Merckx's last seasons (+ punch on the Puy de Dôme)
This thread is dedicated to all the haters from the Clinic section, probably French or some Dutchies
.
I wanna bust two myths here:
First: 1975 was the year of his decline
Second: The punch at the liver didn't affect the rest of his July race (which - I know - the French can't accept is wrong).
My main sources are: Eddy Merckx : les Tours de France d'un champion unique by Theo Mathy and a TV programme on Belgian channel Canvas called Eddy Merckx: de zesde Tour : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Onc2yJHTY
His 1975 season was definitely among his best.
Starting in February when he was European champion Omnium, he next won the Six Days of Antwerp and the Tour of Sardegna.
He won Milan Sanremo thanks to a great help from Bruyère pulling him towards Moser whom he easily beat in the sprint.
He won the Amstel (not the big race that we know today), exhausting Maertens on the Limburg climbs and outsprinting him easily, while Maertens was reputedly much faster.
Two days after the Amstel, he started the Catalan Week, traditionally the best prep for the Tour of Flanders. He won it but lost super helper Bruyère for the rest of the season due to a bad crash.
Two days after the end of the Catalan Week was the Tour of Flanders. That was one of his masterpieces. Eddy attacked in the Kwaremont with 100km to go. Nobody could have thought he would attack there, but one rider with the name Frans Verbeeck. But Verbeeck only pulled once in a while, and sometimes Eddy waited for him because he wanted him to be 2nd. With 5km to go he lost him. Verbeeck's post-race interview would be in the history books: "He's riding 5km/h too fast for us."
In Paris-Roubaix he escaped with De Vlaeminck, Dierickx and Demeyer but punctured in the small section of Hem, came back in the false flat section of Hem but De Vlaeminck had already "felt" it and countered. The sprint between the two was at daggers drawn. De Vlaeminck wins.
In the Walloon Arrow, he escaped with Dierickx and Verbeeck. Dierickx never pulled once (!) and outsprinted his two companions. Verbeeck was for the 33344896498th time 2nd in a great classic.
In Liège Bastogne Liège, he outsprinted Thévenet who looked a certain winner with one km to go.
In the Championship of Zurich he was again outsprinted by De Vlaeminck but was second ahead of Moser.
In the Tour of Romandy, just like in any stage race, he was in contention with Zoetemelk. The Dutchman's manager - Caput - accused Merckx of compromising with some other teams. When in the aforelast stage a breakaway formed with Galdos and Paolini everybody was expecting him, as usual, to pull the chase but Merckx didn't want to favour Zoetemelk and gave up.
After a criterium, Merckx had a cold and had to pull out of the Tour of Italy. He hence raced the Dauphiné but with no ambition.
He came back strongly in the Tour of Switzerland, looked to be a certain winner in the stage to Maloja but the bad asphalt favoured De Vlaeminck, at the top of his form after his 4th place in Italy. Merckx won one stage and finished second behind the Gipsy who won 5 stages and is still proud to have beaten Merckx three times in one day (the two semi stages on the last day + GC).
Merckx finished second in the Tour of France and had to recover for weeks from a double jaw break. He could no longer eat anything solid. He could no longer bite. He obviously couldn't be in contention for the Worlds but still finished 8th and then 6th in Lombardy.
1975 was the last great season of Merckx but yet, his start of the 1976 spring session was outstanding. For the first time in his career he choose for Tirreno instead of Paris-Nice (Tirreno was nowhere close to what it is today but his participation kind of boosted it). Again he was second to 4 time winner De Vlaeminck in the GC as in the ITT. But in Milan Sanremo, he attacked in the descent of the Capo Berta with 14 other riders, his third attack - on the Poggio - was decisive and he only had Vandenbroucke with him. That way he broke Girardengo's 48 year old record with his 7th Milan Sanremo. He then won the Catalan Week again but a bad fall in the last stage would hamper down his spring session (exactly where he lost Bruyère the year before).
Those who've watched A Sunday in Hell know he would still make a great Paris-Roubaix. He also made a great Tour of Italy but he was no longer as dominant. His last major win would be the Med Tour in 1977. After that says Geminiani (then his new coach), he organized a big champaign party because he knew that was gonna be one of his last, exhausted by 10 years of intense competition. In his last year in 1978 he would be European Champion Madison and retired on May 18, at age 32.
---------
What happened on the Puy de Dôme in July 1975?
The Puy de Dôme never suited Merckx because it was short and steep. Merckx is a diesel and prefered longer climbs. Therefore, Goddet used it a lot (he acknowledged in his memoirs that he drew routes to make him lose).
When Van Impe attacked, Merckx didn't react but he could maintain the gap at around 20 seconds. He was punched in the liver with about one km to go, just at a moment he was taking a deep breath. Van Impe wins. Merckx lost 49 seconds and was caught by Zoetemelk. The punch didn't have make him lose much in itself, but the consequences will be disastrous. Merckx's unreal domination triggered mixed reactions: admiration but also jealousy and hatred. Booed in Belgium, stone cast in Spain, punched in France and urine faked in Italy. He was disturbing. Everybody hated him because he won so much.
