Rik Van Looy
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Henri "Rik" Van Looy (20 December 1933 – 18 December 2024) was a Belgian professional cyclist of the post-war period. Nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals (after the small Belgian city where he lived), he dominated the classic cycle races in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Van Looy was twice world professional road race champion, and was the first cyclist to win all five 'Monuments': the most prestigious one-day classics – a feat since achieved by just two others (both also Belgians: Roger De Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx).
With 367 professional road victories, he ranks second all-time behind Eddy Merckx. Van Looy is ninth on the all-time list of Grand Tour stage winners with thirty-seven victories.[1] These numbers could still have risen had he not been the victim of a significant number of falls resulting in serious injuries. Remarkable was his sporting rivalry with two other cycling legends: namely the successful Rik Van Steenbergen at the beginning of Van Looy's career.[2] Conversely, Van Looy had to face the generational change with a young Eddy Merckx at the end of his career.[3]
Early life
[edit]Rik Van Looy was born in 1933 in Grobbendonk, in the Antwerp Province. As a child, Van Looy was fascinated by cycling. Before the age of 13, he worked as a paper boy. The foundation of his further career was laid in that period, by daily riding on a packed, much too heavy bicycle.
In his very first races as a youngster, however, he did not yet stand out as the big talent.
Career
[edit]Amateur years
[edit]Van Looy rose to prominence when he won the Belgian amateur road championship in 1952. He repeated the victory the following year, adding third place in the world title race the same year, before turning professional. He took part in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, participating in the road race, but without completing it. Instead, he and his teammates won the gold medal in the team road race.[4] At the age of 19, Van Looy won the bronze medal in the World Championship amateur road race in Lugano.
1953–1960
[edit]A powerful sprinter, Van Looy won two races in what was left of his first professional season (1953), and 20 more over the next couple of seasons. In 1956, his victories included Gent–Wevelgem and Paris–Brussels, plus two stages and overall victory in the Tour of the Netherlands. He also won a silver medal in the world road race championship, behind his countryman Rik Van Steenbergen (whom the team was obliged to ride for).
He repeated his Gent–Wevelgem and Tour of the Netherlands victories in 1957, and in 1958, Van Looy won the season's opening classic, Milan–San Remo.
1959 saw Van Looy take the early-season Tour of Flanders and the autumn classic, the Giro di Lombardia. In between, he scored another 38 victories, including three stages of the Vuelta a España (finishing third overall and winning the points competition) and four stages of the Giro d'Italia (for 4th overall).
1961–1966
[edit]In 1960, he scored the first of two consecutive victories in the world road race championship, but "classic" victories eluded him. However, he made up for this in 1961, winning both Paris–Roubaix and Liège–Bastogne–Liège – making him the first rider to take all five 'Monuments' – as well as retaining his rainbow world title jersey, and taking three stages, plus the mountains competition in the Giro d' Italia.
Van Looy scored two more Classic wins in 1962 (Paris–Roubaix, Tour of Flanders), took another Gent–Wevelgem, and two more Giro stages. At the age of 28, he made his debut in the 1962 Tour de France as one of the major favorites. Van Looy's strategy was to exhaust co-favorites Federico Bahamontes and Jacques Anquetil before the mountain stages started. However, after ten stages in which Van Looy gave a spectacle, he was forced to abandon the Tour due a collision with a motorcyclist. Tour director Jacques Goddet publicly regretted his departure.
"My main rival in the tours wasn’t Baldini, Gaul or Poulidor. It was Van Looy. I had to match him in the flat stages and even in the mountains, because if I didn’t, he would turn up in the time-trials with a 15-minute advantage."
In 1963 Van Looy rode the Tour de France again, taking four stages en route to victory in the points competition and a 10th place on general classification. He also grabbed a silver medal in the world title race. In the latter race, held in Ronse in his native Belgium, he was beaten in the sprint by his countryman Benoni Beheyt who manually pushed Van Looy aside. Van Looy, starting the sprint too early, did not take this defeat lightly. This race has remained memorable in the history of Belgian cycling.
In 1965, he scored 42 victories, including Paris–Roubaix, and eight stages of the Vuelta on his way to his second third place overall (his highest placing in a Grand Tour). Van Looy also took two stages in the Tour de France.
