Information about Eddy Merckx

Eddy Merckx

L to R: Jean-Marie Leblanc, Anne-Marie Lizin, Eddy Merckx L to R: Jean-Marie Leblanc, Anne-Marie Lizin, Eddy Merckx
Personal information
Full name	Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx
Nickname	The Cannibal
Date of birth	May 17 1945 (1945--) (age 62)
Country	Belgium
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road and track
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Professional team(s)
1966–1967 1968–1970 1971–1976 1977 1978	Peugeot-BP Faema Molteni Fiat C&A
Major wins
Tour de France, 5 overall, 34 stage wins Giro d'Italia, 5 overall, 24 stage wins Vuelta a España, 1 overall, 6 stage wins World Cycling Champion, 3 times Super Prestige Pernod International, 7 wins Giro di Lombardia, 2 wins Liège-Bastogne-Liège, 5 wins Milan-Sanremo, 7 wins Paris-Roubaix, 3 wins Ronde van Vlaanderen, 2 wins
Infobox last updated on:
July 30, 2007

Medal record
Competitor for  Belgium
Road bicycle racing
World Championships
Gold	1967 Heerlen	Professional Men's Road Race
Gold	1971 Mendrisio	Professional Men's Road Race
Gold	1974 Montréal	Professional Men's Road Race

Baron Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx (IPA: ['merks]) (born June 17 1945, Meensel-Kiezegem, Vlaams Brabant, Belgium) is a former Belgian professional cyclist. Merckx, regarded as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time, established several world cycling records, some of which remain unbroken to this day.

Racing career

Early successes in stage racing and single day races

Merckx started competing in 1961. Three years later he became world champion in the amateur category, before turning professional in 1965 with the Peugeot cycling team. In 1966 he won the first of seven editions of Milan-Sanremo. He started his first grand tour at the 1967 Giro d'Italia. He won his first stage here and finished seventh overall. Later that year he outsprinted Jan Janssen to become world champion in the professional category in Heerlen, The Netherlands. He won this title twice more.

In 1968 with the rainbow jersey on his back and a change to the Italian Faema team, Merckx went on to win Paris-Roubaix for the first time and started his domination of the Grand Tours by becoming the first Belgian to win the Giro d'Italia in 1968.^[1] He would repeat this four times.

Starting the 1969 season, he won Paris-Nice stage race. In the time trial, he overtook the five-time Tour de France winner Jacques Anquetil who over the previous 15years had been the master of that discipline. Merckx went on to win Milan-Sanremo and Ronde van Vlaanderen several weeks later. In his Tour de France debut in 1969, Merckx immediately won the yellow jersey (overall leader), the green jersey (best sprinter) and the red polka-dotted jersey ("King of the Mountains" - best climber in the mountain stages). No other cyclist has achieved this triple in the Tour de France, and only Tony Rominger and Laurent Jalabert have been able to match this feat at the Grand Tour level, in the 1993 and 1995 Vueltas, respectively. If the young riders' white jersey (for best rider in the Tour under 25 years of age) had existed at that time, Merckx would have won that as well, as he had only just turned 24. It was the first time a Belgian had won the Tour de France since Sylvère Maes 30 years earlier, and Merckx became a national hero. He won the Tour four more times: in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974, equalling Jacques Anquetil. Over the next 25 years, only Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain were able to equal the five victories. Then Lance Armstrong won the Tour a sixth (2004) and a seventh (2005) time. Merckx still holds the records for stage wins (34) and number of days in the Yellow Jersey (96).

