127 races, 50 wins
1973 (Molteni) Het Volk (3/3); Ghent–Wevelgem (3/4); Amstel Gold Race (7/4); Paris–Roubaix (15/4); Liège–Bastogne–Liège (22/4); Paris–Brussels (26/9); GP Nations (6/10); overall Vuelta a España + six stages (26/4–13/5); overall Giro d’Italia + six stages (18/5–9/6); overall Tour of Sardinia + one stage (24/2– 1/3); stage of Paris–Nice (11/3); overall GP Fourmies + one stage (22–23/9); Lagueglia Trophy (18/2)
136 races, 51 wins
1974 (Molteni) World professional road race championship, Montreal, Canada (25/8); overall Giro d’Italia + two stages (16/5–8/6); overall Tour de France + eight stages (27/6–21/7); overall Tour of Switzerland + three stages (12–21/6); three stages of Paris–Nice (9–14/3); Lagueglia Trophy (20/2)
140 races, 38 wins
1975 (Molteni) Milan–San Remo (19/3); Amstel Gold Race (29/3); Tour of Flanders (6/4); Liège–Bastogne–Liège (20/4); stage of the Tour of Switzerland (19/6); two stages of the Tour de France (2–5/7); overall Tour of Sardinia + one stage (22–26/2); overall Catalan Week + one stage (31/3–4/4); two stages of Paris–Nice (9–14/3); two stages of Tour of Romandie (7–11/5)
151 races, 38 wins
1976 (Molteni) Milan–San Remo (19/3); overall Catalan Week + two stages (22–26/3); stage of Tirreno–Adriatico (13/3); stage of Tour of Romandie (4/5)
111 races, 15 victories
1977 (FIAT) stage of Tour of Switzerland (21/6); overall Tour Mediterranean (19–23/2); stage of Paris–Nice (14/3)
119 races, 17 victories
1978 (C&A) 5 races, 0 victories
Last professional race Circuit du Pays de Waes (Kemzeke, Belgium), 19 March
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For sharing memories of Merckx on various occasions I should like to thank: Jørgen Leth, Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke, Gian-Paolo Ormezzano, Bob Addy, Ian Banbury, Sean Kelly, Michael Wright, Jiří Daler, Joël Godaert, Giorgio Albani, Bernard Thévenet, Ole Ritter, Vittorio Adorni, Ernesto Colnago, Sid Barras, Emile Daems. Particular thanks should go to Jos Bruyère, Guillaume Michiels and Bob Lelangue, all of whom were generous with their time when discussing their years at Merckx’s side.
During research for a future book on Flandrian cycling, the name Merckx inevitably came up when I interviewed Rik Van Looy, Patrick Sercu, Walter Godefroot, Herman Van Springel and Frans Verbeeck. I would like to thank all of these greats for their help.
For providing telephone numbers and general advice, I should like to thank Stéphane Thirion, Marc Ghyselinck, Marco Pastonesi and Philippe Bouvet. Their names seemed to open doors wherever I looked.
Other valuable assistance came from Chris Boardman and Peter Keen, both of whom provided insights into their Hour Records and that of Merckx. I am indebted to my brother Alasdair for helping with interviews with Raphael Geminiani and Txomin Perurena, and to Barbara Rumpus at l’Equipe for sourcing one particular piece of writing. Jacinto Vidarte and Javier de Dalmases were generous with their memories of José Manuel Fuente while Joël Godaert provided insights into the final months of Merckx’s career and supplied extracts from his book Eddy Merckx La Roue de la Fortune, reproduced in La Dernière Heure. Many thanks to Tim Harris and Jos Ryan for good coffee, encouragement and the loan of their spare bed in East Flanders while I was interviewing. My son Patrick will remember this book for his first paid writing assignment – Merckx’s palmares – for which many thanks.
My agent John Pawsey and my sports editor at the Guardian, Ian Prior, have both provided valuable backing over many years now. At Yellow Jersey Press my editor Matt Phillips was a tower of strength from start to finish, while thanks are also due to James Jones in design for the cover, Bethan Jones in publicity, Phil Brown in production, the copy editor, Richard Collins and the proof reader, Myra Jones.
As ever, I owe the biggest and most enduring debt to Caroline, Patrick and Miranda, who have been unstinting in their love and support in the face of yet more absences in foreign parts and many days when my heart and mind were in Flanders or the Dolomites.
Bibliography
Rider statistics and Merckx’s victory margins are taken from Vélo-Gotha, by René Jacobs and Harry Van den Bremt, published in 1984, which was also my reference for Merckx’s palmares. For detailed references to the Tour de France, I have gone back to l’Equipe’s Tour de France à 100 Ans, published in 2002. The website www.cyclingarchives.com was a useful resource for the results of other races. The website www.INA.fr was a good source of archive race footage.
Also of reference were the following books, in no particular order:
Eddy Merckx l’Epopée, Théo Mathy, Editions Luc Pire, 2007; Maglia rosa, triumph and tragedy at the Giro d’Italia, Herbie Sykes, Rouleur Ltd, 2011; Eddy Merckx, La Veridique Histoire, Jean-Paul Ollivier, Glenat, 1996, from which is taken my translation of Roger Pingeon’s account of an evening with Merckx in 1969 in chapter six; Eddy Merckx, Cet Inconnu, Roger Bastide, Marabout 1972; Eddy Merckx, Homme et Cannibale, Rik Vanwalleghem and Joël Godaert, Pinguin/Dernière Heure, 1993; Faema Espresso 1945–2010, Collezione Enrico Maltoni, 2009; Cycling Classics 1970–72, Noel G. Henderson, Pelham Books, 1973; Pedalare! Pedalare! A history of Italian cycling, John Foot, Bloomsbury, 2011; The Great Bike Race, Geoffrey Nicholson, Magnum, 1978; Het Wonder Van Vlaanderen, de Epos van de Ronde, Rik Van Walleghem, Pinguin/Het Nieuwsblad, 1998; Tours de France, Antoine Blondin, La Table Ronde, 2001; Toute l’Histoire du Cyclisme Belge sur route, Théo Mathy, Editions Arts et Voyages, 1978; Een Klein Dorp, een Zware Tol, Stefan van Laere, Frans and Josef Craeninckx, Manteau, 2004; Eddy Merckx en ik, Herinneringen aan de Kannnibal, Stefan van Laere, Bola Editions, 2010; Les Géants du Cyclisme Belge, Théo Mathy, Editions Arts et Voyages, 1975; Qui Êtes-Vous Eddy Merckx?, Marc Jeuniau, Editions Arts et Voyages, 1969; Le Phénomène, Eddy Merckx et ses Rivaux, François Terbéen, del Duca, Paris, 1970; I Miei Campioni, Nino Defilippis and Beppe Conti, Graphot Editrice, 2000; Tour de France 1974, David Saunders, Kennedy Bros Publishing, 1974; Pour un Maillot Jaune, Luis Ocaña and François Terbéen, Calmann-Lévy, 1972; Luis Ocaña, Le Soleil des Pelotons, Bernard Loizeau, private publication, 1978; Merckx–Ocaña duel au sommet, François Terbéen, Calmann-Levy, 1974; Merckx ou la rage de vaincre, Léon Zitrone, Editions Planete, 1969; Eddy Merckx, l’Irrésistible Ascension d’un Jeune Champion, Pierre Thonon (translation of original biography in Flemish by Louis Clicteur and Lucien Berghmans), De Schorpioen, 1968; Tout Eddy, le plus grand champion cycliste de tous les temps raconte sa vie d’exception, Stéphane Thirion, Jourdan, Paris, 2006; Face à face avec Eddy Merckx, Marc Jeuniau, Editions Arts et Voyages, 1971; Merckx Intime, Philippe Brunel, Calmann-Lévy, 2002; Plus d’un Tour dans Mon Sac: Mes Carnets de Route 1972, Eddy Merckx with Marc Jeuniau, Arts et Voyages, 1972.
Newspaper and magazine articles referred to include:
Author interviews with Eddy Merckx, Cycle Sport, 1997; Observer, 2005; Sandra Laborde’s profile, Vélo, November 2000; interviews with Eddy Merckx and Bernard Thévenet in l’Equipe magazine, 21 June 2003; ‘Eddy, Walter, Patrick, Herman et les autres’, Vélo, October 2005; Patrick Lafayette on Merckx’s first race in l’Equipe magazine, 1 October 2011.
Index
The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
EM indicates Eddy Merckx.
Addy, Bob 210
Adorni, Vittorio 57, 58, 70–1, 72, 73–4, 75, 76, 89, 152
Aerts, Jean 28, 68
Aerts, Marcel 288
Agostinho, Joaquim 144, 147, 167, 168, 191, 275
Aimar, Lucien 121, 134, 147, 171
Aix en Provence, Grand Prix d’ 1977 273
Aja, Gonzalo 248, 249
Albani, Giorgio:
background 162
EM’s Hour Record, recalls 195, 197, 199, 200, 201, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207
Molteni and 162, 182, 231
all-round champions 75
, 185, 187, 188, 221
Altig, Rudi 57, 72, 118, 119–21, 220
Amstel Gold:
1975 254
1976 269
1977 273
Anderlecht football team 286–7
Anderson, Phil 91
Anquetil, Jacques 70
alcohol and 11, 133, 134
background/childhood 97, 110
Bic team and 63, 160
earnings 50
EM, comparisons with 210, 219, 220, 222–3
EM, friend of 133, 134
EM, hero of 30, 85, 123
Fangio, compared to 122
final years in cycling 272, 284, 289
Giro/Tour de France double 142
Hour Record 195, 198, 204, 208
lack of interest in details of his bike 126
lifestyle 11, 152, 160
Paris–Luxembourg, 1969 128–9
Paris–Nice, 1967 58
racing style 95, 289
retires 160
rivals 157
sees cycling in commercial terms 226
specialist 75, 219, 222–3
Tour de France 11, 51, 123, 176, 249, 250
Tour de France, 1963 122
Tour de France, 1964 121–2, 166
Van Buggenhout and 47
Van Looy and 93, 94
winning margins 123
Anquetil, Janine 134
Antwerp Six-Day, 1966 51
Ardennes Weekend, 1972 183, 208
Armani, Luciano 45, 51, 171
Armstrong, Lance 6–7, 11, 149, 153, 180, 192
comeback 272
De Vries and 236
EM, comparisons with 219, 222, 223, 290
EM, friendship with 288–9, 290
hostility towards 261
Hour Record, does not attempt 208
personality 286
racing style 237, 290
testicular cancer 288–9
Tour de France 219, 223, 261
Tour de France, 2004 290
ASO 287
Augendre, Jacques 193
Bahamontes, Federico 26, 63, 160, 184, 222
Banbury, Ian 271, 272, 282
Baracchi Trophy:
1966 57
1967 69
1969 137
1971 180
1972 198
Baronchelli, Gianbattista 245, 246
Barrett, Mike 273
Bartali, Gino 36, 66, 103, 157, 162, 289
Basso, Marino 87, 162
Bastide, Roger 71, 89, 144–5, 222–3, 232
Battaglin, Giovanni 215
Belgian amateur championship 41
1962 85
1964 43–4, 67
Belgian Federation 110
Belgian junior championship, 1962 38–9
Belgian national championship 48, 49, 287
1967 67–8
1976 269
Belgian national team 39–40, 43–4, 45, 50, 67–8, 76, 178, 253, 276, 287 see also world championships
Belgium, Tour of 158, 224
1970 7, 54, 140–1
1971 54, 163
Bianchi 66, 89
Bic 50, 63, 143, 160, 166–7, 168, 171, 173, 184, 191, 193, 237, 239, 247, 274
bike factory, EM’s 285, 286, 287
Binda, Alfredo 215, 254
Bitossi, Franco 60, 87, 156, 198
Blois velodrome, EM’s crash at 133–40, 148, 152, 153, 181, 197, 224, 247, 279, 280, 285, 291
