Who is Eddy Merckx ?
# Eddy Mercks, christened as Edouard Louis Joseph on 17 June 1945 in the city of Meensel-Keizegem in Belgium.
# Merckx a road and track racer/athlete.
# He has a height of 6 feet 1 inches. Merckx loved to ride his bicycle at the age of three and he won the Petit-Enghien race in 1961.
# Merckx turned to professional races in 1965 when signed with Solo-Superia.
# Then in 1966 Merckx moved to Peugot.
# At the age of 20, Merckx won the race.
# Then following the success at Peugeot, Merckx moved to the Italian team Faeme in 1968 and then moved on to win the Giro championship in 1968 at the very first try.
# But at the height of his success, Merckx had many difficulties.
# The public did not like him winning every race since they had other favorites.
# In 1975, Merckx was punched to the kidneys and he also lost the grand tour since 1969.
# But Merckx had unquenchable thirst for victory for which he was nicknamed “The Cannibal”.
# At a time when cycling was mostly motivated by the monetary objectives, Merckx was a hero who had a passion for victory.
# He did make good money off the races but it was not his primary motive.
# Merckx was possibly the best cyclist ever since he won the Tour de France, the Giro and the Vuelta repeatedly.
# He also won the Paris Nice, the grand tours, season classics and the World Championships. Merckx did it all.
# The cannibal devoured everything you could possibly throw at him.
# Eddy Merckx had his last race in the cycling race in Kemzeke on the tour of Waasland in1978. He then retired and founded a cycling company in Meise.
# In 1996, he was made a Baron by the Belgian King.
# Merckx had 525 major victories throughout his career.
# He is credited with having an integral role to start the Tour of Qatar in 2002 and the Tour of Oman.
# He actually co-owns the Tour of Oman.
# Axel Merckx was also in the professional cycling from 1993 to 2007.
# Merckx had suffered from hypertropic cadriomyopathy and had to be provided with a pacemaker in 2013.
# Merckx was involved with many failed doping tests in his career which led to the him being prohibited in the 2007 UCI Road World Championships held in Germany.
# But there always has been a controversy that he had been framed.
# In 2009, the book Merckxissimo was unveiled in Brussels having 51 chapters.
# He is considered as one of the leading Belgians.
# Merckx thus is considered by many as the greatest and most successful cyclists of all time.
# His nickname and passion is embodied in his following statement, “The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won’t be able to look at myself in the mirror.”
Who is Eddy Merckx Dating ?
Merckx dated Clauding Acou since 1965 and married her in December 5, 1967.
They have two children together Sabrina and Axel.
What is Eddy Merckx Net Worth ?
Eddy Merckx is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is widely seen as the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling.
He has an estimated net worth of $20 million.
Quick Facts
- Birthday: June 17, 1945 (age 72 years)
- Birth Place: Meensel-Kiezegem
- Birth Name: Edouard Louis Joseph
- Famous As: Eddy Merckx
- Current team: Retired
- Tour de France wins: 1972 Tour de France, 1971 Tour de France, 1970 Tour de France, 1969 Tour de France
- Nicknames: The monster, The Cannibal
- Books: The Fabulous World of Cycling: Season 1984, Garin
- Did you know: Eddy Merckx has won the most stages at all three cycling Grand Tours (64).
- Height: 6 feet 1 inches
- Affairs/Dating: Clauding Acou
- Profession: Belgian bicycler
- Net Worth: $20 million
