During his extraordinary career, Eddy Merckx won Paris-Nice three times (1969, 1970 and 1971).
The edition in 1969 was one of those few times, when he had the chance to compete against Jacques Anquetil, who rode his last Paris-Nice that year.
Merckx became 1st, Anquetil 3rd, and it’s quite symbolic, that the thord man on the final podium was Raymond Poulidor.
MORE EDDY MERCKX ON PELOTONTALES BLOG
Most Milano-Sanremo victories
Eddy Merckx leads the list of cyclists with the most Milano-Sanremo victories with seven occasions. Fun fact: at the time of Merckx’s big triumphs Cipressa was not introduced to the race yet . (It happened only in 1982.) Eddy Merckx (BEL) 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976 Costante Girardengo (ITA) 1918, 1921, 1923, 1925, … Read more
Vintage cycling image of the day: Eddy vs. a horse
It’s not only the early days of road cycling, but sometimes unique moments with animals could (and can) happen in more modern times during a cycling event. Like this one from (most likely )the Tour de France in 1975, when a horse was eager to run alongside with Eddy Merckx and co. MORE UNIQUE VINTAGE … Read more
MORE RAYMOND POULIDOR ON PELOTONTALES BLOG
16 March 1969 Eddy Merckx wins Paris-Nice for the first time
During his extraordinary career, Eddy Merckx won Paris-Nice three times (1969, 1970 and 1971). The edition in 1969 was one of those few times, when he had the chance to compete against Jacques Anquetil, who rode his last Paris-Nice that year. Merckx became 1st, Anquetil 3rd, and it’s quite symbolic, that the thord man on … Read more
Puy de Dôme 1964 – when Raymond Poulidor was the closest to win Tour de France
The world of road cycling sometimes loves the second placed riders more than the winners. It’s especially the case of French cyclist, “The Eternal Second”, Raymond Poulidor (1936-2019), who rode Tour de France 14 times, he completed 12 of them, finished second of the general classification 3 times, and third 5 times. But he never … Read more
Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor on the Puy de Dôme
According to the latest rumors, Tour de France will return to Puy de Dôme in 2023. Tour de France visited Puy de Dôme last time in 1988. Since the construction of a track railway and due to the very narrow road, it was told for many many years, that the return of the race to … Read more
MORE JACQUES ANQUETIL
Puy de Dôme (Iconic places #2)
Tour de France 2023 presented a great gift for every road cycling history fans: after 35 years Puy de Dôme was reintroduced to the race. Although the 9th stage of Tour de France 2023 was only the 14th appearance of the ascent, it became one of the most iconic places in the history road cycling … Read more
Tour de France 1957
The 44th Tour de France was held between 27 June and 20 July 1957. This was the first of Jacques Anquetil’s five victories.
Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor on the Puy de Dôme
According to the latest rumors, Tour de France will return to Puy de Dôme in 2023. Tour de France visited Puy de Dôme last time in 1988. Since the construction of a track railway and due to the very narrow road, it was told for many many years, that the return of the race to … Read more
- and no one should ever win, because we don’t want a peloton where only one rider is so overwhelmingly dominant, do we? [↩]