2019
Brussels, Belgium
Eddy Merckx during the 106th Tour de France in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Chris Graythen.
Eddy Merckx in youth
Eddy Merckx in childhood
1966
53520 Nürburg, Germany
Eddy Merckx to the front with Barry Hoban, third in line, at the World Professional Road Race Championship, the Nurburgring motorsports complex, Germany. Photo by CCA.
1966
France
Eddy Merckx wins the second stage of the Grand Prix du Midi Libre.
1969
Eddy Merckx wins his first Tour de France race.
1971
France
Eddy Merckx and Luis Ocaña in the Tour de France
1974
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Eddy Merckx during the UCI Road World Championship in Montreal
1972
Eddy Merckx
1965
Eddy Merckx and Ronald Van Ruysseveldt competing in a race
1965
Eddy Merckx in the beginning of his professional career, as a member of the Belgian Solo–Superia cyclist team
1971
Merckx wins Milan-San Remo race. Photo by Cycling Weekly Archive.
1971
Paris, France
Eddy Merckx pictured wearing the Molteni team jersey at the end of the first stage of the Tour de France at Mulhouse, Paris. Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto.
1971
Mendrisio, Switzerland
Eddy Merckx pictured on left talking to Italian racing cyclist Felice Gimondi prior to competing in the Men's road race at the UCI Road Race World Championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland. Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto.
1972
Saint-Brieuc, France
Eddy Merckx, wearing the Molteni team jersey, pictured on left with stage winner and new wearer of the yellow jersey, French cyclist Cyrille Guimard at the end of the first stage of the Tour de France at Saint-Brieuc in Brittany, France. Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto.
1972
Paris, France
Eddy Merckx, wearing the Molteni team yellow jersey, raises a bouquet of flowers in the air after winning a stage during the Tour de France, Paris. Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto.
1972
Versailles, France
Eddy Merckx competing in the Tour de France, Versailles. Photo by Paul Popper/Popperfoto.
1974
Eddy Merckx. Photo by Falcon.
1974
Eddy Merckx in the time trial stage for the Tour de France. Photo by Leo Mason/Popperfoto.
1974
Eddy Merckx during the Tour de France. Photo by Michel LAURENT/Gamma-Rapho.
Belgium
Eddy Merckx racing in Koppenberg, the Tour of Flanders. Photo by CorVos/PezCyclingNews.
2013
Doha, Qatar
Eddy Merckx portrayed with Mark Cavendish of Great Britain and Taylor Phinney of the United States at the start of stage six of the Tour of Qatar from Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche at the Sealine Beach Resort, Qatar. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
2015
Al Mussanah Sports City, Oman
Eddy Merckx talks to Tom Boonen (left) of Belgium at the start of stage three of the Tour of Oman, Al Mussanah, Oman. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
2016
Doha, Qatar
Soren Kragh Andersen of Denmark stands on the podium with Eddy Merckx while leading the young jersey competition after stage three of the Tour of Qatar, at Lusail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
2016
Doha, Qatar
Eddy Merckx, as Tour of Qatar Race organizer, stands with President of the Qatar Cycling Federation Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Thani at the podium for stage 3 of the Tour of Qatar, at Lusail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
Eddy Merckx after the 5th Tour de France victory. Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis.
1974
Quebec, Canada
UCI Road World Championship winners (from left to right) Raymond Poulidor, Eddy Merckx and Mariano Martinez, Quebec, Canada.
Eddy Merckx was named Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Eddy Merckx is an Officer of the Order of Leopold II.
Eddy Merckx was awarded the Silver Olympic Order.
Eddy Merckx was made Commander of the Legion of Honor in 2014.
1965
Eddy Merckx and Ronald Van Ruysseveldt competing in a race
1965
Eddy Merckx in the beginning of his professional career, as a member of the Belgian Solo–Superia cyclist team
1966
53520 Nürburg, Germany
Eddy Merckx to the front with Barry Hoban, third in line, at the World Professional Road Race Championship, the Nurburgring motorsports complex, Germany. Photo by CCA.
1966
France
Eddy Merckx wins the second stage of the Grand Prix du Midi Libre.
1969
Eddy Merckx wins his first Tour de France race.
1971
France
Eddy Merckx and Luis Ocaña in the Tour de France
1971
Merckx wins Milan-San Remo race. Photo by Cycling Weekly Archive.
1971
Paris, France
Eddy Merckx pictured wearing the Molteni team jersey at the end of the first stage of the Tour de France at Mulhouse, Paris. Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto.