1966–1970
[edit]During the final years of his career, Rik Van Looy's road performances began to fade, as the new Belgian star Eddy Merckx rose to prominence, but he still grabbed second in the 1967 Paris–Roubaix. He won La Flèche Wallonne in 1968, becoming the only cyclist to win all 8 original classics. Van Looy also took a stage of the 1969 Tour de France. His rivalry with Eddy Merckx reached the height of sabotage of Merckx in the world championships organized in Belgium, in 1969.[6]
Track cycling career
[edit]Van Looy was also a star on the track, winning 12 Six-day races. His first came in Brussels in 1957, his last in Antwerp in 1968. For ten of these victories, he was paired with Dutchman Peter Post.
In the winter of 1956 he was paired with Rik Van Steenbergen for some track races. Events that many looked forward to, but the plans were shelved after they both had arguments during the 1956 world championship in Copenhagen. The two Riks would eventually ride together in a few Six-days races in 1963.
Riding style
[edit]Van Looy was a very powerful sprinter, rather heavy for his height due to his muscular legs. In mountain stages, he was usually able to keep up the pace, but less able to make the difference.
The power he could exert was unprecedented at the time. During his victory in 1961 UCI Road World Championships, his back wheel collapsed just after he crossed the finish line because his powerful stroke had ripped out several of the spokes.[2] This incident earned him the nickname “The Wheelbreaker”.[7]
Despite his sprint qualities, he usually wanted to avoid the sprint by escaping earlier. Van Looy enjoyed the cheering of the crowd more during solo arrivals. There was no time for that, while participating in a sprint and preparing for it.
Van Looy's popularity was mainly due to his attacking style of cycling. His early escapes already quickly created excitement in races in which he participated.[8]
He could also motivate himself knowing he was being chased by competitors. This is also why he did not excel in individual time trials, it fascinated him less. Yet that shortcoming is hard to link with a man who could ride in the lead for miles without a flinch, visibly hurting his opponents. The more calculated riding during stage races, was at odds with his attacking style. As a result, he never won the overall classification in a Grand Tour, which also always included time trials. He did win overall victories in shorter stage races (in the 1965 Giro di Sardegna for example, by winning 5 out of 6 stages).[9]
Leadership
[edit]Van Looy did not spare himself during preparations for races, which were characterized by spartan training methods combined with a carefully selected diet.
Gradually, he stood out for his dominant character, both in his team and in the peloton. His leadership was strict, but always fair. Because of him, the term "team captain" was brought to a higher level. He worked out the fledgling leader-domestique system to perfection, and the team had to ride entirely in his service. Instead of the team manager, he himself decided the tactics, which riders were best suited for this and even what they would earn.
The Flandria-Faema team that was built around Van Looy was nicknamed the Red Brigade by the peloton and public, after the red jerseys the riders wore.[10]
1963 World Championship incident
[edit]The 1963 world championship in Ronse seemed an ideal opportunity to triumph a third time, with a course that suited Van Looy, and this time supported by a home crowd.
The Belgian team would be riding completely for Van Looy, but during the race it turned out that Gilbert Desmet and Benoni Beheyt (both riding for a different brand team than Van Looy) had other plans. At the end of the race, Desmet escaped and Van Looy was forced to start the sprint much earlier than expected, after which Beheyt (pushing away on Van Looy's shoulder) eventually finished first.
The jury only briefly considered the problem of the obviously irregular sprint and did not change the final result. The medals were awarded in front of a rather confused audience, with both Van Looy and Beheyt having a hard time smiling. The story about the Betrayal of Ronse dragged on for a long time in the press and public, and crowds of people showed up at races where both gentlemen would start.
It didn't really seem to bother Van Looy, he enjoyed the commotion that cycling caused. Nevertheless, it is suggested that he systematically thwarted Beheyt's career afterwards. Fact is that the latter already stopped cycling a few years later at the age of 27, also due to injury problems.
