor but both were so exhausted that only in the last few hundred metres could Poulidor take nearly enough time to threaten Anquetil's first place in the general classification.Le Tour m'a tout donné, ''L'Équipe'', France, 13 July 2004 The Tour organiser,

Jacques Goddet Jacques Goddet (21 June 1905 – 15 December 2000) was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France road cycling race from 1936 to 1986. Goddet was born and died in Paris. His father, Victor Goddet, was co-founder and finance di ...

, was behind the pair as they turned off the main road and climbed through what police estimated as half a million spectators. Anquetil rode on the inside by the mountain wall while Poulidor took the outer edge by the precipice. They could sometimes feel the other's hot gasps on their bare arms. At the end, Anquetil cracked, after a battle of wills and legs so intense that at times they banged elbows. Poulidor says he was so tired that he has no memory of the two touching, although a photograph shows that they did. Of Anquetil, the veteran French reporter Pierre Chany wrote: "His face, until then purple, lost all its colour; the sweat ran down in drops through the creases of his cheeks." Anquetil was only semiconscious, he said. 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.

Anquetil-Poulidor: the social significance

Anquetil unfailingly beat Poulidor in the Tour de France and yet Poulidor remained the more popular. "The more unlucky I was, the more the public liked me and the more money I earned", he said. Divisions between fans became marked, which two sociologists studying the impact of the Tour on French society say became emblematic of France old and new. Research showed that more than 4,000 newspaper articles appeared about him in France in just 1974 and that no other rider "had ever incited so many sociological investigations, so many university theses, seeking to find the cause of his prodigious popularity."

Poupou, the nickname

Poulidor's original nickname was Pouli. It was Émile Besson of the daily newspaper ''

L'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

'' who first wrote of Poupou. The name was taken up throughout France, leading to headlines such as "Poupoularité" in ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...

''. A ''poupée'' is a doll and the nickname hints at that and follows the French tradition of repeating the first syllable of a word in childspeak. Poulidor never liked the name but accepted it.

The Merckx years

The end of the Anquetil era presented opportunities for Poulidor to finally win the Tour de France. This was not to be due to injuries in 1967 and 1968, and the arrival of

in 1969. Poulidor was no match for Merckx, although he offered much resistance. In the 1973 Tour Poulidor almost lost his life on the descent from the Col de Portet d'Aspet when he plunged into a ravine, taking a serious blow to the head and crawling out with the help of the race director,

Poulidor and Dr Mabuse

Antonin Magne remained manager of Poulidor's Mercier team until 1970, when he was replaced by another former rider, Louis Caput. Caput brought with him as deputy

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' ( French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...

a man who described himself as a homeopath,

Bernard Sainz Bernard Sainz, a.k.a. Dr Mabuse, (born Rennes, France, 1 September 1943) is an unlicensed sports doctor who achieved great success in horse racing and cycling. He was jailed for falsely practising medicine, particularly in cycle racing, and receiv ...

. Sainz is known in cycling as Dr Mabuse, after a pulp-fiction character created by Norbert Jacques. Mabuse is a criminal mastermind who becomes rich through hypnotic powers. He plots to take over the world but is foiled by the police. From his cell he masterminds criminal plots by writing endless gibberish. Sainz recognises the nickname and used it in the name of his autobiography. Sainz is a former

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...

rider of national level who stopped racing after a fall and became involved in horse racing, where he was twice convicted of maltreating horses. It was in horse-racing, where he turned unremarkable animals into champions, that he acquired his nickname. He has been repeatedly investigated by police and has been convicted of illegally practising medicine and incitement to doping. Sainz claims that he only engages in homeopathic treatment, though whatever methods he engages in are effective, casting doubt on this claim. Louis Caput approached Edmond Mercier, the bicycle-maker behind Poulidor's team, and asked to bring Sainz into the team management. Mercier agreed, said Sainz, because he was already treating Mercier for his own health problems. Mercier had also brought in the insurance company, GAN, as main sponsor. GAN, said Sainz, demanded that Poulidor be in the team photo even if all he did was train with the team at the start of the season. In 1971 Poulidor had decided against riding any more. The tactic, Sainz said, was bluff, to increase his motivation. In

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

, the first important stage race of the season, Poulidor was 22 seconds behind

on the morning of the last day. Poulidor attacked from the start, setting a speed record on the Col de la Turbie that stood for more than 10 years and won Paris–Nice by two seconds. Next year he won Paris–Nice again and also the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

Drug testing

Raymond Poulidor was the first rider to be tested for drugs in the Tour de France.Poulidor, Raymond: "J'appartiens à la légende", ''L'Équipe'', France, 12 July 1999 Testers arrived at the Tour for the first time in 1966, in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, although only after word had spread and many riders had left their hotels. The first competitor they found was Poulidor. A few other riders were found, including

Rik Van Looy Henri "Rik" Van Looy (born 20 December 1933 in Grobbendonk) is a Belgian former professional cycle sport, cyclist of the post-World War II, war period, nicknamed the ''King of the Classics'' or ''Emperor of Herentals'' (after the small Belgian ...