1971
Mendrisio, Switzerland
Eddy Merckx pictured on left talking to Italian racing cyclist Felice Gimondi prior to competing in the Men's road race at the UCI Road Race World Championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland. Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto.
1972
Eddy Merckx
1972
Saint-Brieuc, France
Eddy Merckx, wearing the Molteni team jersey, pictured on left with stage winner and new wearer of the yellow jersey, French cyclist Cyrille Guimard at the end of the first stage of the Tour de France at Saint-Brieuc in Brittany, France. Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto.
1972
Paris, France
Eddy Merckx, wearing the Molteni team yellow jersey, raises a bouquet of flowers in the air after winning a stage during the Tour de France, Paris. Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto.
1972
Versailles, France
Eddy Merckx competing in the Tour de France, Versailles. Photo by Paul Popper/Popperfoto.
1974
Quebec, Canada
UCI Road World Championship winners (from left to right) Raymond Poulidor, Eddy Merckx and Mariano Martinez, Quebec, Canada.
1974
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Eddy Merckx during the UCI Road World Championship in Montreal
1974
Eddy Merckx. Photo by Falcon.
1974
Paris, France
Eddy Merckx with Super Prestige Pernod trophy in the company of Jane Birkin. Photo by Michel ARTAULT/Gamma-Rapho.
1974
Eddy Merckx in the time trial stage for the Tour de France. Photo by Leo Mason/Popperfoto.
1974
Brussels, Belgium
Eddy Merckx feeds his young son Axel at their home in Brussels. Photo by Pierre Vauthey/Sygma.
1974
Eddy Merckx and his daughter Sabrina ride a bicycle near their home in Brussels during the filming of his biography La Course en Tete, by director Joel Santoni. Photo by Pierre Vauthey/Sygma.
1974
Eddy Merckx bicycling down a street in the French documentary La Course en Tete directed by Joel Santoni. Photo by Pierre Vauthey/Sygma.
1974
Eddy Merckx helps his son Axel ride a tricycle outside their home in Brussels during the filming of his biography La Course en Tete directed by Joel Santoni. Photo by Pierre Vauthey/Sygma.
1974
Eddy Merckx during the Tour de France. Photo by Michel LAURENT/Gamma-Rapho.
1974
Eddy Merckx talks to his daughter Sabrina as he tries out a bicycle in the French documentary La Course en Tete directed by Joel Santoni. Photo by Pierre Vauthey/Sygma.
1989
Eddy Merckx with Josef Vögele. Photo by Blick/RDB/ullstein bild.
2012
London, United Kingdom
Eddy Merckx looks on ahead of the Men's Road Race Road Cycling on day 1 of the London Olympic Games. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
2012
Porte Maillot, 17th arrondissement, Paris, France
Eddy Merckx (left) and Bernard Hinault attend the Tour de France Route Presentation at the Palais des Congres de Paris, France. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
2013
Doha, Qatar
Eddy Merckx portrayed with Mark Cavendish of Great Britain and Taylor Phinney of the United States at the start of stage six of the Tour of Qatar from Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche at the Sealine Beach Resort, Qatar. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
2015
Al Mussanah Sports City, Oman
Eddy Merckx talks to Tom Boonen (left) of Belgium at the start of stage three of the Tour of Oman, Al Mussanah, Oman. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
2016
Doha, Qatar
Soren Kragh Andersen of Denmark stands on the podium with Eddy Merckx while leading the young jersey competition after stage three of the Tour of Qatar, at Lusail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
2016
Doha, Qatar
Eddy Merckx, as Tour of Qatar Race organizer, stands with President of the Qatar Cycling Federation Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Thani at the podium for stage 3 of the Tour of Qatar, at Lusail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar. Photo by Bryn Lennon.
2018
Paris, France
Eddy Merckx with Philippe Close, Mayor of the City of Brussels, Alain Courtois and Belgian Sports Minister during the 105th Tour de France, Stage 21, Paris, France. Photo by Chris Graythen.
2018
Ghent, Belgium
Eddy Merckx in a company of Piet Allegaert of Belgium, Jordi Warlop of Belgium and Aaron Verwils of Belgium during the 25th Anniversary Team Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise in Ghent, Belgium. Photo by Mark Van Hecke.
