[QUOTE=MichaelW]That Mercx jr never outshone Mercx sr is hardly surprising. It is an example of the well-observed phenomenem of "return to the mean"

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I understand the point being made but the Merckx father/son combo may not be the best example to illustrate this. No one questions Eddie's place in cycling history. But Axel has been a pro rider for years, ridden a few grand tours, classics and recently won the Olympic road bronze. It would appear both riders are at the extreme tail of the human cycling capability distribution curve

Another point that shouldn't be overlooked. Most sports today are more difficult to excel at because the pool of people trying and participating in them continues to grow. The larger the pool of participants the less likely an individual has at being the "best". Take out the USers, eastern Europeans, Aussies, and Columbians from the '04 TDF and how many notches does someone like Axel move up? Not to take away from Eddie's accomplishments but he didn't have those populations in the field when he was riding and hence statistically had an easier go at it