Henri "Rik" Van Looy (20 December 1933 – 17 December 2024) was a Belgian professional

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

of the post-

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

period. Nicknamed the ''King of the Classics'' or ''Emperor of

Herentals Herentals () is a municipality and city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and Noorderwijk. In 2022, Herentals had a total population of 28,455. The total area is . Saint ...

'' (after the small Belgian city where he lived), he dominated the

classic cycle races The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Van Looy was twice world professional road race champion, and was the first cyclist to win all five '

Monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

': the most prestigious one-day

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

– a feat since achieved by just two others (both also Belgians: Roger De Vlaeminck and

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 ...

). With 367 professional road victories, he ranks second all-time behind Eddy Merckx. Van Looy is ninth on the all-time list of Grand Tour stage winners with thirty-seven victories. These numbers could still have risen had he not been the victim of a significant number of falls resulting in serious injuries. Remarkable was his sporting rivalry with two other cycling legends: namely the successful

Rik Van Steenbergen Hendrik Van Steenbergen (9 September 1924 – 15 May 2003) was a Belgium, Belgian racing cyclist, considered to be one of the best among the great number of successful Belgian cyclists. Early life Van Steenbergen was born in Arendonk into ...

at the beginning of Van Looy's career. Conversely, Van Looy had to face the generational change with a young Eddy Merckx at the end of his career.

Early life

Rik Van Looy was born in 1933 in Grobbendonk, in the

Antwerp Province Antwerp Province (; ; ; ), between 1815 and 1830 known as Central Brabant ( , , ), is the northernmost Provinces of Belgium, province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the North Brabant province of t ...

. As a child, Van Looy was fascinated by cycling. Before the age of 13, he worked as a paper boy. The foundation of his further career was laid in that period, by daily riding on a packed, much too heavy bicycle. In his very first races as a youngster, however, he did not yet stand out as the big talent.

Career

Amateur years

Van Looy rose to prominence when he won the Belgian amateur road championship in 1952. He repeated the victory the following year, adding third place in the world title race the same year, before turning professional. He took part in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

in Helsinki, participating in the road race, but without completing it. Instead, he and his teammates won the gold medal in the team road race. At the age of 19, Van Looy won the bronze medal in the World Championship amateur road race in Lugano.

1953–1960

A powerful sprinter, Van Looy won two races in what was left of his first professional season (1953), and 20 more over the next couple of seasons. In 1956, his victories included

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

and

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 ...

, plus two stages and overall victory in the Tour of the Netherlands. He also won a silver medal in the world road race championship, behind his countryman

(whom the team was obliged to ride for). He repeated his Gent–Wevelgem and Tour of the Netherlands victories in 1957, and in 1958, Van Looy won the season's opening classic,

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

. 1959 saw Van Looy take the early-season

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

and the autumn classic, the

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

. In between, he scored another 38 victories, including three stages of the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

(finishing third overall and winning the points competition) and four stages of the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

(for 4th overall).

1961–1966

In 1960, he scored the first of two consecutive victories in the world road race championship, but "classic" victories eluded him. However, he made up for this in 1961, winning both

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

and

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...

– making him the first rider to take all five 'Monuments' – as well as retaining his rainbow world title jersey, and taking three stages, plus the mountains competition in the Giro d' Italia. Van Looy scored two more Classic wins in 1962 (

), took another

, and two more Giro stages. At the age of 28, he made his debut in the

1962 Tour de France The 1962 Tour de France was the 49th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. The race consisted of 22 race stage, stages, including two split stages, starting in Nancy, France, Nancy on 24 June and fi ...

as one of the major favorites. Van Looy's strategy was to exhaust co-favorites

Federico Bahamontes Federico Martín Bahamontes, born Alejandro Martín Bahamontes (; 9 July 1928 – 8 August 2023), was a Spanish professional road racing cyclist. He won the 1959 Tour de France and a total of 11 Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour stages between 1 ...

and

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

before the mountain stages started. However, after ten stages in which Van Looy gave a spectacle, he was forced to abandon the Tour due a collision with a motorcyclist. Tour director

