Eddy Merckx Vs Roger De Vlaeminck
Brief introductory thought: Eddy is no doubt the G.O.A.T – greatest of all time, but a lot of this stature has to do with Grand Tours. That said, there is one person who gave him sleepless nights and prompted him to work even harder. That person was Roger De Vlaeminck. Eddy arrived on the planet in 1945, just after World War II. His family lived mostly in Brussels, and rumour has it that while growing up, Eddy was a fan of the 1955 world champion, Stan Ockers. At age 20, Eddy was already a professional cycler and a world champion at 23. On the other hand, Roger De Vlaeminck was born in 1947 in Eecklo, and his brother’s success in cycling had a great influence on him.
With both Eddy and Roger being the subject of many books and articles, there is not much about this duo that has not been discussed. While it is argued that Roger was not so much obsessed with Merckx, there is no denying that his frequent victories in the Classics was something of a trouble to Merckx. And of course, being only two years apart in terms of age, their career peaks perfectly coincided to treat their fans to a series of thrillers.