Rik Van Looy

Rik (Henrik) Van Looy (born 20 December 1933) was one of the greatest Belgian professional cyclists of the post-war period, when he was nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals (after the small Belgian town where he lived). He was twice world professional road race champion, and was the first cyclist to win all five of the 'Monument' Classic cycle races – a feat since achieved by just two others (both also Belgians: Roger De Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx).

Born in Grobbendonk, near Antwerp, Van Looy first rose to prominence when he won the Belgian amateur road race championship in 1952. He repeated the victory the following year, adding third place in the world title race the same year, before turning professional.

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 Holland. He also won a silver medal in the World road race championship, behind his fellow countryman Rik Van Steenbergen. He repeated his Gent-Wevelgem and Tour of Holland victories in 1957, and in 1958 won his first 'Monument' taking the season's opening classic, Milan-San Remo.

1959 saw Van Looy take two more 'Monuments': the early season Tour of Flanders and the autumn classic, the Tour of Lombardy. In between, he scored another 38 victories, including three stages of the Vuelta a España (finishing third overall and winner of the points competition) and four stages of the Giro d'Italia (for 4th place overall).

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.

Van Looy scored two more Classic wins in 1962 (Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders), took another Gent-Wevelgem, and two more Giro stages. In 1963 Van Looy rode the Tour de France, taking four stages en route to victory in the points competition and a 10th place on general classification; he also grabbed a silver in the world title race.

In 1965, he scored 42 victories including Paris-Roubaix, and a massive eight stages of the Vuelta on his way to his second third place overall (his highest placing in a Grand Tour). For good measure, he also took two stages in the Tour de France.

During the final years of his career (1966–1970), 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, won La Flèche Wallonne in 1968, and took a stage of the 1969 Tour de France.

Van Looy was also a star on the track, winning 11 Six-day races. His first came in Brussels in 1957, his last in his native Antwerp in 1968. For nine of these victories, he was paired with Dutchman Peter Post.