If not for Lance Armstrong, Eddy Merckx may have been nonpareil in cycling. While the latter dominated the sport in the 60s and 70s, the former was equally lethal at the turn of the century. Both overcame adversities to rule the world of cycling.
While Merckx overcame a horrific crash in 1969 to win the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia four times respectively, Armstrong survived cancer and went on to win seven Tour de France titles.
But when it comes to body of work and achievements Merckx wins hands down. The Belgian won all the races he participated in at least once. In the end, he had 425 major titles, while Armstrong’sclaim to fame is seven Tour de France titles. The American has never won at Giro or Tour of Spain — two big races after Tour de France.
While Merckx refused to be dragged into who is the greatest-ever debate, he pointed out that cycling is not only about Tour. “Most of the big name riders focus on Tour (referring to Tour de France). I agree it is the most important but cycling is not only about Tour. If everybody thinks like Armstrong their will be only one race,” said Merckx, in the city to launch Tour de Mumbai.
“The sport will benefit when star riders start races. Around my time, we used to compete all round the year,”he said. Merckx had participated in more than 1800 races.
Merckx could have raced more if not for the injury in 1969 which had taken a toll on his body. He retired at 32.
“It was never the same after the injury,” Merckx said. “When I won my first Tour, the second-placed rider was some 18 minutes behind. When I won it again in the next year the gap was down to 11 minutes. So you see it was difficult. I really worked hard and overcame mental barriers to achieve those records.”
Merckx is excited about duel between Armstrong and Alberto Contador. “It will not be easy for Lance. It’s not impossible either. At this point, Contador is the most complete rider. I hope Lance can win but it is not easy as there are so many other good riders,” said Merckx.
And yeah, Merckx was in India some 15 years ago and did find the
climbs in Leh more difficult that those in Tour or Giro. So don’t rule out the possibility of race in the Himalayan region in future.
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