Eddy Merckx is widely considered to be the greatest bicycle racer in history. [1] His eleven Grand Tour victories are the most ever, and he also won a record of 28 classic cycle races, in addition to a prolific career as an amateur and on the track. [2]
Limited list, only mentioning 1st places. Source: [3] [4] [5]
1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vuelta a España | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | 1 | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE |
Stages won | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | — |
Mountains classification | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — |
Points classification | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Giro d'Italia | DNE | DNE | 9 | 1 | DSQ | 1 | DNE | 1 | 1 | 1 | DNE | 8 | DNE |
Stages won | — | — | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | — | 4 | 6 | 2 | — | 0 | — |
Mountains classification | — | — | 3 | 1 | DSQ | 4 | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | 7 | — |
Points classification | — | — | 2 | 1 | DSQ | 3 | — | 2 | 1 | 4 | — | 2 | — |
Tour de France | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | DNE | 1 | 2 | DNE | 6 |
Stages won | — | — | — | — | 6 | 8 | 4 | 6 | — | 8 | 2 | — | 0 |
Mountains classification | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | 2 | — | 11 |
Points classification | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | 2 | — | 5 |
World Championship | 29 | 12 | 1 | 8 | DNF | 29 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 33 |
1 | Winner |
2–3 | Top three-finish |
4–10 | Top ten-finish |
11– | Other finish |
DNE | Did not enter |
DNF-x | Did not finish (retired on stage x) |
DNS-x | Did not start (not started on stage x) |
HD | Finished outside time limit (occurred on stage x) |
DSQ | Disqualified |
N/A | Race/classification not held |
NR | Not ranked in this classification |
Monument | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Milan–San Remo | 1 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 98 |
Tour of Flanders | DNF | 3 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 76 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 17 | DNF |
Paris–Roubaix | 15 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
Liège–Bastogne–Liège | 8 | 2 | — | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 6 | 6 |
Giro di Lombardia | 2 | 7 | 3 | — | 4 | 1 | 1 | DSQ | 2 | 6 | — | — |
Race | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giro di Sardegna | — | 28 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 20 |
Paris–Nice | 4 | 10 | DNF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | DNF |
Tirreno–Adriatico | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — |
Volta a Catalunya | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tour of the Basque Country | X | X | X | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tour of Belgium | 11 | — | DNF | — | 1 | 1 | — | ? | — | — | 26 | — |
Grand Prix du Midi Libre | 11 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 7 |
Tour de Romandie | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | 7 |
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 10 | — | 8 |
Tour de Suisse | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | 12 |
— | Did not compete |
---|---|
DNF | Did not finish |
In his best year, Merckx won almost every other race he rode. Merckx won the equivalent of a race a week for six years. [6] This table shows his strike rate of wins as a percentage of races undertaken. [5]
Year | Races | Won | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
1961 | 14 | 1 | 7,7% |
1962 | 55 | 23 | 41,8% |
1963 | 78 | 28 | 35,9% |
1964 | 74 | 24 | 32,4% |
1965 | 74 | 13 | 17,6% |
1966 | 95 | 20 | 21,1% |
1967 | 113 | 26 | 23,0% |
1968 | 129 | 32 | 24,8% |
1969 | 129 | 43 | 33,3% |
1970 | 138 | 52 | 37,7% |
1971 | 120 | 54 | 45,0% |
1972 | 127 | 50 | 39,4% |
1973 | 136 | 51 | 37,5% |
1974 | 140 | 38 | 27,1% |
1975 | 151 | 38 | 25,2% |
1976 | 111 | 15 | 13,5% |
1977 | 119 | 17 | 14,3% |
1978 | 5 | 0 | 0,0% |
Overall: 1808 races entered, 525 wins for a win rate of 29%. [7]
1961–1964: Amateur results. 5 of the 74 races in 1965 were as amateur, of which 4 were won.
Discipline | Record | Date | Event | Velodrome | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hour record | 49.431 km | 25 October 1972 | — | Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome, Mexico City | [8] |
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