Rik Van Looy
Van Looy in 1962
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Henri Van Looy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Rik II Keizer van Herentals |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
20 December 1933 Grobbendonk, Belgium |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | Retired | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rider type | Classics Specialist Sprinter |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional team(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1953–1954 | l'Avenir | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1953–1954 | Gitane–Hutchinson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1954 | Touring | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1954 | Bianchi-Pirelli | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1955 | Van Hauwaert–Maes Plis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1956–1962 | Faema–Guerra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963 | GBC–GBC Libertas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1964–1966 | Solo Superia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967 | Cynar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1970 | Willem II–Gazelle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major wins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Henri "Rik" Van Looy (born 20 December 1933 in Grobbendonk) is a Belgian former professional cyclist of the post-war period, nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals (after the small Belgian town where he lived). He was twice world professional road race champion, and was the first cyclist to win all five 'Monuments': the most prestigious one-day classics – a feat since achieved by just two others (both also Belgians: Roger De Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx). With 379 road victories he's second to Merckx only. He is ninth on the all-time list of Grand Tour stage winners with thirty-seven victories.
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. At the 1952 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the team road race event.
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 and Paris–Brussels, 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 Rik Van Steenbergen. He repeated his Gent–Wevelgem and Tour of the Netherlands victories in 1957, and in 1958 won the season's opening classic, Milan–San Remo.
...
Wikipedia