The two gentlemen turned out to be on good terms after that, although neither of them seldom wanted to talk about the 1963 world championship again in interviews.[11]
Retirement
[edit]On 22 August 1970, after a race, Van Looy decided to quit professional cycling immediately and in all discretion. Unlike his predecessor Rik Van Steenbergen, he resolutely refused a lucrative "farewell tour" via criteria and track races. Neither was he interested in a high-paying farewell cycling race in the Antwerp Sports Palace.
Not surprisingly, he subsequently was appointed as team manager for Willem II–Gazelle. Afterwards he became a driver-consultant for a newspaper and magazine during races and in a later phase director of the Flemish cycling school in Herentals, the city of which he is now an honorary citizen.
In his house nothing reminds of his glorious past. "What's past is past. All the trophies, jerseys and medals,... I've given it all away. To charities, supporters and friends, it means more to them than to me" Van Looy once mentioned.[12]
Personal life and death
[edit]
Rik Van Looy married Nini Mariën in 1955. Both formed a close-knit couple. Nini was partly behind the top career Rik Van Looy was able to build. She was one of the most famous riders' wives in the peloton in the 1950s and 1960s, and put her life entirely at the service of Van Looy's career.
After a lingering illness, she died in 2021 at the age of 88. By then, Van Looy had already withdrawn from public life for a while to assist her. "She has done so much for me, now it's my turn" Van Looy said.[13]
The couple had a daughter and a son. Van Looy rode on incentives, which could also come from his family. When he lectured his young son by saying "when will you come home with a good school report again?" the boy's response was "when will you win another classic again?" The following week, the 34-year-old Van Looy won La Flèche Wallonne.
Van Looy died on 18 December 2024, at the age of 90.[14]
Legacy
[edit]Given the specialization of a cyclist's role in the modern peloton, Rik Van Looy's number of professional road race victories will most likely never be surpassed in the future.
Van Looy is also probably the most popular rider Belgium has ever known. Obviously because of his victories and his attacking way of cycling. But his constant accessibility towards supporters, combined with his honest no-nonsense style in interviews contributed even more to this. Common people could identify with him, in contrast to the less language-savvy Eddy Merckx. Even when Merckx's performances began to surpass those of Van Looy, he seemed to have more opponents among Belgian cycling fans, compared to Van Looy.
In addition, Van Looy had a "clean image", compared to many of his colleagues and the generations of cyclists that would follow. "My performances started to improve significantly after I started following the training schedules and diets of doctor Dries Claes, which I had to convince to start a collaboration. As he was outspokenly opposed to doping in sports, and even a member of the anti-doping commission, the use of banned substances was completely out of the question." Van Looy mentioned in a 2023 interview.[15][16]
Awards and honours
[edit]
- Trophée Edmond Gentil: 1959[17]
- Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1961[18]
- General Tour de France Combativity Award: 1963[19]
- Stage Combativity Awards (8): 4 in 1963, 1 in 1962, 1964, 1965 & 1966
- Swiss AIOCC Trophy (fr): 1982[20]
- UCI Hall of Fame: 2002[21]
- Mémoire du Cyclisme – The Greatest Cyclists: 11th place: 2002[22]
- Sports Personality of the Antwerp province: 2005[23]
- Honorary citizen of Grobbendonk: 2012[24]
- Statue in Herentals: 2017[25]
- Grote Prijs Rik Van Looy: from 2018[26]
- Bust in Grobbendonk: 2021[27]
- Mural in KOERS Museum, Roeselare: 2023[28]
- Exposition Van Looy 90 in Herentals: 2023[29]
- ProcyclingStats – All Time Wins Ranking: 2nd place (162 wins)[30]
- ProCyclingStats – All Time Ranking: 8th place[31]
- CyclingRanking – Overall All Time Ranking: 12th place[32]
- UCI Top 100: 16th place
