Eddy Merckx, the greatness no one has yet equalled

Whether under the freezing rain of the Ligurian Riviera or on the fearsome slopes of the Blockhaus – made all the more brutal by the gearing of the day – the Baron was always merciless. Édouard Louis Joseph Merckx claimed a sizeable share of his 525 victories at the Giro d’Italia and on Italian roads. The ‘Cannibal’ turns 81 this Wednesday and, nearly half a century after hanging up his wheels, is still waiting for someone truly capable of inheriting his throne.

The genius from Meensel-Kiezegem was the first recipient of the honorary Trofeo Senza Fine in 2012, when he became an inaugural member of the Giro d’Italia Hall of Fame – the pantheon reserved for the sport’s immortals, even those who never had the privilege of lifting cycling’s most beautiful trophy. Yet even that tribute barely scratches the surface of the Belgian’s extraordinary exploits on Italian roads. Merckx remains the only rider to have completed the Giro-Tour double three times, holds the record for the most days spent in the Maglia Rosa (77), claimed 25 stage victories and, with five overall triumphs, shares the record for the most Giro d’Italia wins with Fausto Coppi.

Eddy Merckx at 81: still without equal

Merckx also left his unmistakable mark — and his equally unmistakable style, driven by boundless ambition and an unwillingness to yield to anything or anyone — on Milano-Sanremo, which he won a record 7 times, perhaps the most untouchable statistic in all of cycling. Even Tirreno Adriatico, a race that came into being only in 1966 and which he added to his schedule later in his career, could not escape his appetite. Yet the Race of the Two Seas remains one of the very few omissions on his glittering palmarès, with second place in 1976 representing his closest brush with victory.

While the debate over whether Tadej Pogačar — or anyone else — will one day come close to his greatness is destined to accompany every new generation, today we simply celebrate and send our warmest wishes to a man who, perhaps more than any other, shaped the history of the Giro d’Italia and of cycling itself. Following the health scares he faced earlier this year, we can only say: tanti auguri, Eddy!