Merckx 525: The First Biography Authorized by Eddy Merckx

"Merckx 525", the first Eddy Merckx authorized biography, has been published.  In Italy Eddy Merckx won 5 Giro d'Italia, 7 Milan-Sanremo, 2 Giro di Lombardia. The announcement from the publisher:

Boulder, CO, USA - October 10, 2012 - VeloPress, the leading publisher of books for cyclists, is pleased to announce the publication of Merckx 525, the first biography authorized by Eddy Merckx himself and the first he says is a truly complete record of his career.

Revealing a dazzling trove of recently discovered photographs not yet seen outside of Europe, Merckx 525 is an all-encompassing celebration of the unmatchable career of the Cannibal, Eddy Merckx, the greatest cyclist of all time and the most dominant athlete of the 20th century.

This spectacular coffee table book is now available in bookstores, bike shops, and online. Preview Merckx 525 at www.velopress.com/merckx.

Known as "the Cannibal" for his insatiable hunger to win, Merckx gobbled up 525 race victories, an unrivaled legacy lionized in this once-in-a-lifetime homage. Merckx 525 presents newly restored photographs from private collections, the Merckx family, and European newspaper archives, shedding new light on this awe-inspiring athlete's career from promising youth in Belgium, to fabulous darling of Europe, to hardened veteran of the bike-racing wars.

With authoritative text and keepsake craftsmanship, Merckx 525 digs deeper than any book before to reveal the man behind the legend, cycling's incomparable Eddy Merckx.

"Merckx 525 is a unique collection of exclusive photographs, including some that even I had not seen before. It is the only work authorized by me.and the first truly complete record of my accomplishments." - Eddy Merckx

Merckx 525
Ron Reuman, Stephan Vanfleteren, Jan Maes, Frederik Backelandt
Hardcover with 126 full-color photographs throughout.
13 ¼" x 9 ½", 224 pp., $60.00, 978-1-934030-89-9

7x Milan-San Remo | 5x Liège-Bastogne-Liège | 3x Ghent-Wevelgem | 3x Paris-Roubaix | 3x Flèche Wallonne | 3x Paris-Nice | 2x Amstel Gold Race | 2x Omloop Het Volk | 2x Tour of Lombardy | 2x Tour of Flanders | 2x Tour of Belgium | 1x Dauphiné Libéré | 1x Midi Libre | 1x Grand Prix Frankfurt | 1x Paris-Brussels | 1x Scheldeprijs | 1x Tour de Suisse | 1x Tour de Romandie | 1x World Amateur Road Champion | 3x World Professional Road Champion | 1x Belgian Road Champion | 5x Tour de France | 5x Giro d'Italia | 1x Vuelta a España | 7x Super Prestige Pernod International | World Hour Record

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome.

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Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.    

Eddy Merckx at the Giro d'Italia

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Eddy Merckx, Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur

Eddy Merckx was awarded the Legion of Honour grade "Commandeur de la Legion d'honneur" today by French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the presidential Elysee palace in Paris.

"It’s a considerable honor," said Merckx, who was initially made Chevalier at the start of the 1975 Tour de France.

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur) is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. The Order is the highest decoration in France. There are five levels: grand croix (grand cross), grand officier (grand officer), commandeur (commander), officier (officer) and chevalier (knight).

Merckx won the Tour de France five times, the Giro d'Italia five times, the Vuelta a España once, won all the monuments* of cycling at least twice, with 19 monument victories in all, won the world championship once as an amateur and three times as a professional, and broke the world hour record.

*the five monuments of cycling:
Milan–San Remo (Italy)
Tour of Flanders (Belgium)
Paris–Roubaix (France)
Liège–Bastogne–Liège (Belgium)
Giro di Lombardia (Italy)

Congratulations Eddy!

Photo: Eric Feferberg (AP)

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,200 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Eddy Merckx Montage

Eddy Merckx won the Giro d'Italia five times. This excellent video montage shows Merckx in action, including several clips from the Giro. Music by? It's perfect. (note: SpinDoctor left this comment regarding the music, "Music is by Clint Mansell; from the Darren Aronofsky film Requiem for a Dream. He also did Smokin' Aces and The Fountain. Excellent usage here!")


In full size.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Eddy Merckx Not Riding An Eddy Merckx

Until the other day I had never seen a photograph of Eddy Merckx not riding anything other than an Eddy Merckx labeled bike. Eddy Merckx was obviously very special, including having the ability to demand that his name be on the bikes (De Rosa, Colnago and Masi among others) that he rode. Think about that in the context of today's peloton.

So, while reading "Un Secolo di Passioni"(http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/04/book-un-secolo-di-passioni.html) I was surprised to see a photo of Eddy Merckx riding a FAEMA branded bike. The only time this occurred was apparently in 1968 and the caption on the photograph in the book is, "Gorizia-Tre Cime di Lavaredo stage". This frame was made by Masi; you can see the outline of the Duomo of Milano above the F on the head tube.

FAEMA (Fabbrica Apparecchiature Elettromeccaniche e Affini) was an espresso machine manufacturer. Although known for its innovations in espresso machine technology, among cyclists FAEMA is better known as the team that Eddy Merckx rode for.

Photos: B&W: photos of photo in Un Secolo di Passioni; color photo from Kevin Sayles. If you have another photo of Eddy Merckx riding a FAEMA bike please contact me.

Here also is a photo of Vittorio Adorni riding a FAEMA Masi:

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com

Win a Trip to Verona and Gran Fondo Eddy Merckx

Reminder: The deadline for entering BICYCLING's 50 word essay contest to win a trip to Verona, entry in the Gran Fondo Eddy Merckx, and an Eddy Merckx EMX-3 bike is upon us! To top it off, Eddy Merckx will be there in person and riding in the event.

ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 PM ET, April 20, 2009.


You can submit your entry, read the rules first!, online at:
http://www.bicycling.com/cda/contestsandsweepstakes/1,7583,s1-21-0-0-3,00.html?urlID=9462


The Gran Fondo Eddy Merckx offers the choice of 148km, 90km and 40km routes. The 148km route includes an impressive 1740 meters of climbing. The 90km route includes its share of challenging climbs and shouldn't be underestimated.


If you are entering the gran fondo in any case note that the first 500 riders to enter will each receive a bandana signed by Merckx.


There will be a pasta party at the finish and each rider will receive a goody bag packed with clothing (the gran fondo is also sponsored by Giordana) and food.


Youtube video, in Italian, of the start of the 2008 edition; it's always enjoyable listening to Merckx speaking in Italian:

GOOD LUCK!

Photos: Eddy Merckx

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com