José Antonio González

As an amateur cyclist José Antonio González won the Vuelta a Navarra in 1967 to earn himself a place on the Spanish Olympic team. At the 1968 Mexico City Games, González was part of the quartet that finished 12th in the team time trial. Two years later he became the national road race champion and won a time trial stage at the Tour de France, beating the great Eddy Merckx by three seconds. González continued to have success in time trial stages at Grand Tours, winning one each at the Vuelta a España in 1971 and 1972, in addition to finishing fifth in the general classification at the latter.

González remained consistent at the Vuelta, finishing sixth in 1974, winning another stage in 1976, and finishing tenth overall in both 1976 and 1977. His best record came at the Tour of the Basque Country, winning the race on four occasions (1972, 1975, 1977–78). After his cycling career he turned to politics and was elected as a local mayor in 1999, staying in the role until 2023.