Today, June 17th Eddy Merckx turns 70. The greatest cyclist of all time, no doubt about that, but a decent human being too –ask his former teammates and competitors. This may be a fitting opportunity to relate the following anecdote.

After his career, longtime teammate Jos Deschoenmaecker (an excellent climber and as such an invaluable help to Eddy in many mountain stages) found a job in some steel factory . One day he suffered a terrible accident there in which he lost all the fingers of his right hand. Eddy was the first person to visit him in hospital and try to cheer him up a little. When Jos expressed serious doubts as to ever being able to go on a sunday ride again with Eddy and the others, Merckx reassured him saying he’d think of something. He then phoned the Campagnolo factory and asked them to design a customized brake- and shiftsystem (front & rear brakes, FD & RD) which could be controlled by only the left hand – which they promptly did, making two old friends very happy indeed.

Jos has always maintained that -apart from his family- Eddy is the most important person in his life .



R-E-S-P-E-C-T + happy birthday!

I'm going to window shop for some Eddy Merckx bikes on e-Bay as I honor this greatest of riders. I would love to be able to see him destroy some of the more celebrated riders of more recent times, but such is time.

LLAP.

And great anecdote about Eddy - I wonder if there are some pics around of that one-handed setup.

Don't know about any close-up shots of the setup, but I managed to find a picture of him riding, taken a couple of years ago :



And here he is many years ago leading Eddy on a climb :

Not as an individual but I get a chuckle when described for his cycling - 'half man / half bike'.

Also for thought. Could you imagine back when being his domestique?

Nice shots, thanks.

I've been mildly interested in competition cycling since my mid-teens/the mid-70s, but never an avid follower; however, it was quite obvious to me at the time that Eddy was "the Man", and I count myself among his admirers. I'm glad he achieved and has held his standing at the pinnacle of competition cycling history, and that his personal lustre continues to shine.
Happy Birthday Eddy, and many happy returns of the Day!

Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday, man, 70 already, time sure goes by fast, and in a blink of eye it'll be eternity. I bet he could still beat 99% of the riders on this forum. Congrats to him and congrats on getting back into shape, he looks great.