Death of cyclist Rik Van Looy, Belgian “Emperor” of classics – Libération

A newspaper delivery man by bicycle at the age of 12 who became the “Emperor” of cycling, before being swept away by mercxism, Rik Van Looy left his mark on the history of his sport. He died at the age of 90 this Wednesday, December 18, as reported by several Belgian media. This winner of all cycling monuments, considered one of the best riders of all time, also wore the world champion jersey twice (1960 and 1961).

Active in the 1950s to 1970s, the man who was nicknamed “the Emperor of Herentals” reigned supreme before the advent of Eddy Merckx at the end of the 1960s. The latter also saluted in a press release the memory of ‘a runner “almost unbeatable in the classics”. “Rik was a huge champion, an absolute icon with an incredible track record”says Le Cannibale who was his teammate for a season (1965) at Solo-Superia, for Van Looy’s last great season.

Imposing size

His imposing size (1.78 m for 73 kg) never allowed him to win a grand tour but thanks to his efficiency in sprinting Rik Van Looy was the first, before Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck, to win at least once the five monuments of cycling (eight successes in total), that is to say, in the canonical order of the calendar: Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix (three times), Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy. Above all, the Flandrian, who grew up on the outskirts of Antwerp, is the only one to have won all the classics of his time (sixteen victories in all, including the monuments), which Merckx, never a winner of Paris, did not achieve. -Towers.

Rik Van Looy has a total of 371 professional victories, including a handful of stages in the Vuelta (18), the Giro (12) and the Tour (7). He has the immense merit of having built up an extraordinary track record by having faced opponents of an exceptional level, from Rik Van Steenbergen to Eddy Merckx, including Fausto Coppi, Ferdi Kubler, Hugo Koblet, Louison Bobet, Jacques Anquetil or Charly Gaul.