Eight iconic moments from the rich career of Rik Van Looy

Ghent-Wevelgem 1956

Van Looy’s first classic victory.

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.

World title 1960 at the Sachsenring

Van Looy beat French sprinter André Darrigade and Pino Cerami to become world champion for the first time.

Paris-Roubaix 1961

Van Looy, wearing the rainbow jersey, recorded his first of three victories in Paris-Roubaix. Only the day before, the cast on his wrist that he had injured two weeks earlier in a fall in the Tour of Flanders was removed. He won the sprint on an idler.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège 1961

A victory thanks to his team, the famous red brigade that has four riders in the top five. Thanks to his victory in Liège, Van Looy becomes the first rider ever to win the five monuments. An important side note: at the time the Tour of Lombardy was not as selective as it is today. In 1959 he won with a bunch sprint.

Task in the Tour de France 1962

Although he did not have a climber’s body, Rik Van Looy dreamed of winning a Grand Tour. In 1958 he finished fourth in the Giro and third in the Vuelta and in 1965 he also stood on the podium in the Tour of Spain. In 1962 he made his debut in the Tour as one of the favorites for the overall victory, but had to retire in the eleventh stage after a collision with a press motorcycle. He reportedly received 8,000 letters of support at home afterwards.

Silver at the 1963 World Championships in Ronse

The loss of the world championship in Ronse against Benoni Beheyt remains one of the most dramatic and discussed moments of Van Looy’s career. Van Looy demanded the support of the Belgian team in exchange for a generous financial compensation, but in the sprint he was passed by his 22-year-old Benoni Beheyt. The country stood on its hind legs. Desmet, a teammate of Beheyt, was accused of deliberately starting the sprint too early.

Flèche Wallonne 1968

Van Looy was in the autumn of his career when he won the Flèche Wallonne, becoming the first to win all the major classics of his time at least once. It was also his last classic victory.