Former Belgian cyclist Rik Van Looy, considered one of the best riders in history and winner of all cycling monuments, has died at the age of 90,
Belgian Rik Van Looy, considered one of the best riders in history, winner of all cycling monuments, died at the age of 90, several Belgian media reported on Wednesday. Active in the 1950s to 1970s, the man nicknamed “the Emperor of Herentals” was considered the greatest Belgian champion before the advent of Eddy Merckx at the end of the 1960s.
“An absolute icon with an incredible track record”
The latter also hailed in a press release “a super champion who was almost unbeatable in the classics”. “Rik was a huge champion, an absolute icon with an incredible track record,” says Merckx, who was Van Looy’s teammate for one season (1965). “I’m happy to have been able to race against him,” adds the Cannibal. “Even though he was sick, he took the time to call me when I was in the hospital after my fall” ten days ago.
“It was only in the last month that his condition deteriorated rapidly. A few days ago, I myself gave him words of encouragement,” says Merckx, the only Belgian cyclist with more than victory than Van Looy. The exact cause of the former runner’s death was not immediately clear.
Mr. Grand Slam
His imposing size never allowed him to win a Grand Tour but thanks to his efficiency in sprinting he was the first, before Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck, to win the five cycling monuments at least once (eight successes in total) , Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.
Above all, the Campinois, also double world and Belgian champion, is the only one to have won all the classics of his time (sixteen victories in all, including the monuments), which Merckx, never a winner, did not achieve. from Paris-Tours. A newspaper deliverer (by bike) from the age of 12, he has a total of 371 professional victories.
He has the immense merit of having built up an extraordinary track record by having been opposed to opponents of an exceptional level, from Rik Van Steenbergen to Eddy Merckx via Fausto Coppi, Ferdi Kubler, Hugo Koblet, Louison Bobet, Jacques Anquetil or Charly Gaul.