, and some obliged and others refused. Next morning, the race left the city on the way to the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

and stopped in the suburb of Gradignan, in the university area of La House. The riders climbed off and began walking, shouting protests in general and in particular abuse at the race doctor,

Pierre Dumas Pierre Dumas (died Paris, 29 February 2000) was a French doctor who pioneered drug tests in the Olympic Games and cycling. He was doctor of the Tour de France from 1952 to 1969 and head of drug-testing at race until 1977. Background Dumas taught ...

, whom some demanded should also take a test to see if he'd been drinking wine or taking aspirin to make his own job easier. Riders also criticised Poulidor for accepting to be tested. He dismissed their protests and stayed at the back of the strike. Other prominent riders, including Jacques Anquetil, were at the front. Poulidor said his indifference to the controls and the strike harmed his relations with fellow riders. "After that, they did me no favours in the peloton", he said.

Retirement and death

Poulidor has several times accepted that his career was handicapped by a lack of ambition and by the psychological domination of Jacques Anquetil. Poulidor said in an interview in 1992: I knew straight away that I was getting places everywhere. I got all the leaders' jerseys but I used to lose them. Tonin

agne Agne (English: ''Agni''), ''Hogne'' or ''Agni Skjálfarbondi'' was a semi-legendary, king of Sweden, of the House of Yngling. Snorri Sturluson relates that he was the son of Dag the Wise, and he was mighty and famous. He was also skilled in many ...

said to me "Raymond, you're always in a daydream!" ''And was that true? Were you distracted?'' It was true. I thought what was happening to me was already marvellous enough. I never thought of winning. Never, ever, did I get up in the morning with the idea of winning! On 25 January 1973 Poulidor was made a

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

. In 2003 the President,

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

increased the award. Poulidor also has a rose named after him, reflecting his love of gardening in general and roses in particular. He lived with his wife Gisèle in

Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France, on a hill above the river Vienne. It is named after Saint Leonard of Noblac. The commune of Saint-Léonard-de-Nobl ...

, east of Limoges, where he made short trips on his mountain bike. Their daughter, Corinne, is married to the former world cyclo-cross champion and

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

winner

Adri van der Poel Adrie van der Poel (born 17 June 1959 in Bergen op Zoom) is a retired Dutch cyclist. Van der Poel was a professional from 1981 to 2000. His biggest wins included six classics, two stages of the Tour de France and the World Cyclo-Cross Championsh ...

. His grandsons

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and

Mathieu Mathieu is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * André Mathieu (1929–1968), Canadian pianist and composer * Anselme Mathieu (1828–1895), French Provençal poet * Claude-Louis Mathieu (1783–187 ...

are also cyclists. Mathieu van der Poel became cyclo-cross world champion himself in the junior race in Koksijde in 2012 (

Koksijde Koksijde (; french: Coxyde ; vls, Koksyde) is a town and a municipality in Belgium. It is located on the North Sea coast in the southwest of the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises apart from Koksijde, the villages of O ...

) and in 2013 in Louisville, and with the Elite in 2015 (

Tábor Tábor (; german: Tabor) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administrative parts The followi ...

), 2019 (

Bogense Bogense () is a town in central Denmark, located on Funen in Nordfyn municipality, Region of Southern Denmark. The town has a population of 4,059 (1 January 2022). With its half-timbered houses, narrow streets and large marina, it is a popular t ...

), 2020 (Dübendorf) and 2021 (Ostend). Mathieu has also had great success on the road with his most highly regarded victories including the Amstel Gold Race in 2019, the Tour of Flanders in 2020, and stage 2 of the 2021 Tour de France where he dedicated his win and yellow jersey to his grandfather. Poulidor worked in public relations for

Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cent ...

, sponsor of the yellow jersey, during the Tour. He had bicycles made under his name by the France-Loire company, and has appeared in television commercials aimed at older people. When asked about his longevity compared to fellow cyclists, Poulidor said he took things in moderation and did not overstretch himself. Poulidor has written several biographies, the first of which was ''Gloire sans le Maillot Jaune'', written in 1964. ''Poulidor Intime'' was published in May 2007 by Éditions Jacob-Duvernet in France. In 2004 he helped write ''Poulidor par Raymond Poulidor'' with the radio reporter Jean-Paul Brouchon. The preface is by

. On 13 November 2019, Raymond Poulidor died in

. He had been in a hospital for two months prior, having suffered from heart problems.

