Eddy Est Imbattable! (''Eddy Is Undefeatable!'') is a 1971 Belgian French-language song by Pierre-André Gil about Belgian cycling champion

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...

. It was released on the label ''

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

'' and had the song ''Eddy & Claudine'' as B-side, which is also about Merckx. Claudine Aucou is his wife. Earlier in 1969 Gil had recorded another song about Merckx named '' Eddy Prend Le Maillot Jaune''.

Lyrics

The song praises Merckx as a great and undefeatable champion. The lyrics mention how the previous Belgian cycling champion

Rik van Looy Henri "Rik" Van Looy (20 December 1933 – 17 December 2024) was a Belgian professional Cycle sport, cyclist of the post-World War II, war period. Nicknamed the ''King of the Classics'' or ''Emperor of Herentals'' (after the small Belgian city ...

"was great too, but has retired now." Roger De Vlaeminck and

Frans Verbeeck Frans Verbeeck or Frans Verbeeck the Elder (c. 1510 – 24 July 1570, Mechelen) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter and draughtsman to whom have been attributed a number of works depicting fantastical and grotesque scenes carrying a moral ...

are given credit as great champions too, but the singer mentions that nowadays "both of them turn pale when they notice Merckx behind them."

Dutch-language version

In 1971 a Dutch-language cover of ''Eddy Est Imbattable'' named ''Eddy Is Niet Te Kloppen!'' was released, which again had ''Eddy & Claudine'' as B-side. It was performed by the group Frankie en de Trillers. It was released on the label Monopole.

Sources

{{authority control 1971 songs 1971 singles Belgian pop songs Songs about Eddy Merckx Cycling music French-language Belgian songs Cultural depictions of Eddy Merckx Song articles with missing songwriters