Through his career, several vinyl singles about Van Looy were released by Belgian and Dutch artists.[33]
Records
[edit]- The only cyclist to win all 8 original classics: the 5 Monuments plus Paris–Tours, Paris–Brussels and La Flèche Wallonne
- Winner of all 5 Monuments of Cycling (record shared with Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck)
- Winner of all 3 cobbled classics in one season: 1962 (record shared with Tom Boonen)
- Former record of most races won by a professional cyclist: 367 (1961–1972)
Major results
[edit]Road
[edit]- 1952
- 1st
Team road race, Olympic Games - 1st
Road race, National Amateur Championships - 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten Amateurs
- 2nd Brussels–Opwijk (fr)
- 1953
- 1st Road race, National Amateur Championships
- 1st Ronde van Midden-Nederland
- 1st Heistse Pijl
- 1st Omloop Het Volk U23
- 1st Stage 5 Tour of Austria
- 3rd
Road race, UCI World Amateur Championships - 7th Paris–Tours
- 1954
- 1st Roubaix–Huy
- 1st Stage 3a Driedaagse van Antwerpen
- 2nd Overall Tour of Belgium
- 4th Scheldeprijs
- 1955
- 1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
- 2nd Heistse Pijl
- 3rd Omloop van Midden-België
- 1956
- 1st Road race, National Interclubs Championships
- 1st
Overall Ronde van Nederland
- 1st Stages 3, 4b (TTT) & 6
- 1st
Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
- 1st Stages 2a
- 1st Gent–Wevelgem
- 1st Paris–Brussels
- 1st Scheldeprijs
- 1st De Drie Zustersteden
- 2nd
Road race, UCI World Championships - 2nd Nationale Sluitingsprijs
- 2nd Heistse Pijl
- 2nd Omloop van de Fruitstreek
- 5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 8th Omloop Het Volk
- 1957
- 1st Overall Ronde van Nederland
- 1st Stages 2, 3a, 3b (TTT) & 6a
- 1st Gent–Wevelgem
- 1st Scheldeprijs
- 1st Coppa Bernocchi
- 1st Schaal Sels-Merksem
- 1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
- 1st GP Roeselare
- 1st Stage 6a Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico delle Nazioni
- 4th Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
- 1st Stages 3a & 3b
- 2nd Classica Sarda
- 2nd Circuit des Trois Provinces
- 2nd Omloop van Midden-België
- 3rd Omloop van het Houtland
- 4th Road race, UCI World Championships
- 4th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- 5th Omloop Het Volk
- 6th Paris–Tours
- 7th Milano–Torino
- 1958
- National Championships
- 1st Road race
- 1st Interclubs road race
- 1st
- 1st Milan–San Remo
- 1st Coppa Bernocchi
- 1st Milano-Mantova
- 1st Paris–Brussels
- 1st GP Dr. Eugeen Roggeman
- Vuelta a España
- 1st Stages 4, 5b, 6, 9 & 10
- Held after Stages 9–11
- Vuelta a Levante
- 1st Stages 1, 3 (TTT), 4 & 8
- 1st Stage 2 Tour of Belgium
- 2nd Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
- 1st Stage 2a
- 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
- 2nd Omloop Het Volk
- 3rd Overall Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Stage 3
- 3rd Paris–Roubaix
- 3rd Nationale Sluitingsprijs
- 4th Paris–Tours
- 4th Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
- 4th Omloop van het Houtland
- 5th Overall Ronde van Nederland
- 10th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 1959
- 1st
Overall Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Stages 2, 4 & 6
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Levante
- 1st
Points classification - 1st Stages 2, 6, & 7
- 1st
- 1st Tour of Flanders
- 1st Giro di Lombardia
- 1st
Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen - 1st Paris–Tours
- 1st Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
- 1st GP Stad Vilvoorde
- 1st Tielt-Antwerpen-Tielt
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st
Points classification - 1st Stages 1b, 8, 9 & 11
- 1st
- 3rd Overall Super Prestige Pernod
- 4rd Overall Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stages 1, 5, 11 & 14
- Held
after Stage 1
- 4th Paris–Roubaix
- 5th Road race, National Championships
- 5th Scheldeprijs
- 5th Paris–Brussels
- 5th Critérium des As
- 9th Trofeo Baracchi (with Raymond Impanis)
- 1960
- 1st
Road race, UCI World Championships - 1st Ronde van Brabant
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st Mountains classification
