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| Edouard
Louis Joseph Merckx was born on 17 June 1945 in the
village of Meenzel-Kiezegem, Belgium, the eldest child of
Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. In August 1946 they
moved into a grocers shop in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, a
suburb of Brussels. Merckx is almost unanimously considered the world's greatest cyclist with 445 professional victories. He won the world amateur championship in 1964. Three years later he was to hold the professional title. Eddy Merckx was voted Belgian sportsman of the year six times and on three occasions he earned the title International Sportsman. On December 15 2000 Merckx was voted Belgian sportsman of the century. In a career spanning 17 years he was the only cyclist to win the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana and Tour of Switzerland. He was one of only two cyclists, along with Stephen Roche, to win the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and world championship in the same year (1970). He was one of two cyclists (with Miguel Indurain) to take the Tour de France and the hour record in the same year. In 1969, Merckx won all three major classifications (overall, points, and King of the Mountains) of the Tour de France. Eddy Merckx retired from the sport in May 1978 due to persistent back problems. |
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| Merckx wins his first Milan-San Remo 1966 | Merckx wins his final Milan-San Remo 1976 |
