Full Description
'It is impossible to win everything he has won' - Tadej Pogacar
'Merckx ... is in a class by himself' - Jacques Anquetil
A FASCINATING ACCOUNT OF THE SURREAL EDDY MERCKX YEARS, WITH PREVIOUSLY UNTOLD ANECDOTES AND MEMORIES
For over 50 years, Eddy Merckx has reigned supreme as the greatest cyclist of all time, winning every bike race going: Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, La Vuelta, The Monuments, World Championships and the Hour Record. From 1967 to 1978, his insatiable appetite for victory won him over 500 races. With Tadej Pogacar's recent exploits inviting comparison with the man they called the 'Cannibal', this book re-examines Merckx's incredible lifetime of racing.
Former L'Équipe journalist Guy Roger has traversed Europe to talk to the officials and journalists who were there, to interview Merckx's former adversaries and teammates, and to reveal their accounts of racing with and against him. He has emerged with a unique and fascinating analysis of Merckx's incredible career.
Filled with anecdotes, insights and memories - many previously untold - this unique celebration features a moving Afterword from the great man himself. Eddy Merckx: Out On His Own sheds new light on the great man's courage, his self-doubts, the pain he suffered and the Merckx madness which drove him to often unnecessary, 100km-plus solo attacks.
Contents
Preface by Bernard Thévenet
Kemzeke
Woluwe - Saint-Pierre
La Cipale, Once
La Cipale, Twice
Orcières-Marseille-Menté
La Cipale, Fourth
La Cipale, Last
Pra-Loup
Alpe D'huez, 19 July 1977
Italy, Love and Betrayal
Savona
Orduña, 14 May 1973
San Remo
Meerbeke
Roubaix
Liège
Lombardy
Heerlen, Mendrisio, Montreal
49.431 Km
Opponents Interviews
Team-Mates Interviews
'What's Your Wattage?'
Successors
Inaccessible
Afterword by Eddy Merckx
Appendices
Acknowledgements
Index
