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EDDY MERCKX
Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx (IPA ['merks]) (born June 17, 1945, Meensel-Kiezegem, Vlaams Brabant, Belgium) is a retired Belgian professional cyclist. Considered by many fans to be the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time, he set several world records some of which remain unsurpassed to this day.
Racing career
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. In 1966 he won the first of seven editions of Milan-San Remo. A year later he became world champion in the professional category in Heerlen, The Netherlands. He would win this title twice more.
In 1968 Merckx started his domination of the Grand Tours by becoming the first Belgian to win the Giro d'Italia. He would repeat this four times.
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 trifecta in the Tour de France, and only Laurent Jalabert has been able to match this feat at the Grand Tour level, in the 1995 Vuelta. 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 one as well, as he had only just turned 24. It was the first time a Belgian won the Tour de France since Sylvère Maes thirty years earlier, and because of this Merckx became a national hero. He would win this contest four more times: in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974, equalling Frenchman Jacques Anquetil. Over the next 25 years, only Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain were able to equal the five victories. Then Lance Armstrong broke the record and went on winning the Tour for 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).
In addition to these well-known Grand Tour successes, Merckx also 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 the race Milan-San Remo, which to this day is unequalled, five times Liège-Bastogne-Liège and three wins in Paris-Roubaix, the Hell of the North. He also won the World Road Racing Championship a record three times in 1967, 1971 and 1974, and every single one of the Classic cycle races, except Paris-Tours. Finally, he was also victorious in no less than 17 six-day track races on the velodrome, often with his partner Patrick Sercu.
Merckx retired from racing in 1978, at the age of 33.
Setbacks and lesser days
The blackest day in Merckx's career dates from 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 both Wambst and Merckx to crash. His pacer was killed instantly, and Merckx suffered a bad 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 keep adjusting his saddle while riding to make sure it had the right position, and would always be in pain, especially while climbing.
That same year, during the Giro d'Italia, he was confronted with accusations of drug use. Because of this, he was forced to leave the contest. Merckx cried in front of the press and to this day keeps repeating people cheated with the doping test. He argued that there were no counter-experts nor counter-analysis available and that some foreign supporters hated him. Further, he stated that the stage during which he was allegedly using drugs was an easy one for everybody, so there was no need to use any drugs. The Belgian prince sent a plane to bring him back to Belgium. This incident was one of the reasons why Merckx would consider his first Tour de France victory, later that year, as his best ever.
The end of his great Tour-career came in 1975. At that year's Tour de France, he attempted to win his sixth, but became a victim of violence. Many Frenchmen were upset that a Belgian might beat the record of five wins set by Frenchman Jacques Anquetil. Merckx held the yellow jersey for eight days of the race, which raised his record to 96 total days, but during stage 14 a French spectator leapt from the crowd and punched him in the liver area. On top of this, a collision with Danish rider Ole Ritter resulted in a broken jaw at a later stage. Despite the fact that he could not eat solid food, and was barely able to talk, Merckx did not retire from the race. During the very last stage, he even attacked leader Bernard Thevenet (but was caught by the peloton).
Hour record
In addition to his achievements in regular professional cycling, Merckx also set the bicycle hour speed record in 1972. On October 25, he covered 49.431 km at high altitude in Mexico City. The record would remain untouched until 1984, when Francesco Moser broke it using a specially designed bicycle and meticulously studied improvements in streamlining. Over the next 15 years, various racers would keep improving the record, up 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 to this, the UCI went back to basics and introduced the UCI Hour Record in 2000, requiring a "traditional" bike to be used. When Boardman subsequently had another go at Merckx's reinstated record 28 years later, he bested it by slightly more than 10 meters.
After retirement
Having retired from competitive cycling, Eddy Merckx now has a bicycle factory [1] and is a race commentator. He also was coach of the Belgian national cycling team during the mid-90's, and was part of the Belgian Olympic Committee. Merckx is still asked frequently to comment as an authority on various topics in the field of 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 still a young man. He lost almost 30 kilograms in the process, and took up (recreational) cycling again with more regularity after the operation.
Personal life
In 1967 Merckx married Claudine Acou. They had two children: a daughter (Sabrina) and a son (Axel, who also became a professional cyclist). Merckx's mother had asked the priest to celebrate the entire ceremony in French, a choice that ended up being a contentious issue in Belgium.
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, together with his achievements in sports, 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, a man of actions instead of big words. Many of his former helpers got a job in his bicycle factory and still regularly join him during recreational bike tours.
Merckx has strongly condemned doping (he tested positive for illegal substances twice in his career), a hot topic in the world of professional cycling. At the same time he has been quick to point out that cycling is often unfairly treated when compared to other sports. In the 1990s, he became a good personal friend of Lance Armstrong, and supported him when he was accused of drug use, often stating that he rather "believed what Lance told him than what appeared in newspapers".
