Early Career
Miguel Indurain was born in the village of Villava, which is now an outlying area of Pamplona. He has three sisters – Isabel, Maria Dolores and Maria Asuncion – and a brother, Prudencio, who also became a professional cyclist. His first bicycle was a green secondhand Olmo given to him for his 10th birthday. It was stolen when he was 11 and he worked in the fields with his father to pay for a new one. He tried running, basketball, javelin and soccer from nine to 14. Then he joined the local CC Villaves and rode his first race in July 1978, an event for unlicensed riders in which he came second. He won his second race and competed every week thereafter. His hero in cycling was Bernard Hinault. At 18 he was the youngest winner of the national amateur road championship.
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