Challenges to Merckx's domination in the Grand Tours

The greatest challenge to Merckx was in the 1971 Tour de France. Luis Ocaña attacked and won the maillot jaune by several minutes. Ocaña held his lead until a crash forced him to withdraw. There was much anticipation of a rematch between the two. Before that could happen, Merckx had a battle with Jose Manuel Fuente at the 1972 edition of the Giro d'Italia in which Merckx beat the climber in the mountain stages. In the 1972 edition of the tour Ocaña became sick and withdrew and the anticipated duel did not materialise.^[2] The following year Merckx choose to ride the Vuelta a España where he beat Luis Ocaña and Bernard Thévenet and then went on to win the Giro d'Italia. Merckx's final victory in the Giro d'Italia in the 1974 edition was a tight battle between Merckx and two Italians. In the end, Merckx won by the very narrow margin of twelve seconds over Gianbattista Baronchelli and 33 seconds over Felice Gimondi.^[3]

Classics Victories

In addition to Grand Tour successes, Merckx has an impressive list of victories in one-day races (for a comprehensive list, see lower down). Among the highlights are a record of seven victories in Milan-Sanremo, two victories in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, three wins in Paris-Roubaix, five in Liège-Bastogne-Liège (record), and two in the Giro di Lombardia, a total of 19 victories in the "Monument" Classics. He also won the World Road Racing Championship a record three times in 1967, 1971 and 1974, and every Classic except Paris-Tours. Finally, he won 17 six-day track races, often with Patrick Sercu.

Merckx retired from racing in 1978, at the age of 33.

Setbacks and lesser days

The blackest day in Merckx's career was in 1969, when he crashed in a derny race towards the end of the season. A pacer and a cyclist fell in front of Merckx's pacer, Fernand Wambst, causing Wambst and Merckx to crash. His pacer was killed instantly, and Merckx suffered concussion and fell unconscious. This accident cracked a vertebra and twisted his pelvis. He admitted in interviews that, because of his injuries, his riding was never the same. He would frequently adjust his saddle while riding and would always be in pain, especially while climbing.

That same year, during the Giro d'Italia, he was found to have used drugs and was subsequently disqualified. He cried in front of the reporters, and to this day, protests his innocence. He argued that there were no counter-experts nor counter-analysis and that foreign supporters hated him. Further, he stated that the stage during which he was allegedly using drugs was an easy one, so there was no need to use drugs. The Belgian prince sent a plane to bring him to Belgium. This incident was one of the reasons why Merckx would consider his first Tour de France victory, later that year, his best ever.

The end of his Tour-career came in 1975 (although he did compete in 1977 he finished 6th that year). That year, he attempted to win his sixth but became a victim of violence. Many Frenchmen were upset that a Belgian might beat the record five wins set by Jacques Anquetil. Merckx held the yellow jersey for eight days, which raised his record to 96 days, but during stage 14 a French spectator punched him in the liver. A later collision with the Danish rider Ole Ritter broke his jaw. Although he could not eat solid food and was barely able to talk, Merckx did not retire. During the last stage, he attacked leader Bernard Thevenet (but was caught by the peloton).

Records

The following are records that Merckx set during his career.

• Most career victories by a professional cyclist: 525.
• Most victories in one season: 54.
• Most stage victories in the Tour de France: 34.
• Most stage victories in one Tour de France: 8, in 1970 and 1974 (shared with Charles Pelissier in 1930 and Freddy Maertens in 1976).
• Most days with the yellow jersey in the Tour de France: 96.
• The only cyclist to have won the yellow, green and red polka-dotted jersey in the same Tour de France (1969).
• Most victories in the Classic cycle races: 28.
• Most victories in one single Classic cycle race: 7 (in Milan-Sanremo).

Hour record

Merckx also set the hour record in 1972. On October 25, he covered 49.431 km at high altitude in Mexico City. The record remained untouched until 1984, when Francesco Moser broke it using a specially designed bicycle and meticulous improvements in streamlining. Over 15 years, various racers improved the record to more than 56 km (Chris Boardman). However, because of the increasingly exotic design of the bikes and position of the rider, these performances were no longer reasonably comparable to Merckx's achievement. In response, the UCIin 2000 required a "traditional" bike to be used. When Boardman had another go at Merckx's reinstated record 28 years later, he beat it by slightly more than 10 meters at sea level. On the other hand, Merckx had raced a full road season winning the Tour, Giro and four Classics, while Boardman was a time trial specialist who had retired from road racing and had prepared specifically for the 2000 Hour Record.)

