Spare a thought for Eddy Merckx. After an 18-year career aggressively punctuated with 525 wins, he was probably hopeful of a quiet retirement away from it all – some thinking time to reflect on his glories. And what glories they are: five Tours de France, five Giri d’Italia, one Vuelta a España, 19 Monuments, and three World Championships, along with all the rest of them. He is the GOAT, Greatest of All Time, and most people think so.
But a quiet retirement has not happened. Instead, the now 79-year-old gets called out for business and photo opportunities the world over, keeping him permanently in the limelight of the sport he once dominated. And then there are the phone calls. Oh, the phone calls: every time someone else does something that might be vaguely Merckxian, the reporters start hassling him, asking if someone else is the GOAT actually, not him.
And they’re not. Merckx knows this. The reporters probably know this. He is from a bygone era where the riders raced 195 days of the year, and now they cherrypick the 70 that suit them. But there is this thing going on here where a man with nothing left to prove keeps having to justify his legacy in the sport because no matter what he says, it’s a good quote to hang a story off: Merckx either says that he is still the greatest, or he doesn’t. And with each year this goes on, with each rider that approaches his record – in total, or at the Tour de France, or really anything – the more ridiculous it becomes and the more cantankerous Merckx seems (and maybe even is).
We’re sure there are many more people who are Not as Good as Eddy, but for starters, here’s a non-exhaustive list from the mouth of the man himself over the past few years.
Remco Evenepoel
2019: “Can he follow in my footsteps? Maybe he will even get better. Remco has all the qualities to make it happen.”
Peter Sagan
“Sagan is a complete rider, but I was more complete.” Love the straight shooting here.
Mark Cavendish
A ‘between the lines’ admission that Cavendish may be a better sprinter but not a better bike racer:
2023: “There’ll be no problem if Cavendish equals my record. I won’t lose any sleep over it. If he does it, I’ll congratulate him because it’s not easy to win 34 sprints.”
2024: “Congratulations to Mark Cavendish on this historic achievement! Such a nice guy to break my record.”
Mathieu van der Poel
“I once went to dinner with Mathieu van der Poel and his grandfather [Raymond] Poulidor. Pou-Pou was convinced that Mathieu could win the Tour. Unfortunately, I have to say that it’s not possible.”
By the process of elimination: no Tours, no Merckx challenger.
Eddy Merckx metro station, Brussels
No known remarks.
Remco Evenepoel (again)
2023: “I admire his character – he is a rider of great class and very strong. The problem is that he turned pro too early and skipped the other categories. As a result, he misses something in his preparation. I hope he can make up for that in the coming years and show that he is a super champion.”
After the effusive words of 2019 (when Evenepoel had won one pro race), Merckx was backtracking.
This cup of tea
“A better tea but a worse cyclist.” – Eddy Merckx, probably.
Philippe Gilbert
“He could win the Tour.” (Best result: 38th, 2011)
Lance Armstrong
Pre-Oprah:
“The Tour is the most important race and Lance is the one who won it most. I don’t have a problem with the fact that he’s topped me.”
Remco Evenepoel (again again)
A one day (and one day only) concession:
“On Saturday, Remco Evenepoel was stronger than me. What he achieved is exceptional. What he did was simply historic. I was jumping up and down in my chair. I was like an ordinary fan: completely in awe of his performance … No, really, on Saturday, he was stronger than me.”
On Saturday. Got it.
This Eddy Merckx statue
“A stirring likeness, right down to the three small doughy children on my shoulders at all times. But it is only a statue.” – Eddy Merckx, probably
Lance Armstrong (again)
Post-Oprah, begging the question what did they talk about if not ‘other things’:
“I’m sick, exclusively for my sport. I met Lance many times, he never spoke to me about doping, doctors or other things.”
Prince Albert II of Monaco
No known on-record remarks, but they seem like pals.
Prince Albert II of Belgium (same name, different man and country)
“I’m still number one, right?”
These sensible, heinous shoes
“It may say Eddy Merckx on it, but I – also Eddy Merckx – recognise that a shoe is not a bicyclist.” – Eddy Merckx, probably
This other Eddy Merckx statue (and the smaller Eddy Merckx statue that Eddy Merckx holds while being overlooked by the first statue of Eddy Merckx)
“A dream within a dream within a dream. That is all my life now is.” – Eddy Merckx, probably
Tadej Pogačar
The day of the World Championships win:
“It’s obvious that he is now above me. Deep down, I already thought as much when I saw what he did on the last Tour de France, but tonight there’s no more doubt about it.”
Tadej Pogačar
The day after the World Championships win, with an exciting backtrack:
“I was referring to what he did at the World Championships, on that specific course. It was incredible, and I said it as I thought, but beyond that, I don’t believe Pogačar is superior to Eddy Merckx. He has only won three Tours. He is still not superior to me. He has a long way to go to be better than Eddy Merckx.”
The incessant questions
“Fffffuuuuu….”
In summary: yes, you’re still the GOAT. No, we couldn’t find any quotes from you about Marianne Vos. Yes, these are different times. Please stop picking up the phone every time someone wants a spicy quote.
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