The first ever English-language biography of Eddy Merckx, by William Fotheringham, Britain's top cycling writer attempts to answer this question.
Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pelé to football: quite simply, the best there has ever been.Throughout his professional career Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories. Lance Armstrong, by comparison, managed fewer than 100.
Merckx was a machine. It wasn't just the number of victories; it was his remorseless domination that created the legend. In 1969 while already comfortably leading the Tour de France, Merckx hammered a further eight-and-a-half minutes out of his nearest rivals during an 85-mile solo break in the Pyrenees. He didn't just beat his opponents, he crushed them.
When I first got interested in cycling as a sport Eddy was the daddy. And he still is. His records and achievements remain unsurpassed. In one Tour de France he won the overall race, the green points jersey (the title Mark Cavendish won in 2011) and the Polka dot jersey for the best climber - that's right - all three!!!! - No one else has ever done that.
I've often thought why it is that no one had written a book about Eddy - there have been a couple of compilations and fairly lightweight affairs - but now there are two new books out in the same month! - I've ordered them both - can't wait!
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