After retirement

Having retired, Merckx has a bicycle factory [1] and is a race commentator. He was coach of the Belgian national cycling team during the mid-90s, and part of the Belgian Olympic Committee. Merckx is still asked to comment as an authority on cycling. As such, he has also figured as special advisor for the recent UCI addition "Tour of Qatar" since 2002.

In May 2004, he underwent an esophagus operation to cure the constant stomach ache which he suffered since he was a young man. He lost almost 30kg in the process, and took up (recreational) cycling again.

Personal life

In 1967 Merckx married Claudine Acou. Merckx's mother asked the priest to celebrate the ceremony in French, a choice that ended up being a contentious issue in Belgium. They had two children: a daughter (Sabrina) and a son (Axel, who also became a professional cyclist).

Despite this early incident, Merckx may be considered a perfect ambassador to Belgium (i.e. not leaning towards Flanders or Wallonia, but supporting the unity of the country). This, with his achievements, pushed him to high rankings in both the Flemish (3rd) and Walloon (4th) editions of the "Greatest Belgian" contest, held in 2005.

In 1996 the Belgian king gave him the lifelong title of baron. In 2000 he was chosen Belgian "Sports Figure of the Century".

Merckx is known as a quiet and modest person. Many of his former helpers have worked in his bicycle factory and join him during recreational bike tours.

Merckx has condemned doping, but as mentioned he also tested positive twice in his career. For this very fact, the organization of the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart explicitly included Merckx in a list of people who would not be welcome at the event. The decision caused quite a row and was criticized in the press and by the UCI. ^[4] When he confirms his stance against doping, Merckx will typically point out that cycling is unfairly treated when compared to other sports.

In the 1990s, he became a friend of Lance Armstrong and supported him when he was accused of drug use, stating he rather "believed what Lance told him than what appeared in newspapers". After Armstrong won his third Tour de France, Merckx predicted he would go on to win as many as seven .

Trivia and cultural references

• Merckx was nicknamed "the cannibal" because he wanted to win every race he participated in, never "arranging" a race with another competitor. Other nicknames were "the Einstein of the two-wheelers", and, courtesy of Jacques Goddet, "Le Géant" (The Giant).
• Eddy Merckx has a namesake who is a multiple Belgian Champion and world champion 2006 in three cushion billiards.
• While climbing Mont Ventoux in 1970 to a stage win, he pushed himself so hard that oxygen had to be administered.
• In the mid-seventies Merckx figured in some television commercials for cigarettes; an act for which he was criticized and which he now regrets.^[5]
• When the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Belgium in 2005, she met Merckx as a cultural representative of Belgium. ^[6]
• A station on the Brussels metro is named in his honour. In this station his world record bike can be seen.
• A cycling contest, The Eddy Merckx Grand Prix, is named in his honour.
• In the French comedy Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob (The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob) (1973) with Louis de Funès, de Funès' character hears a conversation between a kidnapper and his victim, a revolutionary. When the revolutionary says: "The revolution is like a bike: When it doesn't move forward, it falls.", de Funès attributes the line to Eddy Merckx. One of the kidnappers corrects him and says Che Guevara once said this.
• In the comic strip Asterix Merckx makes a cameo as a "fast runner" in the album Asterix in Belgium.
• In 2000, the Belgian magazine Knack declared him to be "Belgian of the Century" and another four years later, the magazine Humo called him "the Greatest Belgian".
• Paul Van Himst, another Belgian sport legend, is one of his closest friends.
• Merckx cameoed as himself in several movies, of which the 1985 film American Flyers, starring Kevin Costner, is the best known.^[7]

Significant victories by race

Grand Tours (11)