- 1st Stages 7b, 8 & 11
- 1st
- Paris–Nice
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stage 2 (TTT), 5 & 8b
- 1st
- Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Stages 4 & 5
- 2nd Sassari-Cagliari
- 2nd Weekend ardennais
- 3rd Tour of Flanders
- 3rd Critérium des As
- 4th Road race, National Championships
- 4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 5th Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
- 1st Stage 2a
- 6th Milan–San Remo
- 7th Paris–Brussels
- 8th La Flèche Wallonne
- 1961
- 1st Road race, UCI World Championships
- 1st
Overall Tour of Belgium
- 1st Stages 4a (TTT) & 4b
- 1st Paris–Roubaix
- 1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 1st Critérium des As
- 1st Bol d'Or des Monédières
- 1st Heusden Koers
- 2nd Milan–San Remo
- 3rd Overall Super Prestige Pernod
- 6th Overall Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Stages 2 & 6
- 7th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stages 13, 15 & 17
- 7th Overall Paris–Nice
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 7 & 8
- 1st
- 7th Paris–Brussels
- 1962
- 1st Overall Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Stages 3 & 5b
- 1st Paris–Roubaix
- 1st Tour of Flanders
- 1st Gent–Wevelgem
- 1st Textielprijs Vichte
- 1st Memorial Fred De Bruyne
- 1st Grand Prix du Parisien (TTT)
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stages 9 & 11
- Paris–Nice
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 7a (TTT), 7b & 9b
- 1st
- 1st Stage 2b (TTT) Tour de France
- 2nd Schelde-Dender-Leie
- 3rd Rund um den Henninger Turm
- 3rd Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
- 4th Overall Tour of Belgium
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 3 & 4a (TTT)
- 1st
- 6th Critérium des As
- 8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 1963
- 1st Road race, National Championships
- 1st Boucles de l'Aulne
- 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten
- Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 1st Stages 2 & 5
- 2nd Road race, UCI World Championships
- 2nd Overall Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Stage 4
- 2nd Paris Roubaix
- 3rd Overall Paris–Nice
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 1, 4 & 8
- 1st
- 3rd Critérium des As
- 6th Tour of Flanders
- 7th Brussels–Ingooigem
- 8th Gent–Wevelgem
- 10th Overall Tour de France
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 2a, 8, 13 & 21
Combativity award
- 1st
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- 1964
- 1st Overall Paris–Luxembourg
- 1st Stage 1
- 1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
- 1st Boucles de l'Aulne
- 1st Bruxelles–Meulebeke
- 1st Textielprijs Vichte
- Vuelta a España
- 1st Stage 2
- Held after Stages 2–5
- 1st Stage 4b Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 1st Stage 4 Tour of Belgium
- 1st Stage 4 Giro di Sardegna
- 2nd Paris–Tours
- 2nd Paris–Brussels
- 2nd Championship of Flanders
- 2nd Ronde van Brabant
- 3rd Gent–Wevelgem
- 4th Milan–San Remo
- 10th Tour of Flanders
- 1965
- 1st Overall Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Stages 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6
- 1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
- 1st Paris–Roubaix
- 1st Circuit des XI Villes
- 1st Classica Sarda
- 1st Bruxelles–Meulebeke
- 1st Flèche Enghiennoise
- 1st GP Ninove
- 1st Heusden Koers
- Tour de France
- 1st Stages 1a & 19
- Held after Stages 1a & 1b
- 1st Stage 4b Circuit du Provençal
- 1st Stage 2a Tour of Belgium
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15 & 17
- Held after Stages 1–3
- 1st
- 6th Tour of Flanders
- 10th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
- 1st Stages 1, 2b & 4
- 1966
- 1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
- 1st Omloop van de Fruitstreek
- 1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice
- 1st Stage 2 Tour of Belgium
- 2nd Paris–Tours
- 2nd Omloop van Midden-België
- 3rd Paris–Brussels
- 4th Flèche Enghiennoise
- 5th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
- 1st Stage 3
