Belgian Cycling world in mourning: classics emperor Rik Van Looy has died at the age of 90

Belgium has lost one of its cycling icons with Rik Van Looy. After a short illness he died at the age of 90. The “Emperor of Herentals” won no fewer than 8 monuments and also became world champion twice. Van Looy revolutionized the race with his “Red Brigade”.

Henri “Rik” Van Looy already revealed himself as a frequent winner in the youth series. At the age of 22, he was picked up by the Faema team of Briek Schotte and Federico Bahamontes. In the classics, Van Looy immediately established himself as the leader, with victories in Gent-Wevelgem and the Scheldeprijs in his first season.

Flanders falls flat for the phlegmatic Van Looy. Rik Van Steenbergen’s successor soon received the nickname Rik II. Due to his wicked tongue and his Hollywood-like allure, thanks to his ravishing wife Nini, Van Looy soon surpassed Van Steenbergen in terms of popularity.

In 1958 he won his first major classic with Milan-San Remo. Van Looy molds his Faema teammates into a well-oiled machine, nicknamed “The Red Guard” due to the color of the jerseys. Spartan team training around Lake Garda in the off-season lays the foundation for the rest of the year.

Van Looy is the big favorite in every classic in which he starts. He will therefore win every top classic at least once. De Kempenson is not exactly a gifted climber, but he has a fierce sprint that has earned him many victories, 493 in his entire career.

Thanks to his fast legs, Rik Van Looy can also score well at the world championships. In 1960 he defeated the outgoing champion André Darrigade in Karl-Marx-Stadt. A year later he does the same in Bern with Nino Defilippis.

When the World Championships are organized in Ronse two years later, the entire country expects a third world title for Van Looy, with which he would equal Van Steenbergen. The entire Belgian team rides in Van Looy’s service and keeps the peloton together for a bunch sprint.

However, one compatriot had not read the script properly. In the sprint, Van Looy is surprised by the relatively unknown Benoni Beheyt. Cycling-loving Belgium stood on its hind legs. “The Betrayal of Ronse” was born (photo).

After that World Cup, Van Looy is involved a little less in the classics. In 1966 Eddy Merckx joins his team. Van Looy quickly realizes that his successor is already ready. After his career, Van Looy became director of the Flemish cycling school in Herentals, the city where he is also an honorary citizen and to which he owes his nickname: “The Emperor of Herentals”.

Official name: Henry “Rick” Van Looy
Born: December 20, 1933, in Grobbendonk
Nicknames: Emperor of Herentals, Rik II

Teams:

1953: The Future
1953-1954: Gitane/Touring/The Future
1955: Van Hauwaert/Girardengo
1956-1961: Faema
1962: Flanders
1963: G.B.C.
1964-1966: Solo-Superia
1967-1970: Willem II-Gazelle

Palmares (a selection):

– 2x world champion (1960 in Karl-Marx-Stadt, 1961 in Bern)
– 2x Belgian champion (1958 and 1963)
– 3x Paris-Roubaix (1961, 1962 and 1965)
– 3x Ghent-Wevelgem (1956, 1957 and 1962)
– 2x Tour of Flanders (1959 and 1962)
– 1x Milan-Sanremo (1958)
– 1x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1961)
– 1x Tour of Lombardy (1959)
– 2x Paris Tours (1959 and 1967)
– 1x Flèche Wallonne (1968)

– 397 professional victories
– 39 stage victories in the three Grand Tours (18 in Vuelta, 12 in Giro and 9 in Tour)

– top 10 in Tour, Giro and Vuelta
– points classification in the 1963 Tour