The Belgian Rik Van Looy, absolute monarch of cycling races, is dead

In the Kingdom of Belgium, he was “the Emperor of Herentals”, a Flemish town in the province of Antwerp where he lived and had been statued during his lifetime. Rik Van Looy died on Wednesday December 18, at the age of 90, according to several Belgian media. Between 1953 and 1968, this recognized prince of one-day races built a unique track record in cycling: 482 successes, where quality mixes with quantity. Double world champion (1960 and 1961), Van Looy is the first to win the five great classics: Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.

In the 1970s, the Belgian was imitated by two compatriots: Roger De Vlaeminck and especially Eddy Merckx. When the latter tiptoed into his Solo-Superia team in 1965, Van Looy the Flemish mocked the Brussels whipper, nicknamed him “Jack Palance” for a distant resemblance to the American actor accustomed to villain roles in westerns. Cohabitation lasts one season. Merckx went to build another empire elsewhere, much larger (he collected five Tours de France in his bag), and attacked head-on the “red guard” of his elder brother.

“I beat 134 deaths”

An exceptional sprinter and meticulous champion, Van Looy was above all a pack leader. His teams change names (Faema, Flandria, Solo-Superia), but red remains the color of the jersey and the dedication of his teammates is total. Those who dared to get in the way of the “Emperor” were rebuffed, intimidated and brought to their senses by his followers, in order to allow him to show his burst of speed at the finish. ” Even [Jacques] Anquetil was afraid of us”confided has The Team Ward Sels, one of Van Looy’s lieutenants, in 2021.

And beware of the one who deceives the monarch. In 1963, Benoni Beheyt played the Brutus and deprived Rik Van Looy of a third world champion title in Ronse, in East Flanders. Before the race, the second had promised 50,000 Belgian francs to the first to secure his services. Between teammates for a day in the national team, you can never be too careful. But Beheyt breaks his word and jumps Van Looy on the line. The king’s revenge will be eaten hot and cold: the “red guard” will no longer leave an inch of freedom to the “traitor” who will put away his bike at only 26 years old, disappointed and resigned.

Rik Van Looy was not lost in comments. But when the Paris-Roubaix arrived in 1965, the Fleming had scores to settle. It has been said about the decline. Annoyed, the sprinter won the “Hell of the North” for the third time and did it in style. He attacks alone 10 kilometers from the finish before setting off, still alone, on the Roubaix velodrome. “It seems that I was no longer supposed to be the great Van Looy. But, at 31, can a man be a finished man? If I am, then I have beaten 134 deaths”, he blurted.

“The Emperor” and “the Cannibal”

The rest is less flamboyant. Van Looy added Paris-Tours (1967) and Flèche wallonne (1968) to his collection of classics, but Merckx began to rout his “red guard” and left him with crumbs. “The Emperor of Herentals” resents this relative downgrading. He was never really a July man. On the Tour de France, he wore the yellow jersey for one day and still won seven stages, but without having the same pedal stroke as in the spring. The fault lies with his Italian employer, who required him to compete in the Giro just before.

Businessman and owner of an equestrian arena, Van Looy enjoyed a comfortable second life, like Flanders which had become prosperous and proud to show it. In 2021, he lost the love of his life, “Nini”, a blonde beauty nicknamed “the Flemish Marilyn”. At the time, the octogenarian still looked like a young man. Two years earlier, he revealed his slimming secret to The Team : “I still drive along the Albert Canal to Antwerp. This week, we went there four times. » After the death of his wife, he confided that he had lost the desire to ride, preferring to admire, in the comfort of his living room, the exploits of Wout van Aert, originally from Herentals and current star of the Jumbo-Visma team.

Born on December 20, 1933 in Grobbendonk, a few kilometers away, Van Looy remained faithful to Herentals throughout his adult life. Over the years, Eddy Merckx had earned the right to be one of his guests. “The Emperor” no longer held it against the “Cannibal” for having somewhat eclipsed his glory. When he took the trouble to look back on his career, he especially saw the path traveled and the races won by the hundreds, he who had arrived at cycling by chance. “At 12 years old, I wasn’t yet racing.. I delivered newspapers by bike in the streets. »