Miguel Indurain - End Of An Era

Though Indurain is not the only cyclist to have won five Tour de Frances, he is the first person to win five consecutive Tour victories. He slipped back in the 1996 Tour and many of his fans waited for a comeback that never happened. His feat, however, is still considered by many to be one of the major performances in sporting history.

Some of his detractors claim that Indurain, unlike Eddie Merckx or Jacques Anquetil, trained solely for the Tour and avoided the many other races in which Merckx and Anquetil consistently competed even as they amassed their five Tour victories. One of France's top coaches, Cyril Guimard, was quoted in the Washington Post as saying that Indurain "never really accomplished any great individual physical exploits, other than a lot of winning races. For that reason, I don't think he deserves to be considered among the true greats of the sport." Indurain responded to this by saying, "I respect all opinions, but I cannot accept Guimard's. After all, what have the French racers managed to do in recent years?" Many believe his accomplishment speaks for itself.

Indurain chose to retire in 1997. Many fans were expecting the announcement, since two weeks prior the Spanish press had leaked the news. With the money he earned from cycling, Indurain still leads a relatively simple life, choosing to live with his wife Marisa and family in his homeland in the Spanish Basque region. Spain voted Miguel Indurain their Athlete of the Century in 2000.