Brian Robinson - Tributes pour in following death of Yorkshire's cycling pioneer and Tour de France stage winner

Mirfield-born Robinson won stages of the Tour in both 1958 and 1959, and was also the first British rider to complete cycling’s most famous race in 1955.

A pioneer for Britons racing on the continent, he also won the prestigious Criterium du Dauphine stage race in 1961 and was the first Briton to stand on the podium of one of cycling’s Monuments, Milan-Sanremo, finishing third in 1957.

The Yorkshireman’s death was announced by his grandson and fellow cyclist Jake Womersley, who wrote on Twitter: “It’s with great sadness the family of Brian Robinson have to announce his passing yesterday.”

Robinson joined his local cycling club as a teenager and later took up racing in between working for the family building company.

He competed for Britain at the 1952 Olympics before turning professional, riding the Tour de France for the first time in 1955 when he finished 29th overall.

In 1958 he took Britain’s first stage win, on stage seven from Saint-Brieuc to Brest, though he did not get to raise his arms in victory that day, only learning he had won later in the evening when news came through that Italian Arigo Padovan, first across the line, had been disqualified.

He made up for that a year later when he won stage 20 of the 1959 Tour, from Annecy to Chalon-sur-Saone, by a full 20 minutes.

At a time when many professional cyclists lived hand to mouth, Robinson retired at the age of 33 to return to the UK with his family, still riding his bike in relative anonymity until he became an ambassador for the Grand Depart of the Tour de France in Yorkshire in 2014.

Brian Cookson, former Former President of UCI Cycling and British Cycling, said on Twitter: “Sad to hear of the passing of Brian Robinson, but what a great life - a true pioneer of our sport. Condolences to his family. Rest in Peace.”

Elsewhere, tributes from the cycling world continued to pour in. Ned Boulting, the respected cycling writer and presenter, said: “The saddest news. He was a great man, a fierce competitor, a trailblazer, a generous soul, funny as hell and kinder than you could imagine. Yorkshire, England, has lost a Great.”

A statement on behalf of INEOS Grenadiers, one of the biggest teams in the sport, added: “We'd like to join the cycling world in sending condolences and love to the family and friends of Brian Robinson, who passed away yesterday, aged 91. A true legend of our sport.”