Published: 18/12/2024 12:43
The world of Cycling comes together for a final farewell to a legendary champion. Rick van Looyknown as the “Emperor of Herentals”, passed away between Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 December at the age of 90 years oldsurrounded by the affection of his loved ones. Champion he has marked the history of cycling internationally over the years ’50 e ’60Van Looy subtraction the only runner to have conquered all 8 original cycling classicsincluding the five Monuments.
A legendary list of achievements
Born in 1933, Van Looy collected 367 career victories, establishing himself as one of the most complete and successful cyclists of all time. He triumphed in all five Monument: the Parigi-Roubaix (three times), the Tour of Flanders (twice), the Milan-Sanremothe Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy. His domination didn’t stop there: he also won prestigious classics like the Walloon ArrowParis-Brussels and Paris-Tours, setting a record still unmatched.
The World Cup and Ronse’s bitterness
Van Looy was two-time world champion: In the 1960 at the Sachsenring and in 1961 in Bern. In the 1963in Ronse, came close to making it three of a kind, but was betrayed by one of his followers, Benoni Beheytwho did not respect team orders and took the victory from him at the finish line, leaving him with a bitter silver.
After leaving professionalism in 1970Van Looy continued to live for cycling. It was sports director and contributed to the creation of the “Flemish Cycling School”, a school for young talents in his Herentals. And the name of his city entered history together with the nickname by which he was known: “Emperor of Herentals“.
The victories that created the myth of Rik van Looy
- World Cup: 1960 e 1961
- Belgian Championship: 1958 e 1963
- Parigi-Roubaix: 1961, 1962 e 1965
- Tour of Flanders: 1959 e 1962
- Milan-Sanremo: 1958
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 1961
- Tour of Lombardy: 1959
- Gand-Wevelgem: 1956, 1957 e 1962
- Paris-Brussels: 1956 e 1958
- Paris-Tours: 1959 e 1967
- Walloon Arrow: 1968
- Tour de France: 7 stage victories and points classification 1963
- Tour of Italy: 12 stage victories and mountain classification 1960
- Vuelta de España: 18 stage victories and points classification 1959 and 1965
