From the feud with Beheyt to the fall that shattered his Tour dream: 10 moments in the career of Rik Van Looy

Ghent-Wevelgem 1956

In 1956, 22-year-old Van Looy arrived at the top of cycling for the first time. The fast rider won his first major classic in the spring with Gent-Wevelgem. Later that year he would also finish second at the World Championships in Copenhagen, behind fellow countryman Rik Van Steenbergen. It marks the beginning of the rivalry between Rik I and Rik II.

1957 World Cup in Waregem

A year later, Van Steenbergen and Van Looy met again at the World Championships in Waregem. They agree that they will not ride behind each other. When Van Looy attacks, Van Steenbergen keeps his word, but Rik I convinces teammate Fred De Bruyne to bring Rik II back. Van Steenbergen eventually sprints to gold again, Van Looy comes fourth.

Tour of Flanders 1959

Van Looy often has bad luck in the Tour of Flanders, so he only managed to win in his sixth participation. He does this in the Belgian tricolor. It is Van Looy’s second monument after Milan-San Remo a year earlier. Later that year he would also win his third monument with the Tour of Lombardy.

World title 1960 at the Sachsenring

After the World Cup defeats against Rik Van Steenbergen, Van Looy did win the world championship in 1960. At the German Sachsenring, the battle for the rainbow jersey will be settled with a bunch sprint. Van Looy ultimately trumps the French sprint bomb André Darrigade and teammate Cino Perami.

Paris-Roubaix 1961

After his first world title, Van Looy again had a bad year. Dressed in the rainbow jersey, he achieved his first of three victories in Paris-Roubaix. Only the day before, the plaster cast on his wrist, which he injured two weeks earlier in a fall in the Tour of Flanders, is removed. He also wins the sprint on the track in Roubaix on an idler.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège 1961

After his victory in Roubaix, Van Looy is still missing one cycling monument on his list of achievements: Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He filled that gap a month later. Thanks to a demonstration by his Faema team, the ‘Red Guard’, Van Looy triumphed in Liège. Faema has four riders in the top five. Van Looy thus becomes the first rider ever to win the five monuments. In September, Van Looy will put the icing on his season in Bern, Switzerland, with a second world title.

Task in the Tour de France 1962

Although he is not a climber, Van Looy dreams of winning a Grand Tour. In 1958 he finished fourth in the Giro and third in the Vuelta and in 1965 he also finished third in Spain. In 1962 he made his debut in the Tour. Van Looy puts pressure on Jacques Anquetil, but in stage eleven his Tour dream is shattered after a collision with a press motorbike. He gives up.

Silver at the 1963 World Championships in Ronse

The 1963 World Cup in Ronse was followed by one of the most dramatic moments in Van Looy’s career. As leader, Van Looy demands support from the Belgian team in exchange for a lot of money. In the sprint, Van Looy seems to be on his way to gold, but he is passed in the final meters by teammate Benoni Beheyt. Van Looy feels betrayed.

Flèche Wallonne 1968

Rik Van Looy was in the autumn of his career when he won the Flèche Wallonne in 1968 at the age of 34. He thus becomes the first rider to win all the major classics of his time at least once. It is also his last classic victory.

Tour de France 1969

At the age of 35, Van Looy strikes one more time in the Tour de France against final winner Eddy Merckx. Van Looy wins the fourth stage arriving in Nancy not in a sprint, but with a solo of no less than 114 kilometers. Van Looy’s maximum lead is 12 minutes, of which he still has 42 seconds left at the finish.