Eddy Merckx Grand tour results

	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977
Tour de France general classification	-	-	1	1	1	1	-	1	2	-	6
Tour de France mountains classification	-	-	1	1	3	2	-	2	2	-	?
Tour de France points classification	-	-	1	2	1	1	-	2	2	-	5
Tour de France stages won	-	-	6	8	4	6	-	8	2	-	0
Giro d'Italia general classification	9	1	DSQ	1	-	1	1	1	-	8	-
Giro d'Italia mountains classification	3	1	DSQ	4	-	2	2	2	-	7	-
Giro d'Italia points classification	2	1	DSQ	3	-	2	1	4	-	2	-
Giro d'Italia stages won	2	3	4	3	-	4	6	2	-	0	-
Vuelta a España general classification	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
Vuelta a España mountains classification	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-
Vuelta a España points classification	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	- | Vuelta a España stages won | -||-||-||-||-||-||6||-||-||-||-

• 5× Tours de France, 34 stage wins
• 5× Giro d'Italia, 24 stage wins
• 1× Vuelta a España, 6 stage wins

Other stage races

• 1× Tour de Suisse
• 2× Tour of Belgium
• 3× Paris-Nice
• 1× Tour de Romandie
• 1× Dauphiné Libéré
• 1× Midi Libre
• 4× Tour of Sardinia

Classic cycle races (28)

• 7× Milan-Sanremo
• 2× Ronde van Vlaanderen
• 3× Paris-Roubaix
• 5× Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• 2× Giro di Lombardia
• 2× Amstel Gold Race
• 3× La Flèche Wallonne
• 1× Paris-Brussels
• 3× Ghent-Wevelgem

World titles

• 3× World Championships
• 1× Amateur World Championships

Track races

• 17 six-day races
• 3× European Championships
• 7× Belgian Madison Championships (with Patrick Sercu)

Significant victories by year

See also

• Cycling records

Notes

References

• Vanwalleghem, Rik (1996). Eddy Merckx: The Greatest Cyclist of the 20th Century. Boulder. ISBN 1-88473-722-6. 
• Vanwalleghem, Rik (1989). Eddy Merckx, mijn levensverhaal : de ware selfmade man als wielrenner en als zakenman (Dutch). Helios. ISBN 90-289-1465-X. 
• Rosier, Erik (1973). Eddy Merckx (Dutch). Franco-Suisse. OCLC 57423874. 
• Cornand, Jan and Blancke, Andre (1975). Hoe Merckx de tour verloor / wielerseizoen 1975 van A tot Z (Dutch). Het Volk. 

Sporting positions
Preceded by Rudi Altig	World Road Racing Champion 1967	Succeeded by Vittorio Adorni
Preceded by Jean-Pierre Monseré	World Road Racing Champion 1971	Succeeded by Marino Basso
Preceded by Felice Gimondi	World Road Racing Champion 1974	Succeeded by Hennie Kuiper
Preceded by Jan Janssen	Winner of the Tour de France 1969-72	Succeeded by Luis Ocaña
Preceded by Luis Ocaña	Winner of the Tour de France 1974	Succeeded by Bernard Thévenet
Preceded by Felice Gimondi	Winner of the Giro d'Italia 1968	Succeeded by Felice Gimondi
Preceded by Felice Gimondi	Winner of the Giro d'Italia 1970	Succeeded by Gösta Pettersson
Preceded by Gösta Pettersson	Winner of the Giro d'Italia 1972-74	Succeeded by Fausto Bertoglio
Preceded by José Manuel Fuente	Winner of the Vuelta a España 1973	Succeeded by José Manuel Fuente
Preceded by Franco Bitossi	Winner of the green jersey in the Tour de France 1969	Succeeded by Walter Godefroot
Preceded by Walter Godefroot	Winner of the green jersey in the Tour de France 1971-1972	Succeeded by Herman Van Springel
Awards
Preceded by Serge Reding	Belgian Sportsman of the Year 1969–1974	Succeeded by Bruno Brokken
Records
Preceded by Ole Ritter	UCI hour record (49.431 km) 25 October 1972-27 October 2000	Succeeded by Chris Boardman