Eddy Merckx: A cycling icon turns 75

On his 75th birthday Eddy Merckx is again in good health following a serious bike accident in October 2019. "I can't complain. I cycle two or three times a week," the Belgian cycling icon said recently. At the start of the Tour de France 2019 in Brussels (photo) Belgian cycling fans paid homage to Merckx with chants and banners.

The son of a grocer, Merckx spent his younger years competing in football, basketball and swimming. At 16, he completed his first cycling race and just three years later he surprisingly won the Road World Championship among the amateurs. To date, he is the youngest title holder of all time. In 1971 in Mendrisio (above) he won his second world title as a professional.

At the 1969 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was banned for alleged doping. However, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned his month-long suspension and cleared him to race in the Tour de France. He went on to win six stages and finished almost 18 minutes ahead of the runner-up in Paris.

In 1972, the Belgian raced again in the jersey of the Italian team "Molteni" and won the Giro and Tour. In October, he dared to attack the hourly world record. At the height of Mexico City, he covered 49.431 kilometers in 60 minutes. Under comparable technical conditions, only Chris Boardman managed to break this record — 28 years later.

His relentless pursuit of victory led to Merckx being given the nickname the "cannibal." He remains one of the few cyclists to win all three big tours. At the Vuelta he triumphed in 1972, he won the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia five times each. For the first time he wore the pink jersey 1968 to the finish.

His brilliant career also had its low points: in 1969 he was banned due to unresolved allegations of manipulation by the Giro. "I am convinced that I was the victim of a plot," he later said. However, in 1973 and 1977, pictured, he tested positive again. In 1978 he retired.

After his retirement, Merckx remained a prominant figure in cycling: as a national coach of Belgium, an ambassador, a race organizer, and an expert in the media. Of course, he is also there when the Tour de France visits his native Belgium - right at the front of the race.

After his active career, Merckx built a company for racing bikes, equipping stars such as Michael Schumacher. In 2008, the successful entrepreneur sold his majority share in the company, but the brand remains popular today.

What does one do as a son of a sports legend? Eddy Merckx's son Axel opted for the obvious but a difficult path: cycling. The young Merckx achieved some good results, including Olympic bronze, 10th in the Tour, and a stage victory in the Giro.