Other records and achievements
- Eddy Merckx is five-time champion of the two most important races in professional cycling, the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia and one of only four cyclists to have won all three of the Grand Tours
- In addition, he is one of only three riders (all Belgian) to have won all five “Monument” one-day classic races at least once during his career, and won the season-long Super Prestige Pernod International competition a record seven consecutive times.
- Overall, Merckx entered 1582 road races in his 13 year professional career, and won 525 of them —this implies a winning rate above 33% (approx. one-third).[1]
- He dominated both single-day and stage races during his career, a rarity in recent cycling.
Trivia and cultural references
- Merckx was nicknamed "the cannibal" because he refused to ride tactically. He preferred to go flat out at all times, and wanted to win every single 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).
- Despite his spectacular career, Merckx never won the classic race Paris-Tours. Cyclist Noël Van Tyghem, who did win this race, was once quoted saying "Together with Merckx, I won all classics that can be won. I won Paris-Tours, Merckx all the rest…"[citation needed]
- Merckx could push his limits like no other. While climbing the steep, severe Mont Ventoux in 1970 to a stage win, he rode so strongly and pushed himself so hard that after he finished oxygen had to be administered.
- A station on the Brussels metro is named in his honour. In this station his World record bike can be seen.
- A cycling contest, "De Grote Prijs Eddy Merckx" (The Eddy Merckx Grand Prix), is named is his honour.
- In the French comedy Les Aventures de 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: "A revolution is like a bike, it may fall or stand up", de Funès attributes the line to Eddy Merckx.
- 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".
Significant victories by race
Grand Tours
- 5× Tours de France, 34 stage wins
- 5× Giro d'Italia, 24 stage wins
- 1× Vuelta a España, 6 stage wins
Other tours
Classic cycle races
World titles
Track races
- 17 six-day races
- 3× European Championships
- 7× Belgian Madison Championships (with Patrick Sercu)
Significant victories by year
1964
- World Amateur Road Race Champion
1965
- Six Days of Gent (with Patrick Sercu)
1966 (Team Peugeot-BP)
- Milan-Sanremo
- Trofeo Angelo Baracchi, with Ferdi Bracke
- Championship of Flanders
- Tour de Morbihan
1967 (Team Peugeot-BP)
- World Pro Road Race
- Milan-Sanremo
- La Flèche Wallonne
- Gent-Wevelgem
- Trofeo Angelo Baracchi, with Ferdi Bracke
- 2 stages, Giro d'Italia
- Critérium des As
- Six Days of Gent (with Patrick Sercu)
1968 (Team Faema)
1969 (Team Faema)
1970 (Team Faema-Faemino)
- Tour de France, including
- Climbers Competition
- 8 stages
- Giro d'Italia, including
- Paris-Nice
- Tour of Belgium
- Paris-Roubaix
- La Flèche Wallonne
- Gent-Wevelgem
- Critérium des As
- Super Prestige Pernod Trophy
1971 (Team Molteni)
1972 (Team Molteni)
- Tour de France, including
- Points Competition
- 6 stages
- Giro d'Italia, including
- Milan-Sanremo
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- Tour of Lombardy
- La Flèche Wallonne
- Giro dell'Emilia
- Giro del Piemonte
- Grote Scheldeprijs
- Trofeo Angelo Baracchi, with Roger Swerts
- Hour Record - 49.431 km
- Super Prestige Pernod Trophy
1973 (Team Molteni)
- Giro d'Italia, including
- Points Competition
- 6 stages
- Vuelta a España, including
- Points Competition
- 6 stages
- Paris-Roubaix
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- Grand Prix des Nations
- Amstel Gold Race
- Gent-Wevelgem
- Omloop "Het Volk"
- Paris-Brussels
- GP Fourmies
- Super Prestige Pernod Trophy
1974 (Team Molteni)
- Tour de France, including
- Giro d'Italia, including
- World Pro Road Race
- Tour de Suisse, including
- Points Competition
- KoM
- 3 stages
- Critérium des As
- Super Prestige Pernod Trophy
1975 (Team Molteni)
- Milan-Sanremo
- Tour of Flanders
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- Amstel Gold Race
- Catalan Week
- 2 stages, Tour de France
- 1 stage, Tour de Suisse
- Super Prestige Pernod Trophy
- Six Days of Gent (with Patrick Sercu)
1976 (Team Molteni)
- Milan-Sanremo
- Catalan Week
1977 (Team Fiat)
- 1 stage, Tour de Suisse
- Mediterranean Tour
- Six Days of Munich (with Patrick Sercu)
- Six Days of Zurich (with Patrick Sercu)
- Six Days of Gent (with Patrick Sercu)
See also
Notes
- ^ Wilcockson, John. Inside Cycling with John Wilcockson: An extraordinary life. Retrieved on 2006-05-14.
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