Tuesday, March 19, 2024

A Look at the Eddy Merckx and Jacky Ickx Exhibition

-

HomeDiariesA Look at the Eddy Merckx and Jacky Ickx Exhibition

The Monday after Kuurne can be a bit of a downer, most of the bike shops are shut and you know that reality is just one sleep away…

Eddy Merckx
Callum and Rudy Revenge take in the morning air.

But not this one; first up we had an interview with Rudy Pevenage – strangely, there were no scales, horns or tail on view and rather than being the devil incarnate we met a man who – like so many others – ‘did what he had to do’ in era where the UCI as much as invited you to kit up.

As Frans Assez used to say; ’49.9 eh ? then I think I ride at 49.8, eh ?’

Eddy Merckx
Rudy Pevenage.

Pevenage watches cycling on TV every day but you can tell it’s eating him up that he’s no longer part of a world he loves.

‘Good riddance !’ says you; OK, but what about Bjarne, Giuseppe, Jonathan and – dare I mention it – Sky’s own Servais ?

But this isn’t a D-word rant, it’s a look at a beautiful exhibition dedicated to two of Belgium’s finest sportsmen on the year of their 70th birthday.

Eddy Merckx
This way to the Merckx exhibition.
Eddy Merckx
Two mates.

Motorbike, Formula I, Endurance and Rally Raid star, Jacky Ickx; twice a runner-up in the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, six times a winner at Le Mans and a champion in Paris-Dakar.

He was as famous, versatile and brilliant as the other man whose career gets a spotlight shone upon it – a certain Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx.

Eddy Merckx
Eddy’s career summarised here.

Any doubts you have about the production values are dispelled as soon as you cross the gangway to the entrance door where Eddy stares majestically into the middle distance with every one of his 525 wins recorded above him and round into the huge exhibition spaces.

Eddy Merckx
A young Ted.

The pictures are brilliant; many I’ve never seen before and encompassing his life from a young boy right up to his last race.

Eddy Merckx
Eddy’s National Champion’s jersey.

But it’s not just pictures; there’s a fabulous collection of jerseys from his early amateur days right up to his last C & A maillots.

Eddy Merckx
We can only imagine.

Quotes abound, we liked this one…

Eddy Merckx
Eddy with his dad in the grocery store, and racing as a young pro.

The variety is enormous; in an obviously posed shot, young Ted helps Paw Merckx in the family grocers shop right next to a shot of a fresh faced Eddy beside Walter Godefroot on the podium of the 1965 Belgian pro champs.

Eddy’s face says it all; ‘I’ll soon have more jerseys than you can shake a stick at, Walt !

And have a wee look at Walter’s eyes; I didn’t know they had Red Bull back then…

Eddy Merckx
The trophy cabinet.

The trophy display is magnificent – don’t forget that as well as all those wins there were a huge number of podiums and classification wins.

Eddy Merckx
A wall of exploits.

On the ‘TV wall’ you can watch Eddy winning in two dozen places at once – road, track and time trial.

Eddy Merckx
The famous tunnel next to the Strada Statale Uno.

If you’ve ever watched the finale of The Primavera then you’ll be aware of the tunnel on the coast road a few K’s before the Poggio; they’ve recreated it here.

Eddy Merckx
Eddy’s Hour Record track bike, preserved behind glass.

And there it is, sealed in a case as befits a precious jewel, the Hour Record bike.

This is no replica, it’s the real deal; how do we know ?

Have a look at the seat post and pedals; made as ‘one off’ specials in a magnesium alloy by Campagnolo, the passage of the years has seen the wonder material react with the air and turn black.

And check out the ‘one off’ titanium handlebar extension which carry Eddy’s favourite Cinelli 66 ‘bars.

Eddy Merckx
Ernesto Colnago holds his custom creation.

And a younger Ernesto Colnago – Ted’s personal mechanic on the gig – stares out us with his lovely creation; the chamfering and polishing work on the cranks is sublime.

And who wouldn’t kill for his Molteni cardigan ?

Eddy Merckx
Windsor cigarette’s featured on the head tube.

One of the sponsors of the attempt was Mexican cigarette manufacturer, Windsor; and like anyone who comes up with the dosh – they get a name check.

Eddy Merckx
Dave tests himself against the Hour Record power required.

We decided to put Dave on the test rig where you can challenge Ted’s Mexico wattage for one minute – suffice to say that no ‘plane tickets to Mexico were booked as a result…

Eddy Merckx
Snow in Paris – Nice.

