Édouard Louis Joseph Merckx, known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist widely regarded as the greatest rider in the history of the sport.
Born on June 17, 1945, in Meensel-Kiezegem, Belgium, he dominated professional cycling from 1965 to 1978, amassing over 500 victories and earning the nickname “The Cannibal” for his relentless drive to win every race he entered.
Merckx’s family background was modest; his parents, Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils, ran a grocery store in Brussels after moving there when he was a young child.
A hyperactive and competitive boy, Merckx tried various sports but found his passion in cycling early, claiming his first bike memory was a crash at age four.
Siblings
As the firstborn in his family, Eddy has two younger siblings: twin brother Michel and sister Micheline, born in May 1948.
The family lived modestly above their grocery store in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, Brussels, where the siblings shared close quarters during their childhood.
While Eddy pursued cycling with intense focus, his brother Michel became a pharmacist.
Career
Merckx’s professional career began in 1965 after an amateur stint that yielded 80 wins, including the 1964 UCI Road World Championships in the amateur category.
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Signing with Solo-Superia, he quickly made his mark by winning Milan-San Remo in 1966, his first Monument victory.
He went on to secure his first Grand Tour win at the 1968 Giro d’Italia and debuted dominantly in the Tour de France in 1969, claiming the yellow jersey along with the points, mountains, and combativity classifications.
Over his 13-year pro tenure, Merckx excelled in every discipline: as a climber, sprinter, and time trialist, he completed Grand Tour doubles multiple times between 1970 and 1974 and broke the hour record in 1972 by covering 49.431 kilometers.
Retiring in 1978 due to health concerns, he later founded Eddy Merckx Cycles in 1980 and coached Belgium’s national team until 1996, remaining influential in the sport.
Accolades
Merckx’s unparalleled success includes a record 11 Grand Tour victories: five Tours de France (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974), five Giros d’Italia (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974), and one Vuelta a España (1973), making him one of only five riders to win all three major tours.
He claimed three UCI Road World Championships (1967, 1971, 1974) and a record 19 Monument wins across cycling’s five premier classics, including seven Milan-San Remos and five Liège-Bastogne-Lièges.
Additional honors encompass 34 Tour de France stage wins (tied record), the King of the Mountains jersey twice, and Belgian Sportsman of the Year six times, plus three World Sportsman of the Year awards.
Knighted as Baron and awarded the Commander of the Order of Leopold in 1974, he was inducted into the UCI Hall of Fame and received an honorary doctorate from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 2011 for his sporting excellence and social impact.
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