Jacques Goddet Jacques Goddet (; 21 June 1905 – 15 December 2000) was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France road cycling race from 1936 to 1986. Goddet was born and died in Paris. His father, Victor Goddet, was co-founder and finance ...

publicly regretted his departure. In 1963 Van Looy rode the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

again, taking four stages en route to victory in the points competition and a 10th place on general classification. He also grabbed a silver medal in the world title race. In the latter race, held in

Ronse Ronse (; ) is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only encompasses the city of Ronse proper. History Early settlements to 14th century The hills around Ronse show clues of human a ...

in his native Belgium, he was beaten in the sprint by his countryman Benoni Beheyt who manually pushed Van Looy aside. Van Looy, starting the sprint too early, did not take this defeat lightly. This race has remained memorable in the history of Belgian cycling. In 1965, he scored 42 victories, including

, and eight stages of the Vuelta on his way to his second third place overall (his highest placing in a Grand Tour). Van Looy also took two stages in the

1966–1970

During the final years of his career, Rik Van Looy's road performances began to fade, as the new Belgian star Eddy Merckx rose to prominence, but he still grabbed second in the

1967 Paris–Roubaix The 1967 Paris–Roubaix was the 65th edition of the Paris–Roubaix cycle race and was held on 9 April 1967. The race started in Compiègne and finished in Roubaix. The race was won by Jan Janssen Johannes Adrianus "Jan" Janssen (born 19 May ...

. He won

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. It is part of the UCI World Tour. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is ...

in 1968, becoming the only cyclist to win all 8 original

. Van Looy also took a stage of the

1969 Tour de France The 1969 Tour de France was the 56th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 28 June and 20 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . The participant teams were no longer national teams, but were on ...

. His rivalry with Eddy Merckx reached the height of sabotage of Merckx in the

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

organized in Belgium, in 1969.

Track cycling career

Van Looy was also a star on the track, winning 12 Six-day races. His first came in

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 ...

in 1957, his last in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in 1968. For ten of these victories, he was paired with Dutchman

Peter Post Peter Post (12 November 193314 January 2011) was a Dutch professional cyclist whose career lasted from 1956 to 1972. Post competed in road and track racing. As a rider he is best remembered for Six-day racing, having competed in 155 races and wo ...

. In the winter of 1956 he was paired with Rik Van Steenbergen for some track races. Events that many looked forward to, but the plans were shelved after they both had arguments during the 1956 world championship in Copenhagen. The two Riks would eventually ride together in a few Six-days races in 1963.

Riding style

Van Looy was a very powerful sprinter, rather heavy for his height due to his muscular legs. In mountain stages, he was usually able to keep up the pace of the true climbers, but less able to make the difference. The power he could exert was unprecedented at the time. During his victory in 1961 UCI Road World Championships, his back wheel collapsed just after he crossed the finish line because his powerful stroke had ripped out several of the spokes. This incident earned him the nickname “The Wheelbreaker”. Despite his sprint qualities, he usually wanted to avoid the sprint by escaping earlier. Van Looy enjoyed the cheering of the crowd more during solo arrivals. There was no time for that, while participating in a sprint and preparing for it. Van Looy's popularity was mainly due to his attacking style of cycling. His early escapes already quickly created excitement in races in which he participated. He could also motivate himself knowing he was being chased by competitors. This is also why he did not excel in

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 ...

s, it fascinated him less. Yet that shortcoming is hard to link with a man who could ride in the lead for miles without a flinch, visibly hurting his opponents. The more calculated riding during stage races, was at odds with his attacking style. As a result, he never won the overall classification in a Grand Tour, which also always included time trials. He did win overall victories in shorter stage races (in the 1965 Giro di Sardegna for example, by winning 5 out of 6 stages). Rick_Van_Looy_en_1966

Leadership

Van Looy did not spare himself during preparations for races, which were characterized by spartan training methods combined with a carefully selected diet. Gradually, he stood out for his dominant character, both in his team and in the peloton. His leadership was strict, but always fair. Because of him, the term "team captain" was brought to a higher level. He worked out the fledgling leader-domestique system to perfection, and the team had to ride entirely in his service. Instead of the team manager, he himself decided the tactics, which riders were best suited for this and even what they would earn. The Flandria-Faema team that was built around Van Looy was nicknamed ''the Red Brigade'' by the peloton and public, after the red jerseys the riders wore.

1963 World Championship incident

The 1963 world championship in

seemed an ideal opportunity to triumph a third time, with a course that suited Van Looy, and this time supported by a home crowd. The Belgian team would be riding completely for Van Looy, but during the race it turned out that

Gilbert Desmet Gilbert Desmet (2 February 1931 – 30 June 2024), nicknamed ''Smetje van Lichtervelde'', was a Belgian cyclist who was professional from 1952 to 1967. In the 1956 Tour de France, he wore the yellow jersey for two days, and in the 1963 Tour de ...

and Benoni Beheyt (both riding for a different brand team than Van Looy) had other plans. At the end of the race, Desmet escaped and Van Looy was forced to start the sprint much earlier than expected, after which Beheyt (pushing away on Van Looy's shoulder) eventually finished first. The jury only briefly considered the problem of the obviously irregular sprint and did not change the final result. The medals were awarded in front of a rather confused audience, with both Van Looy and Beheyt having a hard time smiling. The story about the ''Betrayal of Ronse'' dragged on for a long time in the press and public, and crowds of people showed up at races where both gentlemen would start. It didn't really seem to bother Van Looy, he enjoyed the commotion that cycling caused. Nevertheless, it is suggested that he systematically thwarted Beheyt's career afterwards. Fact is that the latter already stopped cycling a few years later at the age of 27, also due to injury problems. The two gentlemen turned out to be on good terms after that, although neither of them seldom wanted to talk about the 1963 world championship again in interviews.

Retirement

On 22 August 1970, after a race, Van Looy decided to quit professional cycling immediately and in all discretion. Unlike his predecessor Rik Van Steenbergen, he resolutely refused a lucrative "farewell tour" via criteria and track races. Neither was he interested in a high-paying farewell cycling race in the Antwerp Sports Palace. Not surprisingly, he subsequently was appointed as team manager for

Willem II–Gazelle Willem II–Gazelle was a Dutch professional cycling team that existed from 1966 to 1971. Its main sponsor was Dutch cigar maker Willem II and the co-sponsor was bicycle manufacturer Gazelle. Their most successful rider was Rik Van Looy, whose mo ...

. Afterwards he became a driver-consultant for a newspaper and magazine during races and in a later phase director of the Flemish cycling school in Herentals, the city of which he is now an honorary citizen. In his house nothing reminds of his glorious past. ''"What's past is past. All the trophies, jerseys and medals,... I've given it all away. To charities, supporters and friends, it means more to them than to me"'' Van Looy once mentioned.

Personal life and death

Rik Van Looy married Nini Mariën in 1955. Both formed a close-knit couple. Nini was partly behind the top career Rik Van Looy was able to build. She was one of the most famous riders' wives in the peloton in the 1950s and 1960s, and put her life entirely at the service of Van Looy's career. The couple had a daughter and a son. Van Looy rode on incentives, which could also come from his family. When he lectured his young son by saying "when will you come home with a good school report again?" the boy's response was "when will you win another classic again?" The following week, the 34-year-old Van Looy won

. After a lingering illness, his wife died in 2021 at the age of 88. By then, Van Looy had already withdrawn from public life for a while to assist her. ''"She has done so much for me, now it's my turn"'' Van Looy said. Afterwards, Van Looy sporadically came into the spotlight. He continued to give the starting shot of the GP Rik Van Looy every year. And in, 2023 there were several events in Herentals around his 90th birthday. Three days before his 91th birthday, Van Looy died on 17 December 2024 after an illness of several weeks.