Career achievements

Major results

Source: ;1959 : 3rd Grand Prix d'Oradour-sur-Vayres ;1960 : 1st Bordeaux–Saintes : 1st Overall Prestige Pernod : 2nd Nice–Mont Agel : 3rd

Grand Prix de Fourmies The Grand Prix de Fourmies is a bicycle race held in the Fourmies commune of France. Since 2005 it has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which we ...

: 3rd Overall

Super Prestige Pernod The Super Prestige Pernod was a season-long competition in road bicycle racing between 1958 and 1987. For the first edition it was known as the Prestige Pernod, and for the last four years as the Super Prestige Pernod International. History Disag ...

: 4th

Grand Prix du Midi Libre The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (referred to as just Midi Libre) was a multiple-stage road cycling course in the south of France. The race, named after the newspaper that organized it, was first organized in 1949 and was an important preparation cou ...

: 5th Road race,

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 7th

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m, ...

: 10th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ;1961 : 1st MaillotFra

Road race, National Road Championships : 1st

: 1st

Mont Faron Mont Faron is a mountain overlooking the city and roadstead of Toulon, France. It is 584m high. At its peak is a memorial dedicated to the 1944 Allied landings in Provence (Operation Dragoon), and to the liberation of Toulon. The top can be rea ...

hill climb : 1st Overall Challenge Yellow : 2nd Overall

Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk (french: Quatre Jours de Dunkerque) is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been h ...

: 2nd Nice–Mont Agel : 2nd Monaco–Mont Agel : 2nd Overall

: 3rd Gênes–Nice : 3rd

: 3rd Grand Prix de Cannes :3rd Bronze medal blank

Road race,

: 7th

Bordeaux–Paris The Bordeaux–Paris professional cycle race was one of Europe's classic cycle races, and one of the longest in the professional calendar, covering approximately – more than twice most single-day races. It started in northern Bordeaux in sout ...

: 9th Overall

: 9th Paris–Bruxelles ; 1962 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 19 : 3rd Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 3rd Grand Prix de Nice : 5th

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

: 7th Overall

: 8th

;1963 : 1st

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

: 1st

Gran Premio di Lugano The Gran Premio di Lugano ( en, Grand Prix of Lugano) is a road bicycle race held annually in Lugano, Switzerland. Prior to 1981 it was held as an individual time trial but in recent years it has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe ...

: 1st Overall Challenge Yellow : 1st Critérium National : 2nd Grand Prix de Cannes : 2nd

Trofeo Baracchi The Trofeo Baracchi was a major Italian cycling race that ran for 50 years. It was created by Mino Baracchi, in memory of his father Angelo who was a great cycle racing fan. Originally (from 1941) an amateur individual time trial, from 1944 it wa ...

(with

) : 2nd Gênes–Nice : 2nd Overall Prestige Pernod : 3rd Overall

: 3rd

Paris–Luxembourg The Paris–Luxembourg was a professional cycle race held as a stage race between Paris and Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ...

: 5th Road race,

: 5th

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional r ...

: 8th Overall

: 9th 1963 Tour of Flanders ;1964 : 1st Overall Critérium National ::1st Stage 2b ( ITT) : 1st Grand Prix de Cannes : 1st Grand Prix de Soissons : 1st Ronde de Seignelay : 1st Jersey gold

Overall

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

::1st Stage 15 (ITT) : 1st Stage 1 Circuit du Provençal : 1st Overall

: 1st Overall Prestige Pernod : 1st Overall Challenge Yellow : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 15 : 2nd

: 2nd Grand Prix d'Antibes : 2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Stages 2 & 4a (ITT) : 2nd Overall Tour de Haute-Loire : 3rd Bronze medal blank

Road race,

: 7th Overall

::1st Stage 7 ;1965 : 1st Overall

Escalada a Montjuïc The Escalada a Montjuïc (in Catalan, English: ''Scaling of Montjuïc'', Spanish: ''Escalada a Montjuïc'') was a one-day, two-stage road bicycle racing race held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1965. It was held in the middle of October, as ...

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 5b (ITT) and 14 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 4a (ITT) and 16 (ITT) : 2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 2nd Overall Prestige Pernod : 4th Overall

: 3rd

: 4th Overall

: 4th

(with

Georges Chappe Georges Chappe (born 5 March 1944) is a retired cyclist from France, who was nicknamed ''Jojo'' during his professional career. He was a professional from 1965 to 1975. In 1970 he won the Critérium International. In 1968, Chappe won a stage in ...

) : 6th

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cy ...

