struggle; as he had been with the Republicans, the losing side, Bahamontes' father received no pension and he was forced to break rocks for road construction in order to earn enough money for the family. The young Bahamontes resorted to theft in order to sustain himself and the family; he would jump into the trailers of lorries from a bridge over a road before filling a bag with food from the trailer. He also dug out live ammunition from civil war trenches to sell as scrap metal. In 1946, at the age of 18, he bought his first bike for 150 pesetas (roughly equivalent to £250 or $ in 2014) in order to transport food illegally between villages. As rationing was in place due to economic ruin, the black market for food flourished. It was during this activity that Bahamontes contracted an unknown disease which he believed to be typhoid. Whilst hiding from the Civil Guard, who had orders to arrest anyone black marketeering, he stood in stagnant water and was bitten by a mosquito (even though typhoid is not spread via mosquitoes). This led to extreme weight loss, loss of hair and fever. After being restricted to his house for two months, Bahamontes returned to black marketeering, and competed in his first cycling race after two other black marketeers invited him. On 18 July 1947, he cycled to a nearby village where the race began and, with only a banana and lemon as sustenance, he managed to finish second. Career Following victory at his second race, Bahamontes began racing as a full-time amateur; the prize money from such races was significantly more than the wages of what little work there was. He soon formed a friendship and partnership with another cyclist, Ladislau Soria, who was strong on the flat. Together, they dominated the local races with Soria's brother acting as a manager. In his early years as an amateur, Bahamontes won the Tour of Andalusia and Tour of Cadiz; however, he was called up to 18 months of National service in July 1949. It was during this time that he opened up a shop in Toledo renting out bikes. Bahamontes first faced professionals at the 1953 Vuelta a Asturias. The field included some of the strongest cyclists in Spain and teams from Italy and Belgium. Racing as an independent semi-professional, he won the opening stage and eventually finished twenty-first