He was most famous for winning the overall mountains classification of 1974 Tour de France.

He also finished second at the 1975 Vuelta a España and won a total of 12 stages in this race.

[1] With 158 professional wins he is the winningest Spanish rider in the sport's history[2] Perurena died on 8 June 2023, at the age of 79.

[2] He was a directeur sportif in Teka, Orbea, Caja Rural, Paternina, Artiach, Lotus and Euskadi.

Riders under his direction included Alberto Fernández, Marino Lejarreta, Federico Echave, Mathieu Hermans, Peio Ruiz Cabestany, Pedro Delgado, Sean Kelly and Roberto Laiseka.