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Eddy Merckx

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Athlete

The Resume

    (June 17, 1945- )
    Born in Meensel-Klezegem, Belgium
    Road and track cyclist
    Five-time winner of the Tour de France (1969-72,1974)
    Founded Eddy Merckx Cycles (1980)
    Coached the Belgian national team (1985-96)
    Organized the Tour of Qatar (2002) and Tour of Oman (2010)
    Made a baron by King Albert II (1996)
    Nicknamed ‘the Cannibal’ for his insatiable appetite for victory

Why he might be annoying:

    He dropped out of high school to race.
    On three occasions, he was suspended for a month after testing positive for banned stimulants (1969,1973,1977).
    He was accused of giving the police commissioner of Brussels and his wife two top-end bicycles from his company in order to win a contract to supply bikes for officers (2007).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He said about his aggressive approach to the sport, ‘The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won’t be able to look at myself in the mirror.’
    He was the first rider to achieve cycling’s Triple Crown – winning the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and World Championship in the same year (1974).
    He lost much of his memorabilia and trophies when his house was robbed.
    He was struck by a car while cycling, hospitalizing him with a broken shoulder, damaged knee and torn hip ligaments (2014).
    In a 2005 TV poll, he was named the third greatest Belgian of all time (and was the only living person in the top ten).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 68.75% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying