Rik Van Looy has died at 90 ©Flanders Classic
He died this morning Rick Van Looyone of the strongest classics riders of all time. The news comes from his native Belgium, where he was much loved. The day after tomorrow he would have turned 91.
The Career of Rik Van Looy
Nicknamed “The Emperor of Herentals”, Van Looy was the first rider in history to win at least once all five races which over time have been defined as the classical monument: a Milan-Sanremo (1958), and Tour of Lombardy (1959), a Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1961), due Tour of Flanders (1959, 1962) and three Paris Roubaix (1961, 1962, 1965). Added to these great successes are 18 stages Vuelta12 al Tour of Italy and 7 al Tour de France e two world titles consecutive, in 1960 at the Sachsenring and in 1961 in Bern.
One of the most famous events of his career is linked to the world championship, which went down in history as Ronse’s betrayal. Van Looy could have won his third world title on home soil, reaching the all-time record for world championship victories at the time. The Belgian national team had controlled the entire race due to the sprint of its captain, who however was beaten at the finish line by his teammate Benoni Beheyt.
In total there are hundreds of road victories for one of the most representative racers of the Sixties, active from 1953 to 1970. To be King II intended as heir to Rik Van SteenbergenVan Looy has probably become an even more popular rider in Belgium and perhaps higher in a hypothetical all-time ranking than the three-time world champion. His career is mainly linked to Faema, the team in which he raced from 1956 to 1962, achieving many of his most important successes.
Merckx as heir
Solo Roger De Vlaeminck e Eddy Merckx they subsequently managed to win the five monument classics, although Van Looy remains the only one capable of conquering all eight classics originalseven winning Fleche-Wallonne, Paris-Brussels e Paris-Tours. Merckx himself also had time to become his teammate at the Solo-Superia in 1965, and effectively became its heir, even surpassing its record for number of victories.
After retiring Van Looy was sporting director for a few years, before becoming director of Flemish Cycling School of Herentals. For some years the Grand Prix Rik Van Looyarriving in the same Flemish city, won in the last edition by Simon Dehairs. One of the many traces that will remain of an authentic legend of Belgian and world cycling.
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