A belated happy birthday to José Luis Laguía, who was born on September 30, 1959.
The Spanish rider is best known for winning the Mountains Jersey Classification a record five times in the Vuelta a Espana in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986.
Laguía began his professional career riding for the Reynolds-Benotto team in 1980, quickly establishing himself as a formidable climber during his first year as a neo-pro after winning the first of his five green jerseys.
In addition to his Grand Tour achievements, Laguía claimed numerous stage victories and overall titles in several important races in and around Spain and France, such as the Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos, Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Vuelta Ciclista Asturias, Costa del Azahar, Setmana Catalana de Ciclismo, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Pamplona, Criterium, Vuelta a Cantabria, Camp di Morvedre, GP du Midi-Libre, Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Vuelta a los Tres Cantos, Vuelta Ciclista a la Rioja, Trofeo Ciutat de L’Hospitalet and the Spanish National Road Championship title.
In total, Laguía ranked up an impressive 45 victories during his 12-year career.
Other notable teams that Laguía raced for included Reynolds-Galli, Reynolds-Reynolon, PDM-Concorde, Lotus-Festina, Paternina Sport and Artiach-Royal.
Upon his retirement, Laguía worked in various team management positions, rising to directeur sportif for Movistar’s continental team, and later head of the venerable Spanish team’s WorldTour squad.
Under Laguía’s management, Movistar has seen a rise in such stars as Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde, Alex Dowsett, Gorka Izagirre, Daniele Bennati and Carlos Betancur.
Feliz cumpleaños José!
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