;1966 : 1st Overall Critérium National ::1st Stage 2b (ITT) : 1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Stage 7b (ITT) : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 14b (ITT) : 1st Stage 2 (ITT)

: 1st

Subida a Arrate The Subida a Arrate was a road bicycle race held annually in the Basque Country, Spain from 1941 until 1986. It then merged with the Gran Premio de la Bicicleta Eibarresa, which became the Euskal Bizikleta Euskal Bizikleta (Spanish: ''Bicicleta ...

: 1st Overall Challenge Yellow : 1st Overall Prestige Pernod : 2nd

(with

) : 3rd

Road race,

: 3rd

: 3rd Grand Prix d'Aix-en-Provence : 3rd Grand Prix de Monaco : 3rd Overall

: 5th

: 7th

;1967 : 1st Bol d'Or des Monédières Chaumeil : 1st

Circuit de l'Aulne Boucles de l'Aulne is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in May or June around Châteaulin, in the region of Brittany, France. Since 2006, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a s ...

: 1st

A Travers Lausanne A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

: 1st Overall

: 2nd Overall Critérium National : 3rd

: 3rd Polymultipliée : 3rd

: 4th Overall Prestige Pernod : 8th Overall

::1st Stage 15b (ITT) : 9th Overall

::1st Stage 22b (ITT) : 7th

;1968 :1st Overall Critérium National :1st Overall

:1st

:2nd Overall Prestige Pernod :3rd Overall

::1st Stage 3 (ITT) :1st Stage 3

Tour of Belgium The Tour of Belgium ( nl, Ronde van België; french: Tour de Belgique) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries. It was held annually between 1908 and 1981, except during both world wars. Betw ...

:3rd

:5th

:6th

:7th Road race,

:8th Overall

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

;1969 :1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Stages 1a & 5a :1st Overall

Tour du Haut Var The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...

:1st Overall Challenge Yellow :1st Overall Prestige Pernod :2nd Overall

::1st Stage 1a (ITT) :3rd Overall

:1st Stage 4a (ITT)

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'', es, Vuelta al País Vasco, links=no, eu, Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country (autonomous community) ...

:2nd

:2nd Grand Prix d'Aix-en-Provence :4th

:4th Overall

:5th

;1970 :2nd

Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan) was a multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour in the second half of March. ...

:2nd

:2nd Overall Prestige Pernod :4th Overall

:7th Overall

:8th

:10th

;1971 :1st Overall Critérium National :1st

:1st Overall

Étoile des Espoirs The Étoile des Espoirs was an end of the season French cycling stage race. It was created by Jean Leulliot, and was open to young professional cyclists. Winners ''Source'' References External links * Cycle races in France Defunct cyc ...

::1st Stage 5 :2nd Overall

:3rd Overall Prestige Pernod :4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré :6th

:9th Overall

;1972 :1st

Critérium des As The ''Critérium des As'' (''Race of the Aces'') was a cycle race that was generally held at the end of the season, with entry by invitation only, for the leading riders of the season. Competitors rode behind pacers on tandems or motorcycles. It w ...

:1st Overall Critérium National :1st Overall

::1st Stage 7b (ITT) :1st Overall Challenge Yellow :1st Overall Prestige Pernod :2nd Overall

::1st Stage 1 (ITT) :2nd

:2nd Overall

:3rd Overall

:4th

:7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré :10th

;1973 : 1st GP de Soissons : 1st

: 1st Overall

: 1st Overall Challenge Yellow : 2nd Overall Prestige Pernod : 3rd

: 4th

: 7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 9th

: 9th Overall

: 10th

;1974 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 16 : 2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Stage 6b : 2nd Silver medal blank

Road race,

: 2nd Overall Prestige Pernod : 4th Overall

: 5th Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. I ...

::1st Prologue (ITT) ;1975 : 2nd Overall

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2011 it was upgraded to an 2.HC The UCI 1.HC and UCI 2.HC ar ...

::1st Stage 3 : 2nd Overall Prestige Pernod : 3rd

Paris–Bourges Paris–Bourges is a French road bicycle race. The race originally started in Paris and ran to the town of Bourges in the Région Centre. However, in recent year with the length of races shortened it has become impossible to link the two cities a ...

: 4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 7th

;1976 : 3rd Overall

: 2nd Overall Prestige Pernod : 4th

: 5th

: 7th Overall

: 8th

;1977 : 6th Overall

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poulidor, Raymond 1936 births 2019 deaths French male cyclists French Tour de France stage winners French Vuelta a España stage winners Vuelta a España winners Sportspeople from Creuse Super Prestige Pernod winners Cyclists from Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Early life and amateur career

Professional career

The Anquetil years

Anquetil-Poulidor: the social significance

Poupou, the nickname

The Merckx years

Poulidor and Dr Mabuse

Drug testing

Retirement and death

Career achievements

Major results

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links