Grand Tour Rehab

Eddy Merckx. Time Trial in the Giro d'Italia. Forte dei Marmi, Italy. 1974.

Photo by fototizio

Merckx on Kessel

Eddy Merckx bicycles used by many builders during his career. His natural tendancy of using a builder from his home country saw him come in contact with the Kessel family in the sixties. Kessel became his official builder making most of his Molteni-period bikes until 1971 when Colnago took over. Eddy Merckx also used Masi and Pella during his racing career. Merckx was a fanatic when it came to detail and is often seen measuring and fiddling with position of his bike.

Kessels, father and two sons in Oostende built framework of a very high standard you see in the pictures. They were sold under the brand Main d'Or. Kessels helped also to license the rights to Merck's name to Falcon in England, which paid £ 1 for each decal kit they used for their Merckx bikes. A curiosity: Main d'Or were imported into the U.S. of Western States Imports also sold bicycles under the brand Centurion-Diamondback.

Source: Cykle Hobby

Bullying Merckx

How did a man with a "Mad Heart" beat the cannibal? Well it was an Italian job of course. What am i going on about? Well the 1970's Race of the Fall of the Autumn Leaves or Giro di Lombardia. This is the race that more or less closes out the season. Our swan song before six day racing and sort days forcing us to dream about next years racing again.

Surprisingly Merckx only wore his national jersey one year during his dominance of cycling and it was 1970. Buy the tifosi yearned for a local to take their home race and another legend Felice Gimondi was outsprinted by Franco Bitossi. This is a character that I really do plan on reading up on, as he had a bit of a heart flutter and this saw him standing and waiting on the side of the road during races to get his heart rate down from 220! There is no other sport that has the amount of history and stories like cycling. No footballer or athlete simply stops in the middle of an event and still goes on to win the day.

Merckx had created the break away on one of the cobbled climbs but during the racing Gimondi and Bitossi went away and they stayed away due to the rest of the group not willing to help Merckx to pull them back. He worked all the way in true Merckian style but it was not to be his day as Motta also got away to take third spot on the podium. Bitossi was obviously spurned on by the Italian crowd and the fact that he was wearing the National Champions jersey, his heart problems staying away on the day and he beat Gimondi to the line. The last Britain to end in the top ten for the next two decades saw Billy Bilsland take 10th place and a pay rise for the next year.
Merckx would get the last laugh though and pull of a rare double of winning the Giro di Lombardia while attired in the Rainbow jersey. Chapeau

References:

• Pez Cycling
• VeloArchive
  

Merckx is still very much part of the Tour

The legend that put his stamp on the Tour and indeed cycling is still part of the Tour. Quickstep ride on bikes emboldened with his name and every fan only hopes to get a glimpse of this giant of cycling. I'm hoping that one day I can be one of those fans.

via Hilde Verhaege

All hail the Cannibal

Tour de France - Stage 2. This is Merckx territory and the Tour played special tribute to the Cannibal as he turned 65 this year.

Anquetil and Merckx 1975

A rare picture of Anquetil and Merckx together. Scan of cover of International Cycle Sport February 1975

via ddsiple

Merckx on the Ventoux 1970

More Merckx brilliance as he attacks this windy out crop of rock that has mezmerized us since its inclusion in the Tour

Faemino Eddy Merckx 1970

Belgian National Champion Eddy Merckx in 1970. While wearing this jersey the Cannibal went on to win eight stages of the Tour de France. In today's standards we're bowled over when some one like Cavendish comes along and wins six and those are sprint stages. This is why it will be a long time till we get a champion like this again. He truely dominated the races he competed in leading from the front. He ended up winning the Tour by almost 13 minutes and won all but the Maillot Vert.

via ddsiple

Going dotty

I was under the impression that sprinter's would often dominate the Tour. all the glory of the first few days has left me with the impression that many overall leaders would also have the green jersey tucked away beneath the yellow they sport on the final day of the trip around the french country side. I was mistaken! After taking a look at the records I see that the over all winner that has also won the points jersey has occurred only once, well twice but I'll get the the technical one a little later. The great Bernard Hinault whom I did an earlier post on happens to be the last winner of the Tour that also won another jersey to boot. So the Badger makes his way into another of my posts, this must be the tenacity that they spoke about.For the last quarter of a century the jersey has each been won by an individual rider.

It does seem the Polka dot jersey is more likely to adorn the winners shoulders come the Champs-Élysées. Seven is the number of times the two have been worn by the same rider. The greats likes Coppi, Bartali and Merckx all accomplished the double. The later has officially become my hero after I discovered that Edi Merckx managed to win all three jerseys in 1969. I mean the double is impressive but to come away with all the jerseys of the time is something that is truely amazing. I mention all the jerseys of the time, had the white jersey then been in use he would have added that to his coffer. I rasie my glass to you Mr Merckx.