Induráin won five Tours de France from 1991 to 1995, the fourth, and last, to win five times, and the only five-time winner to achieve those victories consecutively.

[6] In 1993, Indurain came close to cycling's 'Triple Crown' when, after having already won the Giro and the Tour, he finished just 0:19 behind in the World Championship.

Induráin's ability and physical size—1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) and 76 kilograms (168 lb)—earned him the nickname "Miguelón" or "Big Mig".

Then he joined the local CC Villavés and rode his first race in July 1978,[7][N 1] an event for unlicensed riders in which he finished second.

[18] Induráin was a strong time trialist, gaining on rivals and riding defensively in the climbing stages.

In 1991, Greg LeMond was favourite for the Tour and while Induráin was a fine time trialist he was considered too large to be a good climber.

Induráin won the prologue at San Sebastián and seized the yellow jersey, only to lose it the next day.

The 1992 Tour was remarkable for a long breakaway by Claudio Chiappucci on a stage to Sestriere that included six mountains.

Induráin seemed to crack on the final climb to Sestriere being passed by Franco Vona but managed to finish third, enough to claim the yellow jersey once more.

After winning the early time trial, Induráin gained a decisive advantage on stage 9 to Latina-Terminillo.

He won the prologue at Puy-du-Fou, in the Vendée region, and waited until the ninth stage, the 59 km time trial at Lac de Madine, to take control of the race.

Luc Leblanc, Richard Virenque, Marco Pantani and Armand de Las Cuevas stayed with him but other rivals, including Rominger, were left behind.

Though the β2-adrenergic agonist, found in nasal inhalers, was on the controlled substances list of both the IOC and UCI, both organizations permitted sportsmen with asthma to use it.

[26] The IOC agreed with the UCI that Induráin would not be punished for using a drug banned outright in France because they accepted the salbutamol was contained in a nasal inhaler he had been using legitimately to aid his respiration.

In Spain, the incident was interpreted as another case of the French attempting to hinder Induráin's domination of the sport.

He dropped out unexpectedly on the Mirador del Fito,[5] 30 km (19 mi) from the end of the stage to Covadonga.

[32] Relations with his team manager, José Miguel Echavarri, had been difficult since an aborted attempt on the hour record in Colombia in October 1995.

[1] Induráin took two months to consider his future, particularly the €4.5 million that Manolo Saiz was said to have offered him to transfer to the ONCE team.

When I didn't, I thought the Olympics would be the perfect way of bowing out, but what happened after the Vuelta a España made me change my mind.

[5] Induráin now divides his time between his native Pamplona and his house in Palma de Mallorca, on the Mediterranean.

[36] He consulted the Italian professor Francesco Conconi (famous for pioneering EPO use in sport) from 1987 and his weight dropped from 85 kg (187 lb) to 78 kg (172 lb) under his guidance,[9][10] "changing himself into an all-round rider", said Philippe Brunel in L'Équipe.

[37] Induráin was subjected to further physical testing at age 46, 14 years after his retirement, in a 2012 published study to determine age-related fitness decline.

However, his absolute maximal and submaximal oxygen uptake and power output in 2012 still compared favorably with those exhibited by active professional cyclists.

[38] Although Induráin, who has always denied doping, has never been banned or given a positive test for any sports-enhancing drug (with the exception of salbutamol), some remain skeptical of his achievements.

[39] Former Festina coach Antonie Vayer has also cast doubt on Induráin's abilities, claiming only "mutants" could have performed at the level he did.

He "never had airs about himself and only reluctantly stepped into the limelight that came with the maillot jaune [yellow jersey]", Andy Hood wrote in Procycling.

But who was this robotic athlete who, in his streamlined helmet and his Plexiglass visor, dominated [domestiquait] the time-trials like no one before him except perhaps Jacques Anquetil?"

[7] It is rare for genuine items from his cycling career to be in another's collection, as he keeps most of his clothing, equipment etc.,[43] making such gifts special.