- 9th Paris–Roubaix
- 1967
- 1st Paris–Tours
- 1st Omloop van de Fruitstreek
- 1st GP Briek Schotte
- 1st Stage 5 Tour de France
- 1st Stage 2 Giro di Sardegna
- 2nd Paris–Roubaix
- 2nd Omloop van het Houtland
- 2nd Flèche Enghiennoise
- 2nd Wezembeek-Oppem
- 4th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- 6th Overall Paris–Nice
- 1st Stage 4
- 6th Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
- 9th Schaal Sels-Merksem
- 10th Overall Tour of Belgium
- 1st Points classification
- 1st
- 1968
- 1st La Flèche Wallonne
- 1st Seraing–Aachen–Seraing
- 2nd Flèche Enghiennoise
- 3rd Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- 3rd Halle–Ingooigem
- 4th Paris–Tours
- 6th Tour du Condroz
- 8th Gent–Wevelgem
- 10th Overall Tour of Belgium
- 10th Milan–San Remo
- 10th Tour of Flanders
- 1969
- 1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
- 1st Omloop van de Grensstreek
- 1st Omloop der Zennevallei
- 1st Heistse Pijl
- 1st GP Briek Schotte
- 1st Stage 4 Tour de France
- 5th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens
- 7th Road race, National Championships
- 8th De Kustpijl
- 9th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
- 9th Flèche Enghiennoise
- 10th Gent–Wevelgem
- 10th Omloop van de Fruitstreek
- 1970
- 1st Kessel–Lier
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
[edit]| Grand Tour | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vuelta a España
|
— | — | — | — | — | DNF | 3 | — | — | — | — | DNF | 3 | — | — | — | — | — |
 Giro d'Italia
|
— | — | DNF | — | — | — | 4 | 11 | 7 | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — |
| Tour de France
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | 10 | DNF | 31 | DNF | DNF | — | DNF | — |
Classics results timeline
[edit]| Monuments results timeline | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monument | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
| Milan–San Remo | — | — | — | 52 | 74 | 1 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 71 | 4 | 41 | — | 12 | 10 | 82 | DNF |
| Tour of Flanders | — | — | — | 11 | 17 | — | 1 | 3 | — | 1 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 26 | 10 | — | DNF |
| Paris–Roubaix | — | 11 | — | 11 | — | 3 | 4 | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 2 | — | 22 | DNF |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | — | — | — | 5 | — | 10 | — | 4 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | — | — | DSQ | — | 27 | 1 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Major championship results timeline
[edit]| 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 World Championships
|
— | DNF | — | 2 | 4 | DNF | 38 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 2 | 32 | DNF | — | — | 15 | 24 | — |
 National Championships
|
— | — | 32 | — | — | 1 | 5 | 4 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 17 | — | 13 | 7 | DNF |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
Track
[edit]- 1953
- 1st Omnium of Antwerp
- 1st Omnium of Antwerp
- 1st Omnium of Antwerp
- 1956
- 1st Omnium of Rocourt
- 1st Omnium of Brussels
- 3rd Six Days of Brussels (with Lucien Acou)
- 1957
- 1st Six Days of Brussels (with Willy Vannitsen)
- 1st Omnium of Antwerp
- 1st Omnium of Brussels
- 1st Omnium of Gent
- 1st Omnium of Gent
- 1958
- 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Reginald Arnold)
- 1st Omnium of Milan
- 1st Omnium of Gent
- 1st Omnium of Brussels
- 1st Omnium of Zürich
- 1959
- 1st Omnium of Gent
- 1st Omnium of Paris
- 1st Omnium of Brussels
- 1st Omnium of Gent
- 1st Omnium of Rocourt
- 1st Omnium of Brussels
- 1st Omnium of Gent
- 1960
- 1st Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
- 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Peter Post)
- 1st Omnium of Brussels
- 2nd Six Days of Brussels (with Peter Post)
- 2nd Six Days of Frankfurt (with Peter Post)
- 1961
- 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Willy Vannitsen & Peter Post)
- 1st Six Days of Cologne (with Peter Post)
- 1st Six Days of Brussels (with Peter Post)
- 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Peter Post)
- 1st Omnium of Brussels
- National Championships
- 2nd Madison (with Edgard Sorgeloos)
- 2nd Omnium
- 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
- 2nd Six Days of Frankfurt (with Peter Post)
- 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Peter Post)
- 1962
- 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Oscar Plattner & Peter Post)
- 1st Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
- 1st Six Days of Dortmund (with Peter Post)
- European Championships
- 2nd
Madison (with Peter Post) - 3rd
Derny
- 2nd
- 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
- 3rd Six Days of Milan (with Peter Post)
- 1963
- 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Rik van Steenbergen)
- 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Rik van Steenbergen)
- 1964
- 1st Omnium of Rocourt
- 1st Omnium of Ostend
- 1965
- 1st Omnium of Ostend
- 1st Omnium of Ostend
- 1st Omnium of Rocourt
- 1st Omnium of Ostend
- 1st Omnium of Valenciennes
- 1st Omnium of Brussels
- 1968
- 1st
Madison (with Patrick Sercu), National Championships - 1st Omnium of Gent (with Patrick Sercu)
- 1st Omnium of Gent (with Julien Stevens)
- 1st Omnium of Gent
- 2nd Six Days of Ghent (with Patrick Sercu)
- 2nd Six Days of Antwerp (with Fritz Pfenninger & Peter Post)
- 1969
- 1st Madison (with Patrick Sercu), National Championships
- 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Peter Post & Patrick Sercu)
- 1970
- 3rd Six Days of Antwerp (with Sigi Renz & Theo Verschueren)
Source [34]
Books
[edit]- Pedalare! The Emperor: The Rik Van Looy Story by David Armstrong in 1971, Kennedy Brothers, 34 p. (English) ASIN B0006C6X94
- The Beast, The Emperor and the Milkman by Harry Pearson in 2019, Bloomsbury Publishing, 289 p. (English) ISBN 9781472945068
- Rik Van Looy: De Temperamentvolle Wereldkampioen by Marcel Grosjean & Roger Meuleman in 1960. G.P.V., 40 p. (Dutch)
- Rik Van Looy by Fred De Bruyne in 1963. 42 p. (Dutch)
- Rik Van Looy: Heerser en Verdeler by Louis Clicteur & Lucien Berghmans in 1966, De Steenbok, 222 p. (Dutch)
- Ik, Rik! by Rik van Looy & Rob Jans in 1972, Brito, 95 p. (Dutch)
- Van Looy Story by André Blancke, Jan Cornand & Roger Quick in 1979, Het Volk, 69 p. (Dutch)
- Zonde van Nini by Stef Vancaenegem in 1987, Manteau, 120 p. (Dutch)
- Rik Van Looy: Monument Voor Een Keizer by Roger De Maertelaere, Guy Crasset & Modest Maertens in 2005. De Eecloonaar, 192 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789077562185
- Flandria: de 20 Wondere Jaren van een Wielerploeg by Mark van Hamme in 2007, De Eecloonaar, 392 p. ISBN 9789077562338
- Groene Leeuw: de Wielerploeg die de Keizer Uitdaagde by Jan De Smet and Patrick Feyaerts in 2008, De Eecloonaar, 360 p. ISBN 9789077562512
- Rik Van Looy 80 by Mark Vanlombeek & Robert Janssens in 2013. Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, 272 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789089313997
- Van Looy / Les Héros! by Robert Janssens in 2018. Kannibaal Books, 120 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789492677402
- Rik Van Looy - De Val van een (Wieler)Keizer. 1963 & 1964 Anni Horribiles by Jan De Smet and Patrick Feyaerts, De Eecloonaar, 210 p. (Dutch)
- ’t Is Rik – Hommage aan de Keizer by Bart Lamers en Thijs Delrue in 2021 (Dutch, French) ISBN 9798201045227
References
[edit]- ^ Vanysacker, Dries (2011). "Kop 25 - Rik Van Looy (1933): De onconventionele Keizer van Herenthals". Vlaamse Wielerkoppen (in Dutch). Davidsfonds. pp. 203–207. ISBN 9789058268181.
- ^ a b "Zestig jaar geleden: Rik Van Looy wordt wereldkampioen". ronnydeschepper.com (in Dutch). 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Rik Van Looy 90. Een terugblik op een uitzonderlijke carrière" [Rik Van Looy 90. A review of an exceptional career]. servicekoers.be (in Dutch). 18 October 2023.
- ^ "Rik Van Looy Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "Rik van Looy-Les Woodland visits the only man to have won all seven classics". BikeRaceInfo. 9 October 1999.
- ^ Van Walleghem, Rik (1993). Eddy Merckx:the greatest cyclist of the 20th century. Pinguin Productions. ISBN 1-884737-72-2.