Blondin, Antoine 114–15, 116, 119, 146–7, 149, 150–1, 153, 167–8, 176
Boardman, Chris 195, 196, 202–3, 204–5, 206–7
Bobet, Jean 75
Bobet, Louison 121, 262, 289
career ended by injury 247
Hour Record, does not attempt 208
influence of Coppi on 70
Lombardy/world championship/Milan– San Remo, 1951 180
retirement 169
strictness in diet and lifestyle 152
team system and 236
Tour de France record 129, 176
Tour de France, 1971, on 169
Tour de France, 1972 191
Boever, Jacques de 121
Boifava, Davide 137
bon vivant lifestyle 152–3
Boniface, Guy 159
Boons, Josef 67
Bordeaux–Paris Classic 98
1970 134
Bottecchia, Ottavio 155
Bouloux, Robert 171
Bouvet, Albert 95
Bracke, Ferdinand 59, 69, 82, 91, 124, 197, 199
Breton, Nello 261
Broos, Félix 19
Brunel, Philippe 11
Brussels velodrome 46, 246
Brussels–Alsemberg, 1963 77
Bruyère, Jos:
background 228–9
Bic offer 238–9
crashes 254
cultural identity 81–2
football, love of 228
Het Volk classic, 1974 244
la course en tête, on 223
Liège–Bastogne–Liège, 1971 163
Milan–San Remo, 1971 162
team-mate, as EM’s 141, 151, 162, 163, 171, 223–4, 228–32, 234, 236, 238–9, 244, 248, 248, 254, 249, 260, 284
Tour de France, 1971 171
Tour de France, 1974 248, 249
Tour de France, 1975 260
Tour de France, 1978 284
Tour of Switzerland, 1974 236
turns professional 223
Bruyne, Fred de 66
Bruxellois, status as a 83, 85–6, 88, 97, 232, 233
Buggenhout, Jean van:
background 46
death of 245–6, 256, 281
Driessens and 89, 232–3
EM contract with Peugeot and 50
EM’s ambition, on 125
EM’s heavy race calendar and 278
EM’s Hour Record and 204
EM’s innocent love of cycling, on 108
EM’s manager 46–7, 50, 57, 70, 89, 108, 125, 126, 141, 151–2, 204, 226, 232–3, 239–40, 241, 245–6, 278, 281, 283
EM’s personality, on 108, 109, 151–2
EM’s preoccupation with details of bike, on 126
EM’s retirement and 283
EM’s treatment of team-mates, on 239–40
Giro d’Italia, 1970, persuades EM to race in 141
personality 46–7
power in cycling world 46–7
Savona and 109
Swerts and 241
Van Looy and 226
C&A 281, 282, 283
Carpano 62, 66, 67
Carril, Vicente López 1, 185–6, 248, 249, 250
Casartelli, Fabio 173
Catalan Week:
1973 213–14
1975 254
1976 269
1977 276
Catalonia, Tour of, 1968 76
Cavalli, Angelo 204, 218
Cavendish, Mark 213
Ceretelli, Professor 199, 200
CGER bank 288
Championship of Flanders, 1966 57
Chany, Pierre 9, 165, 226, 264
Circuit de l’Aulne, 1970 133, 148
Claes, George 23
Classics:
Ardennes 163
Bruyère and 228
EM as great champion for the 62, 70–1, 100
EM not interested in as a youth 85
EM tally of 34
EM retirement and 284
EM’s rivals in 77
first tests in 52, 53, 54, 60
Flandrian 96
Maertens and 269
Northern 183
Ockers and 29
second-string professionals specialise in 86
top riders of all time 157
Van Looy and 47, 62, 75, 93, 222
see also under individual race name
Colnago, Ernesto 197, 200, 204, 224, 286
Contador, Alberto 190
Coppi, Fausto:
ambition 125
appetite for winning 210
Bianchi and 66
> Carpano and 62, 66, 67
decline and death of 93
detail, fixated with 125–6
dominance 125
Driessens and 89
early life 26, 110
Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike Page 29
