José Manuel Fuente Lavandera (September 30, 1945 – July 18, 1996) 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
Grand Tours
Tour de France
2 individual stages (1971)
Giro d'Italia
Mountains classification (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974)
9 individual stages (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974)
Vuelta a España
General classification (1972, 1974)
Mountains classification (1972)
Combination classification (1972)
3 individual stages (1972, 1974)

Stage races

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

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1969
3rd Vuelta Asturias
1970
1st Stage 9 Volta a Catalunya
3rd Overall Vuelta a los Valles Mineros
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   Combination classification
1st Stage 12
2nd Overall Giro d'Italia
1st   Mountains classification
1st Stages 4a & 17
Held   after Stages 4a–6
1973
1st   Overall Tour de Suisse
1st   Mountains classification
1st Stages 4 & 5
2nd Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
3rd Overall Tour de France
Held   after Stages 9–10
8th Overall Giro d'Italia
1st   Mountains classification
1st Stage 19
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
Held   after Stages 3–13
8th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
1976
1st Stage 3a Vuelta a los Valles Mineros

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

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Grand Tour 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
  Vuelta a España 16 54 1 1 DNF
  Giro d'Italia 39 2 8 5 18
  Tour de France 72 3 DNF
Legend
Did not compete
DNF Did not finish

References

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  1. ^ a b "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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