After the rest day in Nice, Merckx still felt the pain. In the ascent of the Col des Champs he asked team mate Ward Janssens to take a medicine from Dr Miserez for him: the Glifanan. Miserez testified it. In the Col d'Allos, he attacked and crossed the top with a 10 second advantage on Thévenet. The descent of Allos is long and technical and Merckx's descent was art work. Marc Jeuniau from RTBF was on the motorbike next to him and witnessed it. He cut the turns beautifully and had 1'30 ahead of Thévenet down in the valley. Thévenet was meanwhile overtaken by Gimondi and Zoetemelk. Merckx also lost some 30" because of the cars that blocked him. Before the ascent of Pra Loup, 6km long, seemed that die is cast. But on the climb, Merckx seems in big trouble and is caught and let down by Gimondi first, then Thévenet who wins the stage and is new leader and even by Zoetemelk.
The reason for this black-out, is - says De Muer (Thévenet's coach) - raging hunger. But Jeuniau could testify that Merckx did feed up during the descent and if it were raging hunger he would have rushed to food after the stage, which wasn't the case.
The only rational explanation for it was the side effects medication that he received before and during the stage. Merckx's personal doctor - Dr Lemage - told Théo Mathy that day that his lumbar vertebra on the right side (the side that was punched) was full of cramps.
The next day, Merckx still felt the pain and he took some medicine of his own because he knew he couldn't take the Glifanan again. But the pain was persistent and he still had to ask Dr Miserez for it. Then he was in trouble again in the Izoard but beforehand, he attacked in the Vars and caught early attackers including Zoetemelk who refused to pull in the valley while it was in his interest.
The nex day, Merckx felt much better but a fall in Valloire before the start, with Ole Ritter will be disastrous. Double jaw break. Dr Miserez advised him to retire but his response was typical: no way. Merckx attacked in every descents because he knew that Thévenet was such a poor descender but he found an ally: Francesco Moser, a great descender who'd always wanted Merckx's death since Milan Sanremo. Just like so many. Make him lose rather than race one's own race. In the end Merckx gained 2 seconds on Thévenet. The next day, while he could not eat anything solid he raced the climbing ITT from Morzine to Avoriaz. Van Impe wins again. Ritter is 2nd and Merckx 3rd. In the last stage, he attacked from the start but to no avail.
It is crystal clear that the punch on the Puy de Dôme and the crash in Valloire implied that he could not decently defend his chances on that race. So said Dr Miserez. A neutral opinion and close witness.
OK It's been a bit long, but since I don't care about the July circus I won't be posting here before long. Have a nice summer.
This thread is dedicated to all the haters from the Clinic section, probably French or some Dutchies
. I wanna bust two myths here:
First: 1975 was the year of his decline
Second: The punch at the liver didn't affect the rest of his July race (which - I know - the French can't accept is wrong).
My main sources are: Eddy Merckx : les Tours de France d'un champion unique by Theo Mathy and a TV programme on Belgian channel Canvas called Eddy Merckx: de zesde Tour : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Onc2yJHTY
His 1975 season was definitely among his best.
Starting in February when he was European champion Omnium, he next won the Six Days of Antwerp and the Tour of Sardegna.
He won Milan Sanremo thanks to a great help from Bruyère pulling him towards Moser whom he easily beat in the sprint.
He won the Amstel (not the big race that we know today), exhausting Maertens on the Limburg climbs and outsprinting him easily, while Maertens was reputedly much faster.
Two days after the Amstel, he started the Catalan Week, traditionally the best prep for the Tour of Flanders. He won it but lost super helper Bruyère for the rest of the season due to a bad crash.
Two days after the end of the Catalan Week was the Tour of Flanders. That was one of his masterpieces. Eddy attacked in the Kwaremont with 100km to go. Nobody could have thought he would attack there, but one rider with the name Frans Verbeeck. But Verbeeck only pulled once in a while, and sometimes Eddy waited for him because he wanted him to be 2nd. With 5km to go he lost him. Verbeeck's post-race interview would be in the history books: "He's riding 5km/h too fast for us."
In Paris-Roubaix he escaped with De Vlaeminck, Dierickx and Demeyer but punctured in the small section of Hem, came back in the false flat section of Hem but De Vlaeminck had already "felt" it and countered. The sprint between the two was at daggers drawn. De Vlaeminck wins.
In the Walloon Arrow, he escaped with Dierickx and Verbeeck. Dierickx never pulled once (!) and outsprinted his two companions. Verbeeck was for the 33344896498th time 2nd in a great classic.
In Liège Bastogne Liège, he outsprinted Thévenet who looked a certain winner with one km to go.
In the Championship of Zurich he was again outsprinted by De Vlaeminck but was second ahead of Moser.
In the Tour of Romandy, just like in any stage race, he was in contention with Zoetemelk. The Dutchman's manager - Caput - accused Merckx of compromising with some other teams. When in the aforelast stage a breakaway formed with Galdos and Paolini everybody was expecting him, as usual, to pull the chase but Merckx didn't want to favour Zoetemelk and gave up.
After a criterium, Merckx had a cold and had to pull out of the Tour of Italy. He hence raced the Dauphiné but with no ambition.
He came back strongly in the Tour of Switzerland, looked to be a certain winner in the stage to Maloja but the bad asphalt favoured De Vlaeminck, at the top of his form after his 4th place in Italy. Merckx won one stage and finished second behind the Gipsy who won 5 stages and is still proud to have beaten Merckx three times in one day (the two semi stages on the last day + GC).
Merckx finished second in the Tour of France and had to recover for weeks from a double jaw break. He could no longer eat anything solid. He could no longer bite. He obviously couldn't be in contention for the Worlds but still finished 8th and then 6th in Lombardy.
1975 was the last great season of Merckx but yet, his start of the 1976 spring session was outstanding. For the first time in his career he choose for Tirreno instead of Paris-Nice (Tirreno was nowhere close to what it is today but his participation kind of boosted it). Again he was second to 4 time winner De Vlaeminck in the GC as in the ITT. But in Milan Sanremo, he attacked in the descent of the Capo Berta with 14 other riders, his third attack - on the Poggio - was decisive and he only had Vandenbroucke with him. That way he broke Girardengo's 48 year old record with his 7th Milan Sanremo. He then won the Catalan Week again but a bad fall in the last stage would hamper down his spring session (exactly where he lost Bruyère the year before).
Those who've watched A Sunday in Hell know he would still make a great Paris-Roubaix. He also made a great Tour of Italy but he was no longer as dominant. His last major win would be the Med Tour in 1977. After that says Geminiani (then his new coach), he organized a big champaign party because he knew that was gonna be one of his last, exhausted by 10 years of intense competition. In his last year in 1978 he would be European Champion Madison and retired on May 18, at age 32.
---------
What happened on the Puy de Dôme in July 1975?
The Puy de Dôme never suited Merckx because it was short and steep. Merckx is a diesel and prefered longer climbs. Therefore, Goddet used it a lot (he acknowledged in his memoirs that he drew routes to make him lose).
When Van Impe attacked, Merckx didn't react but he could maintain the gap at around 20 seconds. He was punched in the liver with about one km to go, just at a moment he was taking a deep breath. Van Impe wins. Merckx lost 49 seconds and was caught by Zoetemelk. The punch didn't have make him lose much in itself, but the consequences will be disastrous. Merckx's unreal domination triggered mixed reactions: admiration but also jealousy and hatred. Booed in Belgium, stone cast in Spain, punched in France and urine faked in Italy. He was disturbing. Everybody hated him because he won so much.
After the rest day in Nice, Merckx still felt the pain. In the ascent of the Col des Champs he asked team mate Ward Janssens to take a medicine from Dr Miserez for him: the Glifanan. Miserez testified it. In the Col d'Allos, he attacked and crossed the top with a 10 second advantage on Thévenet. The descent of Allos is long and technical and Merckx's descent was art work. Marc Jeuniau from RTBF was on the motorbike next to him and witnessed it. He cut the turns beautifully and had 1'30 ahead of Thévenet down in the valley. Thévenet was meanwhile overtaken by Gimondi and Zoetemelk. Merckx also lost some 30" because of the cars that blocked him. Before the ascent of Pra Loup, 6km long, seemed that die is cast. But on the climb, Merckx seems in big trouble and is caught and let down by Gimondi first, then Thévenet who wins the stage and is new leader and even by Zoetemelk.
The reason for this black-out, is - says De Muer (Thévenet's coach) - raging hunger. But Jeuniau could testify that Merckx did feed up during the descent and if it were raging hunger he would have rushed to food after the stage, which wasn't the case.
The only rational explanation for it was the side effects medication that he received before and during the stage. Merckx's personal doctor - Dr Lemage - told Théo Mathy that day that his lumbar vertebra on the right side (the side that was punched) was full of cramps.
The next day, Merckx still felt the pain and he took some medicine of his own because he knew he couldn't take the Glifanan again. But the pain was persistent and he still had to ask Dr Miserez for it. Then he was in trouble again in the Izoard but beforehand, he attacked in the Vars and caught early attackers including Zoetemelk who refused to pull in the valley while it was in his interest.
The nex day, Merckx felt much better but a fall in Valloire before the start, with Ole Ritter will be disastrous. Double jaw break. Dr Miserez advised him to retire but his response was typical: no way. Merckx attacked in every descents because he knew that Thévenet was such a poor descender but he found an ally: Francesco Moser, a great descender who'd always wanted Merckx's death since Milan Sanremo. Just like so many. Make him lose rather than race one's own race. In the end Merckx gained 2 seconds on Thévenet. The next day, while he could not eat anything solid he raced the climbing ITT from Morzine to Avoriaz. Van Impe wins again. Ritter is 2nd and Merckx 3rd. In the last stage, he attacked from the start but to no avail.
It is crystal clear that the punch on the Puy de Dôme and the crash in Valloire implied that he could not decently defend his chances on that race. So said Dr Miserez. A neutral opinion and close witness.
OK It's been a bit long, but since I don't care about the July circus I won't be posting here before long. Have a nice summer.
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