Jacques Anquetil

French cycling legend who became the first rider to win five Tour de France titles, a supremely talented and clinical performer whose domination of the sport in the 1950s and 1960s changed professional cycling.

Jacques Anquetil was French cycling's first great champion, the first man to win five Tour de France titles and a master of the time trial who dominated cycling through the late 1950s and 1960s. Known for his beautifully efficient pedalling technique and extraordinary ability to pace himself exactly, Anquetil's clinical and calculated approach to racing was in contrast to the more attacking Eddy Merckx era that followed.