2019
Avenue de Marathon 135, 1020 Bruxelles, Belgium
Eddy Merckx and Eden Hazard of Belgium exchange yellow jerseys to celebrate the start of the Tour de France in Brussels next July during the 2020 UEFA European Championships group I qualifying match between Belgium and Russia at King Baudouin Stadium (Stade Roi Baudouin), Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Jean Catuffe.
2019
Avenue Théo Verbeeck 2, 1070 Anderlecht, Belgium
Eddy Merckx among the supporters during the Jupiler Pro League play-off 1 match (day 7) between R.S.C. Anderlecht and Standard de Liege at Constant Vanden Stock Stadium (currently Lotto Park) in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Frank Abbeloos/Isosport/MB Media.
2019
Brussels, Belgium
Eddy Merckx and Prince Albert II of Monaco attend the Grand Depart of the Tour during stage 1 of the 106th Tour de France between Bruxelles and Brussel (194,5km), in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Jean Catuffe.
2019
1000 Brussels, Belgium
Eddy Merckx during the 106th Tour de France team presentation at the Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Chris Graythen.
2019
Brussels, Belgium
Eddy Merckx is getting ready to start the first stage of the Tour de France in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Arie Asona/NurPhoto.
2019
Brussels, Belgium
A fan is showing Eddy Merckx's cap during the first stage of the Tour de France in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Arie Asona/NurPhoto.
2019
Pau, France
Past yellow jersey Thor Hushovd of Norway, Laurent Jalabert of France, Eddy Merckx, Julian Alaphilippe of France, Bernard Hinault of France, Sylvain Chavanel of France, Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands, Greg Lemond of United States pose to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first yellow jersey worn by Eugene Christophe of France during the podium ceremony following stage 13 of the 106th Tour de France 2019, Pau, France. Photo by Jean Catuffe.
2019
Binche, Belgium
Eddy Merckx with the participants of the 106th Tour de France, Binche, Belgium. Photo by Tim de Waele.
2019
Binche, Belgium
Eddy Merckx with Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium and Mike Teunissen of the Netherlands before the start of the 106th Tour de France, in Binche, Belgium. Photo by Tim de Waele.
2019
Trento, Italy
Eddy Merckx during the event at Il Festival dello Sport. Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket.
2019
Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuïc, s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Spain
Eddy Merckx attends the Mundo Deportivo Gala at Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Miquel Benitez.
2020
Rotselaar, Belgium
Eddy Merckx interviewed during the 1st Grote Prijs Vermarc Sport Rotselaar race, Rotselaar, Belgium. Photo by Mark Van Hecke.
2020
Vise, Belgium
Eddy Merckx celebrates with Michal Golas of Poland on the podium applying Covid safety measures during the 41st Tour de Wallonie, Stage 3, Vise, Belgium. Photo by Luc Claessen.
Eddy Merckx with his wife Claudine and their children Sabrina and Axel
Eddy Merckx and Claudine Acou during their wedding ceremony
Eddy Merckx is an Officer of the Order of Leopold II.
Eddy Merckx was named Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Eddy Merckx with his little son Axel
Eddy Merckx was awarded the Silver Olympic Order.
Eddy Merckx was made Commander of the Legion of Honor in 2014.
Eddy Merckx with his grown-up children, Sabrina and Axel
Belgium
Eddy Merckx racing in Koppenberg, the Tour of Flanders. Photo by CorVos/PezCyclingNews.
Eddy Merckx in youth
Brussels, Belgium
Eddy Merckx during the celebration of Mike Teunissen of The Netherlands at the 106th Tour de France, Brussels. Photo by Justin Setterfield.
Turin, Italy
Eddy Merckx meets Varenne, the horse who is considered to be the best trotter of all time, in Turin, Italy. Photo by Mauro Ujetto/NurPhoto.
Eddy Merckx after the 5th Tour de France victory. Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis.
Eddy Merckx. Photo by Pierre Vauthey/Sygma.
Eddy Merckx works on one of his racing bicycles. Photo by Pierre Vauthey/Sygma.
Eddy Merckx in youth
Eddy Merckx in childhood
2019
Brussels, Belgium
Eddy Merckx with his wife Claudine portrayed during a press presentation of the book entitled 1969 - Het jaar van Eddy Merckx / 1969, l annee de Eddy Merckx on cycling champion Eddy Merckx, written by VRT journalist Johny Vansevenant. Photo by imago images / Belga.
