Eddy Merckx

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EDDY MERCKX

Date of birth: 17/06/1945

From: Meensel-Kiezegem, Belgium

Teams: Fiat (1977), Molteni (1971-1976), Faema-Faemina (1970), Faema (1968-1969), Peugeot (1966-1967)

Eddy Merckx career profile

Eddy Merckx was, is and will be the greatest cyclist of all time.

Quite apart from the staggering (if approximate, depending on if you count criteriums) total of 525 wins in his career - almost a third of all of the races he ever started - Merckx is the one rider in cycling history to defy all categories. He remains unclassifiable, unbeatable, a giant amongst giants.

A Grand Tour rider? Yes, but he also won all the major Classics, from Milan-San Remo to the Tour of Lombardy. And all the week-long stage races you could name. And pretty much everything inbetween. (That includes the Hour Record, by the way.)

Even the briefest of resumes will take up a lot of space, but here goes. Five Tours, five Giros, three World Championships; three World Championships (plus one as an amateur); seven Milan-San Remos; two Tours of Flanders; three Paris-Roubaix; Five Liege-Bastogne-Liege; two Amstels; three Ghent-Wevelgems; three Fleche Wallones; three Paris-Nices; two Tours of Lombardy; the Vuelta; two Het Volks, the Dauphine, the Tour of Switzerland, the Tour of Catalonia. The list is almost endless, although curiously enough he never won Paris-Tours.

Merckx had no weaknesses. He holds the record for most days in the Giro’s pink jersey - 78, and that of the Tour - 96. No other pro has ever won so many stage wins in the Tour - 35. Nor has any other pro ever won so many in a single Tour - eight, in 1970 and 1974. He’s won the Giro-Tour double three times. Perhaps his most remarkable achievement was to take the Tour’s mountain jersey, points jersey and overall all in one race - in 1969.

Twelve years a pro, Merckx retired on March 19th, 1978 after finishing twelfth at a race in St. Niklaas, Belgium. But it’s no cliche to say that his legend lives on.

Eddy Merckx major results

1964

Amateur World Road-Race Champion

1966

Milan-San Remo

1967

World Championships

Milan-San Remo

Fleche Wallone

Ghent-Wevelgem

Tour of Italy, two stages

1968

Tour of Italy (overall, mountains, points and four stages)

Paris-Roubaix

Tour of Romandie

Tour of Catalonia

1969

Tour de France, (overall, mountains, points and six stages)

Tour of Italy, four stages

Milan - San Remo

Tour of Flanders

Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Paris Nice (overall and four stages)

1970

Tour de France (overall, mountains and eight stages)

Tour of Italy (overall and three stages)

Paris-Roubaix

Fleche Wallone

Ghent-Wevelgem

Paris-Nice

1971

Tour de France (overall, points and four stages)

World Championships

Milan - San Remo

Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Tour of Lombardy

Het Volk

Paris-Nice

Dauphine Libere

Midi Libre

1972

Tour de France (overall, points and six stages)

Tour of Italy (overall and four stages)

Hour Record

Milan-San Remo

Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Tour of Lombardy

Fleche Wallone

1973

Tour of Italy (overall, points and six stages)

Tour of Spain (overall, points, and six stages)

Paris-Roubaix

Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Amstel Gold

Ghent-Wevelgem

GP Nations

Het Volk

1974

Tour de France (overall and eight stages)

Tour of Italy (overall and two stages)

World Championships

Tour of Switzerland (overall and three stages)

1975

Milan-San Remo

Tour of Flanders

Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Amstel Gold

Tour de France, two stages

Tour of Switzerland, stage

1976

Milan-San Remo

1977

Tour of Switzerland, stage

Eddy Merckx photos

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