Eddy Merckx

Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born on June 17, 1945, in Meensel-Kiezegem, in the Belgian province of Brabant. He grew up in Woluwé-Saint-Pierre, a municipality of Brussels, and discovered cycling as a young teenager. He turned professional in 1965 with the Rik Van Looy team and quickly established himself as an exceptional talent across multiple disciplines of road racing.

Merckx won his first Tour de France in 1969, dominating the race in a manner that gave rise to his nickname "The Cannibal," a reference to his appetite for victories. He went on to win the race five times in total, in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1974. He also won the Giro d'Italia five times and the Vuelta a España once, making him one of only a handful of cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours. He won the Monuments of cycling multiple times, including five editions of the Tour of Flanders and Milan-San Remo.

Merckx was known for his versatility: he could win in the mountains, in time trials, and in sprint finishes, an unusual combination that made him formidable in almost every type of stage and race. He was consistently aggressive and preferred to control races himself rather than rely on teammates or tactics. He won the combination classification in the Tour de France, which accounts for overall, points, and mountains competitions, three times.

In 1972, Merckx set the UCI Hour Record in Mexico City, cycling 49.431 kilometers in one hour on the track at altitude. This record stood for 12 years. His career total of 525 professional victories, compiled across more than a decade of competition at the highest level, has never been approached by any subsequent rider.

Merckx retired from professional racing in 1978. He was later involved in cycling through his bicycle manufacturing company, Eddy Merckx Cycles. He has been consistently voted the greatest cyclist of all time in polls conducted by cycling publications and organizations.