Raymond Poulidor

Raymond Poulidor, nicknamed Pou-Pou, was a French professional racing cyclist who rode for the Mercier team for his entire career. He came from a small farming family in the Creuse region and began racing at sixteen. His career overlapped with Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx, and his underdog role made him a public favourite. He became known as the Eternal Second because he never won the Tour de France, finishing second three times and third five times, including his last Tour at the age of forty. He never wore the yellow jersey in fourteen Tours. His one Grand Tour victory was the 1964 Vuelta a España, and he finished in the top ten in fifteen of eighteen Grand Tours he entered.