- ^ "Henrik ('Rik') Van Looy". flandriabikes.com. 3 November 2024.
- ^ Keizer Rik Van Looy wordt 90: ‘Zolang ik kan klappen als vandaag tegen u, zal het wel meevallen zeker?’, standaard.be, 23 december 2023
- ^ Sys, Jacques (2020). "Rik Van Looy - De Keizer van Herenthals". Top 1000 van de Belgische wielrenners (in Dutch). Lanoo. pp. 162–166. ISBN 9789401467254.
- ^ "De broedertwisten van de Belgische wereldkampioenen". De Tijd (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 October 2002.
- ^ "An Audience with the Emperor". cyclinglegends.co.uk.
- ^ Janssens, Robert (2018). "De Laatste" [The Last]. Van Looy / Les Héros! (in Dutch). Kannibaal. pp. 110–113. ISBN 9789492677402.
- ^ "Rik Van Looy - De Keizer van Herentals". bahamontes.be (in Dutch). 20 October 2022.
- ^ Rik Van Looy, morto il ciclista a 90 anni. "L'imperatore di Herentals" vinse due Mondiali e tutte le Classiche (in Italian)
- ^ "Guy Mortier (80) sprak met Rik Van Looy (90): 'Ik ga nooit naar het graf van mijn vrouw, omdat ik dan het gevoel ga hebben dat ik haar echt kwijt ben'". humo.be (in Dutch). 20 December 2023.
- ^ "Dokter Dries Claes (1923-2009): pionier van de integrale en integere wielerbegeleiding". servicekoers.be (in Dutch). 12 May 2022.
- ^ "Palmarès Rik van Looy" (in French). Mémoire du Cyclisme.
- ^ "Derwael sleept ook Nationale Trofee voor Sportverdienste in de wacht: "Unaniem"" (in Dutch). Sporza.
- ^ "Het kon niet anders, na zo'n Tour de France: Wout van Aert winnaar van de Superstrijdlust". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 23 July 2022.
- ^ "2017 AIOCC TROPHY".
- ^ "The Cycling Hall of Fame: Eddy Merckx". Rouleur.
- ^ "Les meilleurs coureurs de tous les temps (1892-2002)" (in French). Mémoire du Cyclisme.
- ^ "De Keizer van Herentals". servicekoers.be (in Dutch). 13 April 2022.
- ^ "Ereburgers Grobbendonk" (in Dutch). grobbendonk.be.
- ^ "Herentals onthult standbeeld voor Rik Van Looy (en Michel Verschueren is erbij)". Sporza (in Dutch). 12 August 2017.
- ^ "Grote Prijs Rik Van Looy" (in Dutch). gprikvanlooy.be.
- ^ "Borstbeeld Rik Van Looy onthuld in zijn geboortedorp: "Keizer van Herentals én ereburger van Grobbendonk"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 12 June 2021.
- ^ "Rik Van Looy en Benoni Beheydt schouder aan schouder op muurschildering in museum KOERS in Roeselare" (in Dutch). vrt.be (published 2 December 2022). 25 July 2023.
- ^ "Rik Van Looy 90 jaar: feestelijke viering met expo" (in Dutch). nnieuws.be. 19 December 2023.
- ^ "All time wins ranking". procyclingstats.com.
- ^ "PCS Ranking»All time". procyclingstats. procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ "Overall Ranking 1869-2022". Cycling Ranking.
- ^ "Johnny Hoes – Rik Van Looy". hitparade.ch (in German).
- ^ "Palmarès de Rik van Looy (Bel)". Mémoire du Cyclisme.
External links
[edit]
- Rik Van Looy at Cycling Archives (archived)
- Rik Van Looy at IMDb
- Rik Van Looy at Olympedia (archive)
- Rik Van Looy at Olympics.com
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1933 births
- 2024 deaths
- Belgian male cyclists
- Belgian Tour de France stage winners
- Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners
- UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
- Sportspeople from Herentals
- Olympic cyclists for Belgium
- Cyclists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for Belgium
- Olympic medalists in cycling
- Cyclists from Antwerp Province
- People from Grobbendonk
- Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
- 20th-century Belgian sportsmen