Merckx  (měrks)  Belgian cyclist. He is one of five people to have won the Tour de France five times (1969-1972, 1974). |
Merckx, Eddy
Belgian champion bicycle racer, arguably the greatest professional rider ever. In a professional career stretching from 1965 to 1978, he recorded 445 victories in 1,585 races. During his peak years (1969-75), he won some 35 percent of the races he entered. Because the focus of the sport has become specialized since Merckx's era-the stars of one-day classics do not usually shine in multiday stage races, and vice versa-nobody is likely to approach his total wins. He was nicknamed "the Cannibal" for his voracious appetite for victories.
Learn more about Merckx, Eddy with a free trial on Britannica.com.