Legacy

Given the specialization of a cyclist's role in the modern peloton, Rik Van Looy's number of professional road race victories will most likely never be surpassed in the future. Van Looy is also probably the most popular rider Belgium has ever known. Obviously because of his victories and his attacking way of cycling. But his constant accessibility towards supporters, combined with his honest no-nonsense style in interviews contributed even more to this. Common people could identify with him, in contrast to the less language-savvy Eddy Merckx. Even when Merckx's performances began to surpass those of Van Looy, he seemed to have more opponents among Belgian cycling fans, compared to Van Looy. In addition, Van Looy had a "clean image", compared to many of his colleagues and the generations of cyclists that would follow. ''"My performances started to improve significantly after I started following the training schedules and diets of doctor Dries Claes, which I had to convince to start a collaboration. As he was outspokenly opposed to doping in sports, and even a member of the anti-doping commission, the use of banned substances was completely out of the question."'' Van Looy mentioned in a 2023 interview.

Awards and honours

* Trophée Edmond Gentil: 1959 *

Belgian National Sports Merit Award The Belgian National Sports Merit Award is an annual award handed out to a Belgian sportsperson or -team for exceptional merit. Players can only win the award once during their career, making this trophy one of the most prestigious in Belgian sport ...

: 1961 * General Tour de France Combativity Award:

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

* Stage Combativity Awards (8): 4 in 1963, 1 in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

* Swiss AIOCC Trophy (fr): 1982 * UCI Hall of Fame: 2002 * Mémoire du Cyclisme – The Greatest Cyclists: 11th place: 2002 * Sports Personality of the

Antwerp province Antwerp Province (; ; ; ), between 1815 and 1830 known as Central Brabant ( , , ), is the northernmost Provinces of Belgium, province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the North Brabant province of t ...

: 2005 * Honorary citizen of

Grobbendonk Grobbendonk () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp (). The municipality comprises the towns of Bouwel and Grobbendonk proper. In 2021, Grobbendonk had a total population of 11,249. The total area is 28.36 km2. The ...

: 2012 * Statue in

: 2017 * Grote Prijs Rik Van Looy: from 2018 * Bust in Grobbendonk: 2021 * Mural in KOERS Museum,

Roeselare Roeselare (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The name of the city is derived from two ...

: 2023 * Exposition ''Van Looy 90'' in Herentals: 2023 * ''Rik Van Looylaan'', a street in Herentals: 2025 * ProcyclingStats – All Time Wins Ranking: 2nd place (162 wins) * ProCyclingStats – All Time Ranking: 8th place * CyclingRanking – Overall All Time Ranking: 12th place * UCI Top 100: 16th place Through his career, several vinyl singles about Van Looy were released by Belgian and Dutch artists.

Records

* The only cyclist to win all 8 original

: the 5 Monuments plus

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...

and

* Winner of all 5 Monuments of Cycling (record shared with Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck) * Winner of all 3

cobbled classics The cobbled classics are four cycling classics held in March and April. Cobblestones, like mountainous terrain, are important elements in courses of cycling. Many classic cycle races in northwestern Europe contain cobbled sections. The two Monumen ...

in one season: 1962 (record shared with

Tom Boonen Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...

) * Former record of most races won by a professional cyclist: 367 (1961–1972)

Major results

Road

;1952 : 1st Gold medal olympic

Team road race,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: 1st Road race, National Amateur Championships : 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten Amateurs : 2nd Brussels–Opwijk (fr) ;1953 (1 pro win) : 1st Road race, National Amateur Championships : 1st Ronde van Midden-Nederland : 1st

Heistse Pijl The Heistse Pijl is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June around the municipality of Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium. Since 2016, the race is organized as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Victor Van Schil, ...

: 1st Omloop Het Volk U23 : 1st Stage 5

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria () is a stage race, stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour ...

: 3rd

Road race, UCI World Amateur Championships : 7th

;1954 (2) : 1st Roubaix–Huy : 1st Stage 3a Driedaagse van Antwerpen : 2nd Overall

Tour of Belgium The Tour of Belgium (; ) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries. It was held annually between 1908 and 1981, except during both world wars. Between 1982 and 1990 several races were not org ...

