Rik Van Looy, Belgian cycling legend, has died at the age of 90a few days before his birthday. Known as “The Emperor of Herentals”, he was one of the greatest riders in the history of cycling, the first to win all five Monument Classics: Milan-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Tour of Lombardy. His career, from 1954 to 1970, was marked by 379 overall victories, including 37 stages in the Grand Tours (18 in the Vuelta, 12 in the Giro and 7 in the Tour), and two consecutive world road titles (1960 and 1961).
Power and sprint
Van Looy began cycling as a boy delivering newspapers, and once he became a professional cyclist, thanks to his physical power and sprinting ability, he became a symbol of one-day racing. In addition to the Monument Classics, he also won prestigious races such as the Fleche Wallone, the Paris-Brussels and the Paris-Tourslike champions such as Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck. Despite being a great specialist in one-day races, Van Looy also achieved significant placings in stage races, such as two third places in the Vuelta (1959 and 1965) and fourth place in the Giro d’Italia in 1959.
Indelible imprint
Known for his strong character and leadership within the group, Van Looy has faced rivals such as Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx. He was Belgian champion on the road twice (1958 and 1963) and on the track in the American race (1968 and 1969). In 2018 the UCI established the Rik Van Looy Grand Prix in his honor, a race that ends in his Herentals. With his deathcycling loses one of its most long-lived and charismatic icons, capable of leaving an indelible mark both on the road and on the track.
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