French cycling icon Raymond Poulidor died early Wednesday after two months in the hospital.

"He left us this morning," his wife Giselle told AFP from their home in western France.

Poulidor was famous for never winning the Tour de France, but he was beloved by the French people in the 1960s and 1970s. He was affectionately known as "Poupou" and was still widely known and greeted fondly, partly because he worked in the hospitality start village of Crédit Lyonnais, the sponsor of the yellow jersey in the Tour de France.

During his 18-year career at Mercier, Poulidor competed against Jacques Anquetil and a young Eddy Merckx. He had the misfortune of competing against two great riders, and although he did not win enough races to match his talent, it earned him the moniker "the eternal second best," and he went from defeat to great success, often earning the same or more on the post-Tour de France criterium circuit.

Poulidor was on the Tour de France podium eight times between 1962 and 1976, the last time when he was over 40 years old; he was second in 1964, 1965, and 1974, but never on top of the podium with a win, and incredibly, race leader s yellow jersey, and incredibly never wore the yellow jersey of the race leader.

However, he did win the Vuelta a España in 1964, Milan-San Remo in 1961, Flèche Wallonne in 1963, and seven stages in the Tour de France: Paris-Nice in 1972 and 1973, 1966 and 1969, and He won the Criterium du Dauphiné and was French national champion in 1961.

He represented France at 15 world championships, but the rainbow jersey was out of reach, finishing second to sprint leader Eddy Merckx in Montreal in 1974 He finished third three times in 1961, 1964, and 1966.

Poulidor's best chance to win the Tour de France came in 1968. He entered a breakaway and was trying to improve on his rivals' time when he crashed on his race bike. He suffered a broken nose and head trauma, forcing him to give up the race and his chances of winning.

"I was unlucky, but the bike gave me more than it cost me," he once famously said. Crashes and punctures are part of the code of the sport. But you also have to take into account what you've gained. Without my bike, my vision would have been limited to the hedges of Limousin's fields."

He also said, "I would not have been able to ride a bicycle.

Poulidor became the patriarch of the cycling family. His youngest daughter, Corinne, married Adri van der Pol, and Poulidor was especially proud of his grandchildren, Mathieu and David van der Pol, whom he lovingly embraced on the podium of the 2016 Cyclocross World Cup in Linière-en-Berry ...

Mathieu van der Pol posted a short but touching message on Instagram with a photo of his grandfather, writing: "My brother David called Poulidor on Twitter his "hero and biggest supporter."

CyclingNews extends its deepest condolences to the Poulidor family.