Former professional road bicycle racer, Axel Merckx, Eddy Merckx's son
Eddy Merckx with his daughter Sabrina
Italian cyclist Fiorenzo Magni, Eddy Merckx's friend
Félicien Vervaecke, one of Eddy Merckx's first coaches
Fromer professional cyclist Lance Armstrong, Eddy Merckx's friend
(A book by Eddy Merckx and Leon Michaux.)
A book by Eddy Merckx and Leon Michaux.
https://www.amazon.com/Fabulous-World-Cycling-1984-Merckx/dp/0951021613/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&qid=1604314186&refinements=p_27%3AMerckx+Eddy&s=books&sr=1-10&text=Merckx+Eddy
1984
Eddy Merckx, in full Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx, Baron Merckx, was born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium on June 17, 1945. He is the first-born of Jules Merckx and Jenny Merckx, grocery store owners. Merckx has two siblings, a brother Michel and a sister Micheline.
Eddy Merckx's family moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, a suburb of Brussels, a year after his birth, in 1946. The parents established a small grocery store there. Merckx's father served as an example when it came to the virtues of a competitive spirit. He worked tirelessly.
Merckx was an active child and excelled in several sports, including basketball, boxing, football, table and lawn tennis, the latter for the national team. He got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and realized quickly at the time that cycling was his true passion. Having Stan Ockers as his icon, Merckx confidently stated to the passers-by who watched him riding around the neighborhood that someday he would compete in the Tour de France. From the age of eight, he went to school by bike.
Little by little, Merckx developed a strong dislike for school and became more and more determined in his intention to pursue the sport at a competitive level despite being quite a fat boy. In summer 1961, he debuted in his first official race, finishing sixth. The first victory followed on October 1, at Petit-Enghien. He then took some lessons from former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome. Merckx's involvement in bicycle races had a bad impact on his academic records, and soon, after receiving his parents' permission, he forsook the school and pursued competitive cycling full-time.
Merckx won 23 of 55 races which he entered in 1962 as an amateur, including Belgium's national championship, the only career victory in that race. Soon, he began to dominate cyclists in other European countries outside his homeland. The 1964 win at the men's amateur division of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Road World Championships, or the World Cycling Championships, was a turning point in his career.
Eddy Merckx turned professional in 1965 having 80 wins at the amateur level to his credit. His first major victory came a year later at the Milan-San Remo cycle race in Italy. He then won the open (professional) division of the UCI Road World Championships in 1967, 1971, and 1974. He triumphed in the three great stage races, winning the Vuelta a España (1973), the Giro d'Italia (1968, 1970, 1972-74), and the Tour de France (1969-72, 1974). He also won lower-level stage races such as the Tour of Switzerland, the Dauphiné-Libéré, and Paris-Nice. In total, between 1969 and 1975, competing for such cycling teams as Solo-Superia, Peugeot-BP-Michelin, Faema, and Molteni, Merckx finished first in about 35 percent of the races he entered, an astonishing productivity in such labor-intensive sport requiring so much recovery time.
The first victory at the Tour de France in 1969 went down in the history of the sport as Merckx managed to win at once the Yellow Jersey (for the overall victory in the race), the Green Jersey (for the winner on points), and the Polka-Dot Jersey (for fastest mountain climb). However, that same triumphant year coincided with a low point in Merckx's career. Closer to the end of the season, the cyclist was gravely injured in a crash at an exhibition race paced by a motorbike known as a derny. The effects of the injury accompanied the Belgian star for the remainder of his career. Merckx recovered, however, and the majority of his triumphs, as we know today, still lied ahead of him.
Merckx's 1974 victories in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia turned to be his last in the Grand Tour. The following year, some injuries, one coming from a spectator, prevented him from winning one of the climbing stages of the Tour de France. He was surpassed by Bernard Thevenet by three minutes. In 1976, Merckx finished 30th in the event, and since then the number of his victories declined, becoming more related to smaller races. Merckx announced his retirement from the sport in 1978.
Then, Merckx got involved in bicycle manufacturing. In 1980, he established Eddy Merckx Cycles factory which later turned into a brand. Beginning from custom-made bicycles for other racers, he switched to general sales of high-end bicycles by the early 1990s. The factory provides custom bicycles for a number of professional cycling teams as well and distributes in about twenty-five countries. Merckx left the post of the chief executive officer in 2008 but continues to make some contribution to manufacturing.