: 4th

Scheldeprijs The Scheldeprijs is a road bicycle racing, cycling race in Flanders and the Netherlands which starts in Terneuzen, crosses the Scheldt River, and finishes in Schoten. Until 2018 it was held entirely in Belgium. The event, ranked as a UCI race cla ...

;1955 (1) : 1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen : 2nd

: 3rd Omloop van Midden-België ;1956 (10) : 1st Road race, National Interclubs Championships : 1st Overall

Ronde van Nederland The Tour of the Netherlands ''(Dutch: Ronde van Nederland)'' was a road bicycle racing stage-race in the Netherlands, founded in 1948 in sports, 1948. It was an annual race since 1975 in sports, 1975. Because of the start of the Union Cycliste ...

::1st Stages 3, 4b ( TTT) & 6 : 1st Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen ::1st Stages 2a : 1st

: 1st

: 1st De Drie Zustersteden : 2nd Silver medal uci

Road race,

UCI World Championships The UCI World Championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winn ...

: 2nd

Nationale Sluitingsprijs Nationale Sluitingprijs is a classic cycle races, semi classic European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held annually in Putte (Kapellen), Belgium. From 2005 to 2017, the race was organized as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Eur ...

: 2nd

: 2nd Omloop van de Fruitstreek : 5th

: 8th Omloop Het Volk ;1957 (12) : 1st Overall

::1st Stages 2, 3a, 3b ( TTT) & 6a : 1st

: 1st

Coppa Bernocchi The Coppa Bernocchi is a European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Legnano, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before joining the UCI ProSeries in 2020. In 1 ...

: 1st Schaal Sels-Merksem : 1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen : 1st GP Roeselare : 1st Stage 6a Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico delle Nazioni : 2nd Classica Sarda : 2nd Omloop van Midden-België : 3rd Omloop van het Houtland : 4th Road race,

: 4th Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen ::1st Stages 3a & 3b : 4th

Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen (Championship of Flanders) or Koolskamp Koerse is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in Koolskamp (part-municipality of Ardooie), West Flanders, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom ...

: 5th Omloop Het Volk : 6th

: 7th

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ...

;1958 (16) :

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

::1st Road race ::1st Interclubs road race : 1st

: 1st

: 1st Milano-Mantova : 1st

: 1st GP Dr. Eugeen Roggeman :

::1st Stages 4, 5b, 6, 9 & 10 ::Held after Stages 9–11 :

Vuelta a Levante The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often used as preparation for the sprin ...

::1st Stages 1, 3 ( TTT), 4 & 8 : 1st Stage 2

: 2nd Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen ::1st Stage 2a : 2nd

: 2nd Omloop Het Volk : 3rd Overall Giro di Sardegna ::1st Stage 3 : 3rd

: 3rd

: 4th

: 4th Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen : 4th Omloop van het Houtland : 5th Overall

: 10th

;1959 (20) : 1st Overall Giro di Sardegna ::1st Stages 2, 4 & 6 : 1st Overall

::1st Points classification ::1st Stages 2, 6, & 7 : 1st

: 1st

: 1st

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often used as preparation for the sprin ...

: 1st GP Stad Vilvoorde : 1st Tielt-Antwerpen-Tielt : 3rd Overall

::1st

Points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points c ...

::1st Stages 1b, 8, 9 & 11 : 3rd Overall

Super Prestige Pernod The Super Prestige Pernod was a season-long competition in road bicycle racing between 1958 and 1987. For the first edition it was known as the Prestige Pernod, and for the last four years as the Super Prestige Pernod International. History Disag ...

: 4th Overall

::1st Stages 1, 5, 11 & 14 ::Held after Stage 1 : 4th

: 5th Road race,

: 5th

Critérium des As The ''Critérium des As'' (''Race of the Aces'') was a cycle race that was generally held at the end of the season, with entry by invitation only, for the leading riders of the season. Competitors rode behind pacers on tandems or motorcycles. It w ...

