November 8, 2007
By Brad Morgan
THE greatest cyclist of all time will take part in the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge on Sunday, 18 November. Eddy Merckx has confirmed that he will be in Johannesburg to take part in "Joburg's safest race".
'The Cannibal'
Nicknamed "The Cannibal" because of his hunger to win every race he entered, Merckx was also known as "the Einstein of two-wheelers", while Jacques Goddet, the director of the Tour de France from 1936 to 1986, simply called him "Le Géant" (The Giant).
World cycling's governing body, the UCI, named him its Cyclist of the Century; Belgium elected him its Athlete of the Century; and he was voted World Sportsman of the Year three times.
Such was Merckx's impact that there is even a tip of the cap to him in the comic book Asterix in Belgium, where he is featured as a fast runner.
Some of the younger generation of cyclists might not know that much about Merckx, but a look at his spectacular career will explain why he is regarded as the greatest cyclist of all time.
Tour de France legend
While Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France a record seven times, Merckx recorded five victories in the race. But he also achieved brilliant results in other major tours and classics.
The Belgian's record in the Tour de France included an amazing triple on his debut in the race in 1969, when he won the yellow jersey (overall leader), the green jersey (best sprinter), and the polka-dot jersey (king of the mountains); it is a feat that is unmatched in the history of cycling's most storied race.
Merckx's victory margin that year was almost 18 minutes, an almost unheard of advantage in professional cycling. In total, he recorded 34 stages wins in the Tour de France, including eight each in 1970 and 1974. He also wore the yellow jersey on more days than anyone else - 96 in all.
Grand Tour titles
Apart from his Tour de France successes, Merckx also posted victories in the sport's two other Grand Tour races: he won the Giro d'Italia five times and the Vuelta a España once. He recorded 24 stage wins in Italy and six in Spain.
He did the double three times, too - winning the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia in the same year - and his Italian successes included winning the general classification, sprinters' title, and climbers' jersey in the same year, 1968.
In 1971, he did the double of the Tour de France and Vuelta. In all the tours, he demonstrated an unparalleled versatility, able to better the rest whether it was in climbing, sprinting, or time-trialling.
He was a sensational performer in classics (one-day races) too, posting numerous victories, including seven in the prestigious Milan-San Remo, five in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège, three in the Paris-Roubaix, three in the Flèche Wallonne, and two in the Amstel Gold Race.
In addition, the Belgian superstar won the World Road Race Championships four times.
His career victory total was an astonishing 525, including 445 as a professional. In 1971, he had 54 wins in just 120 races.
Cycling royalty in Joburg
Merckx is cycling royalty - in fact, Belgium's king bestowed the title of baron on him in 1996. And he will be gracing Johannesburg's roads on 18 November, expecting to finish the Cycle Challenge in a time of about three hours. That's no mean feat for a man born in 1945.
He has close friends in South Africa and is a regular visitor to the country, but this is the first time one of his trips has coincided with the Cycle Challenge.
Some of the other big names competing in the race include Team Barloworld's Robbie Hunter and Mauricio Soler. Hunter sprinted to a sensational win on the eleventh stage of this year's Tour de France, while Soler scored an inspirational win on the ninth stage and went on to win the coveted polka dot jersey.
The race will be screened live on SuperSport for the first time, with commentary by the two men recognised as the greatest cycling commentators in the sport, Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, who are best known for their brilliant commentary during the Tour de France.
World legends
Merckx's success in his sport is comparable to only one other sportsman in history, ice-hockey great Wayne Gretzky, who was known simply as "The Great One".
When the Canadian legend retired, his number 99 was retired from the NHL. He owned 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, six All-Star records, won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, and he was named Most Valuable Player nine times, in addition to winning 10 scoring titles.
Only Gretzky dominated his sport to the same degree as "Le Géant". No other legends - including Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, or Kareem Abdul-Jabber in basketball; Babe Ruth in baseball; Muhammed Ali in boxing; Jack Nicklaus, or Tiger Woods in golf; Pelé in soccer; Michael Schumacher in Formula One; or Roger Federer in tennis - managed to totally dominate their sports for as long as a decade, which "The Cannibal" and "The Great One" managed to do.
Source: The official South African portal: southafrica.info
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