Eddy Merckx has also tried himself in administrative field. So, he was a manager of the Belgian national team world championships from 1986 to 1996 and directed the Tour of Flanders for some time. The Grand Prix Eddy Merckx established by him was closed in 2004. Merckx was an important figure in the Tour of Qatar. Along with Dirk De Pauw, the legendary cyclist co-owned the race and helped with some organization stuff until it was closed in 2017 because of some economic issues. Merckx contributed to the organization of the Tour of Oman in 2010 as well.
Eddy Merckx is one of the most eminent figures in the history of cycling sport. A five-time winner of the Tour de France, he is one of the three bicycle racers, along with Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck, who have become champions in all five major classic cycle races, namely Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia. Equally good in trials, climbing, on the road and on the track, he set the record for the most wins in the monuments by the end of his career, nineteen, that is eight times more than the second most result.
Eddy Merckx is a holder of a great number of records, in particular, most Grand Tour victories (11), most stage victories in all three Grand Tours (64), the most Giro-Tour doubles ever (3), the most stage wins in the Tour de France (34), and the longest holding of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France leader's jersey, with 78 and 96 days respectively. Merckx is the first to grab the Triple Crown of Cycling, and the only to lead the general, points and mountains classifications at the Giro d'Italia.
Merckx was made Baron by Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, in 1996. Later, he was also presented with the titles of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Officer of the Order of Leopold II, and Commander of the Legion of Honor. In 2012, Merckx was inducted into the Giro d'Italia Hall of Fame, the first in the history of the event.
(A book by Eddy Merckx and Leon Michaux.)
1984Eddy Merckx was blessed by Pope John Paul II to serve as an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society in the 1990s.
Quotations:
"Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride."
"Don't buy upgrades, ride up grades."
"There are too many factors you have to take into account that you have no control over... The most important factor you can keep in your own hands is yourself. I always placed the greatest emphasis on that."
"In my time it was different. When I knew the wind was strong, I attacked myself to make the race as hard as possible."
"I've won. Hurray! I don't have to go to school any more."
"You can't win the Tour de France just drinking water."
"When the road rises you can't hide."
"The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror."
"I have no regrets at all. With all the races I won, what regrets could I possibly have?"
Having Flemish as his mother tongue, Eddy Merckx learned French in school. He was dubbed "the Cannibal" for his incredible aspiration for victories. Merckx's sportsmanship was probably a result of his endless attention to the small details of cycling. He was said to have a basement full of bicycle tires, and he would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night to fix his bicycle seat.
Merckx is an art amateur. Surrealist artists René Magritte and Salvador Dalí are his favorite.
Physical Characteristics: Eddy Merckx is 1.85 meters tall. His tolerance for pain was legendary. According to experiments conducted by the Sports Academy of Cologne, Germany, he had an unusual ability to maintain his pace even when his blood contained high levels of lactic acid, a normally painful byproduct of intense physical activity. During a crash in an exhibition race held in 1969, Merckx suffered a concussion, a cracked vertebra, and a twisted pelvis. The injures rendered climbing hills more difficult than usual for the rest of his athletic career.
Quotes from others about the person
Noël Vantyghem, Belgian professional cyclist: "Between us, I and Eddy Merckx have won every classic that can be won. I won Paris–Tours, Merckx won all the rest."
Joop Zoetemelk, former professional racing cyclist: "First there was Merckx, and then another classification began behind him."
Eddy Merckx married Claudine Acou, the national amateur team trainer's daughter, on December 5, 1967.
The family produced a girl named Sabrina on February 14 three years later and a boy Axel on August 8, 1972. Axel grew up to become a professional cyclist.
(born December 7, 1919 – died July 9, 1983)
(née Pittomvils)
(née Acou)
Claudine's father was a coach of an amateur cycling team.
(born August 8, 1972)
Axel Merckx, in full Axel Eddy Lucien Jonkheer Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer. His professional career lasted from 1993 to 2007. Axel Merckx is the Athens Olympics Gold Medalist in road race.
(born February 14, 1970)
(born December 7, 1920 – died October 19, 2012)
Fiorenzo Magni was an Italian cyclist. He competed in the road bicycle racing from 1940 to 1956.
(born March 11, 1907 – died October 31, 1986)
Félicien Vervaecke competed as a professional cyclist from 1930 to 1939.
(born September 18, 1971)
Lance Armstrong, in full Lance Edward Armstrong (by birth Lance Edward Gunderson), is an American retired professional cyclist. Competing in road races, he achieved seven straight Tour de France victories from 1999 to 2005. All his achievements were annulled after a doping scandal in August 1998.