: 9th

Trofeo Baracchi The Trofeo Baracchi was a major Italian cycling race that ran for 50 years. It was created by Giacomo Baracchi, in memory of his father Angelo who was a great cycle racing fan. Originally (from 1941) an amateur individual time trial An indiv ...

(with

Raymond Impanis Raymond Impanis (19 October 1925 – 31 December 2010) was a Belgium, Belgian professional cycle sport, cyclist from 1947 to 1963. He won Paris–Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders (men's race), Tour of Flanders, Gent–Wevelgem and three stages in ...

) ;1960 (10) : 1st Road race,

: 1st Ronde van Brabant :

::1st Mountains classification ::1st Stages 7b, 8 & 11 :

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

::1st Points classification ::1st Stage 2 ( TTT), 5 & 8b : Giro di Sardegna ::1st Stages 4 & 5 : 2nd Sassari-Cagliari : 2nd Weekend ardennais : 3rd

: 3rd

: 4th Road race,

: 4th

: 5th Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen ::1st Stage 2a : 6th

: 7th

: 8th

;1961 (13) : 1st Road race,

: 1st Overall

::1st Stages 4a ( TTT) & 4b : 1st

: 1st

: 1st Bol d'Or des Monédières : 1st Heusden Koers : 2nd

: 3rd Overall

: 6th Overall Giro di Sardegna ::1st Stages 2 & 6 : 7th Overall

::1st Stages 13, 15 & 17 : 7th Overall

::1st Points classification ::1st Stages 7 & 8 : 7th

;1962 (11) : 1st Overall Giro di Sardegna ::1st Stages 3 & 5b : 1st

: 1st

: 1st Textielprijs Vichte : 1st Memorial Fred De Bruyne : 1st Grand Prix du Parisien ( TTT) :

::1st Stages 9 & 11 :

::1st Points classification ::1st Stages 7a ( TTT), 7b & 9b : 1st Stage 2b ( TTT)

: 2nd Schelde-Dender-Leie : 3rd Rund um den Henninger Turm : 3rd Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen : 4th Overall

::1st Points classification ::1st Stages 3 & 4a ( TTT) : 6th

: 8th

;1963 (13) : 1st Road race,

: 1st

Boucles de l'Aulne Boucles de l'Aulne is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in May or June around Châteaulin, in the region of Brittany, France. Since 2006, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It was previously known as Grand ...

: 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten : Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Stages 2 & 5 : 2nd Silver medal uci

Road race,

: 2nd Overall Giro di Sardegna ::1st Stage 4 : 2nd

: 3rd Overall

::1st Points classification ::1st Stages 1, 4 & 8 : 3rd

: 6th

: 7th Brussels–Ingooigem : 8th

: 10th Overall

::1st

::1st Stages 2a, 8, 13 & 21 :: Combativity award ;1964 (9) : 1st Overall Paris–Luxembourg ::1st Stage 1 : 1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke : 1st

: 1st

Bruxelles–Meulebeke Brussels-Meulebeke () was a men's road cycling road race held in Belgium annually in May from 1964 to 1975. The competition's roll of honor includes two victories by Rik Van Looy and Eddy Merckx. The record of victories, however, belongs to Fred ...

: 1st Textielprijs Vichte :

::1st Stage 2 ::Held after Stages 2–5 : 1st Stage 4b Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 1st Stage 4

: 1st Stage 4 Giro di Sardegna : 2nd

: 2nd

: 2nd Ronde van Brabant : 3rd

: 4th

: 10th

;1965 (27) : 1st Overall Giro di Sardegna ::1st Stages 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6 : 1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke : 1st

: 1st Circuit des XI Villes : 1st Classica Sarda : 1st

: 1st Flèche Enghiennoise : 1st GP Ninove : 1st Heusden Koers :

::1st Stages 1a & 19 ::Held after Stages 1a & 1b : 1st Stage 4b Circuit du Provençal : 1st Stage 2a

: 3rd Overall

::1st

::1st Stages 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15 & 17 ::Held after Stages 1–3 : 6th

: 10th Overall

Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a UCI race classifications, 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the UCI World Tour, World Tour, by the ...

