Grand Prix Eddy Merckx was a cycle race around
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, where
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 ...
was born. It was held between 1980 and 2004, disappearing after the creation of the
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle racing, road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, i ...
in 2005. The race was initially an
individual time trial
An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...
, becoming a
Team time trial
A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events).
The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...
of two riders in 1998. It usually had a duration of 60-70 km, with the 2003 being the shortest at 26 km because of a nearby fire.
With the introduction of the
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle racing, road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, i ...
in 2005, there were plans to merge the race with
Paris–Brussels
The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar.
History
Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur eve ...
. This merger was eventually never completed, by which the race disappeared from the calendar.
Winners
References
Recurring sporting events established in 1981
1981 establishments in Belgium
Defunct cycling races in Belgium
Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2004
Sports competitions in Brussels
2004 disestablishments in Belgium
Eddy Merckx
Men's road bicycle races
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