::1st Stages 1, 2b & 4 ;1966 (5) : 1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke : 1st Omloop van de Fruitstreek : 1st Stage 4

: 1st Stage 2

: 2nd

: 2nd Omloop van Midden-België : 3rd

: 4th Flèche Enghiennoise : 5th Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 9th

;1967 (4) : 1st

: 1st Omloop van de Fruitstreek : 1st GP Briek Schotte : 1st Stage 5

: 1st Stage 2 Giro di Sardegna : 2nd

: 2nd Omloop van het Houtland : 2nd Flèche Enghiennoise : 2nd Wezembeek-Oppem : 4th

: 6th Overall

::1st Stage 4 : 6th Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke : 9th Schaal Sels-Merksem : 10th Overall

::1st Points classification ;1968 (1) : 1st

: 1st Seraing–Aachen–Seraing : 2nd Flèche Enghiennoise : 3rd

: 3rd

Halle–Ingooigem Halle–Ingooigem is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in West Flanders, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Cou ...

: 4th

: 6th Tour du Condroz : 8th

: 10th Overall

: 10th

;1969 (4) : 1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke : 1st Omloop van de Grensstreek : 1st Omloop der Zennevallei : 1st

: 1st GP Briek Schotte : 1st Stage 4

: 5th

Grote Prijs Jef Scherens Tour of Leuven - Memorial Jef Scherens (until 2021 ''Grote Prijs Jef Scherens'') is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in Leuven, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race is ...

: 8th

De Kustpijl De Kustpijl is a cycling race held annually in Belgium. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cy ...

: 9th Overall

: 9th Flèche Enghiennoise : 10th

: 10th Omloop van de Fruitstreek ;1970 : 1st Kessel–Lier

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Classics results timeline

Major championships results timeline

Track

;1953 : 1st Omnium of Antwerp : 1st Omnium of Antwerp : 1st Omnium of Antwerp ;1956 : 1st Omnium of Rocourt : 1st Omnium of Brussels : 3rd Six Days of Brussels (with Lucien Acou) ;1957 : 1st Six Days of Brussels (with Willy Vannitsen) : 1st Omnium of Antwerp : 1st Omnium of Brussels : 1st Omnium of Gent : 1st Omnium of Gent ;1958 : 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Reginald Arnold) : 1st Omnium of Milan : 1st Omnium of Gent : 1st Omnium of Brussels : 1st Omnium of Zürich ;1959 : 1st Omnium of Gent : 1st Omnium of Paris : 1st Omnium of Brussels : 1st Omnium of Gent : 1st Omnium of Rocourt : 1st Omnium of Brussels : 1st Omnium of Gent ;1960 : 1st Six Days of Berlin (with

) : 1st Six Days of Ghent (with

) : 1st Omnium of Brussels : 2nd Six Days of Brussels (with

) : 2nd Six Days of Frankfurt (with

) ;1961 : 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Willy Vannitsen &

) : 1st Six Days of Cologne (with

) : 1st Six Days of Brussels (with

) : 1st Six Days of Ghent (with

) : 1st Omnium of Brussels :

::2nd Madison (with Edgard Sorgeloos) ::2nd Omnium : 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with

) : 2nd Six Days of Frankfurt (with

) : 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with

) ;1962 : 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with

Oscar Plattner Oscar Plattner (17 February 1922 – 21 August 2002) was a Swiss cyclist. National and International Wins Every year between and including 1944 and 1946, Plattner won the Swiss National Amateur Sprint Championships. In 1946, he additionally won t ...

) : 1st Six Days of Berlin (with

) : 1st Six Days of Dortmund (with

) :

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

::2nd

Madison (with

) ::3rd

Derny A Derny is a motorized bicycle for motor-paced cycling events such as during six-day and Keirin racing and motor-paced road races. Some riders train behind a derny on the road. The Derny is so-called as it was originally produced by the Fren ...

: 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with

) : 3rd Six Days of Milan (with

) ;1963 : 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with

Rik van Steenbergen Hendrik Van Steenbergen (9 September 1924 – 15 May 2003) was a Belgium, Belgian racing cyclist, considered to be one of the best among the great number of successful Belgian cyclists. Early life Van Steenbergen was born in Arendonk into ...

) : 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with

) ;1964 : 1st Omnium of Rocourt : 1st Omnium of Ostend ;1965 : 1st Omnium of Ostend : 1st Omnium of Ostend : 1st Omnium of Rocourt : 1st Omnium of Ostend : 1st Omnium of Valenciennes : 1st Omnium of Brussels ;1968 : 1st Madison (with Patrick Sercu),

: 1st Omnium of Gent (with Patrick Sercu) : 1st Omnium of Gent (with Julien Stevens) : 1st Omnium of Gent : 2nd Six Days of Ghent (with Patrick Sercu) : 2nd Six Days of Antwerp (with Fritz Pfenninger &

) ;1969 : 1st Madison (with Patrick Sercu),

: 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with

& Patrick Sercu) ;1970 : 3rd Six Days of Antwerp (with Sigi Renz & Theo Verschueren) Source

Books

*
Pedalare! The Emperor: The Rik Van Looy Story
' by David Armstrong in 1971, Kennedy Brothers, 34 p. (English) * ''The Beast, The Emperor and the Milkman'' by Harry Pearson in 2019,

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...

, 289 p. (English) * ''Rik Van Looy: De Temperamentvolle Wereldkampioen'' by Marcel Grosjean & Roger Meuleman in 1960. G.P.V., 40 p. (Dutch) * ''Rik Van Looy'' by

Fred De Bruyne Alfred De Bruyne (21 October 1930 – 4 February 1994) was a Belgian champion road cyclist. He won six Tour de France stages early in his career and went on to win many other Monuments and stage races. De Bruyne had a great deal of success early ...

in 1963. 42 p. (Dutch) * ''Rik Van Looy: Heerser en Verdeler'' by Louis Clicteur & Lucien Berghmans in 1966, De Steenbok, 222 p. (Dutch) * I''k, Rik!'' by Rik van Looy & Rob Jans in 1972, Brito, 95 p. (Dutch) * ''Van Looy Story'' by André Blancke, Jan Cornand & Roger Quick in 1979, Het Volk, 69 p. (Dutch) * ''Zonde van Nini'' by Stef Vancaenegem in 1987, Manteau, 120 p. (Dutch) * ''Rik Van Looy: Monument Voor Een Keizer'' by Roger De Maertelaere, Guy Crasset & Modest Maertens in 2005. De Eecloonaar, 192 p. (Dutch, French) * ''Flandria: de 20 Wondere Jaren van een Wielerploeg'' by Mark van Hamme in 2007, De Eecloonaar, 392 p. * ''Groene Leeuw: de Wielerploeg die de Keizer Uitdaagde'' by Jan De Smet and Patrick Feyaerts in 2008, De Eecloonaar, 360 p. * ''Rik Van Looy 80'' by Mark Vanlombeek & Robert Janssens in 2013. Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, 272 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789089313997 * ''Van Looy / Les Héros!'' by Robert Janssens in 2018. Kannibaal Books, 120 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789492677402 * ''Rik Van Looy - De Val van een (Wieler)Keizer. 1963 & 1964 Anni Horribiles'' by Jan De Smet and Patrick Feyaerts, De Eecloonaar, 210 p. (Dutch) * ''’t Is Rik – Hommage aan de Keizer'' by Bart Lamers en Thijs Delrue in 2021 (Dutch, French) ISBN 9798201045227

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Looy, Rik 1933 births 2024 deaths Belgian male cyclists Belgian Tour de France stage winners Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Cyclists from Herentals Olympic cyclists for Belgium Cyclists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Belgium Olympic medalists in cycling People from Grobbendonk Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics 20th-century Belgian sportsmen