Some of the pictures remind us that when we dinosaurs talk about; ‘men being harder back then’ we’re not just letting nostalgia get the better of us.

The above shot is from Paris-Nice.

Eddy Merckx
Tom Simpson features in the exhibition too.

There’s a huge media archive on display with not all of it relating to Eddy; rest in peace Monsieur Tom.

Eddy Merckx
Dave wishes the taps were operational.

We did like the replica 60’s Flanders bar complete with race going past – courtesy a video wall – and Faema coffee machine.

No buxom barmaid though, unfortunately.

Eddy Merckx
Eddy’s Superia is in beautiful condition.

As well as the Hour Record bike, there was a bike there from all of Eddy’s trade teams – and as far as we could see they were all authentic with just about all the right bits in the right places.

You may think; ‘that goes without saying’ but it doesn’t – if you’ve ever visited the Madonna del Ghisallo cycling museum you’ll be aware of the horrible mismatch of components that can happen if things aren’t properly curated.

Our only quibble was with the brake levers on the Peugeot team bike…

Eddy Merckx
The Brooks saddle was ubiquitous in the peloton in the ’70’s.

And just as we all did back then, Eddy rested his derriere on a Brooks Pro; but you’ll get no starry eyed reminiscences from me – as soon as I could afford a padded Unicanitor, I bought one.

Eddy Merckx
The Peugeots still look good now.

Those team Peugeots looked the biz – albeit your winter weight training was so as you could find the strength to lift the beast on to a roof rack.

Some of the top riders had frames built by top Italian builders with Peugeot spray jobs – but you had to be careful team management didn’t find out or they’d tell you to get back on a team frame.

A large part of the ‘Peugeot pitch’ was that you could buy and ride the exact same bike as Pingeon/Simpson/Merckx…

Eddy Merckx
Alberto Masi – built Faema.

The pre-Campag brakes (they first appeared at the Paris trade show in 1968) Faema bikes were built by Milano legend, Alberto Masi beneath the bankings of the Vigorelli velodrome.

Vik and I have often mused about how Campag came up with those brake levers – they were smaller than the Universal and Mafac levers of the day and about half the size of current levers; anyway…

Eddy Merckx
Molteni team issue, with Eddy’s own branding starting to be used.

‘Pumpkin’ was the colour of those Molteni bikes and they were gorgeous with that Campag Record and Super Record equipment – even the boxes were cool.

Eddy Merckx
Silver De Roas’s were used in Eddy’s last teams.

His last seasons were spent on the silver Fiat/C&A team machines – built by De Rosa, if my memory is correct – and nice looking machines.

Rudy Pevenage
It’s over, and the bike is leant against the wall.

The end came on 19th March 1978 in Kemzeke where he finished 12th in the Omloop van het Waasland.

But after 525 wins, 32 Classics, four World Championships, 11 major Tours and seven Super Prestige Pernod titles (the season-long points based competition to find the best rider of the year) he had nothing left to prove.

Eddy Merckx
BMW 3.0 CSL.

And finally, if you do like VeloVeritas and have a big lottery win then all I’d like is Jacky Ickx’s old BMW 3.0 CSL, he doesn’t use it anymore.

Eddy Merckx
The exhibition is on until June.

If you’re in Brussels before June 21st then get yourself along to the Atomium, you’ll thank us for it.

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

Related Articles

Barry Hoban, Britain’s Only Gent-Wevelgem Winner

It’s Gent–Wevelgem 1974, you’ve made it over the savage Kemmel climb twice with the lead group and survived hanging on the back of an Eddy Merckx (Belgium and Molteni) and Roger De Vlaeminck (Belgium and Brooklyn) driven purge on the run-in; there are 17 guys left, so maybe you would settle for a top ten? Not if your name is Barry Hoban (Britain and GAN-Mercier) and you feel that the ‘overdrive’ is in your legs.

Giro di Lombardia – Day One

Ciao! Five K from Como, 14:42 on Friday. It's 13.5 degrees on the car computer but feels much warmer in the Lombardian sun. Dave's at the helm, we've been fed and I've got the Gazzetta on my lap - I'm having a "Giro flashback!"

Paris – Roubaix 2007 – Day 1: Getting There

Paris - Roubaix 2007. My lift was late; the architect at the site meet was a pain, then the car broke down. It was therefore a stressed Ed who lurched onto the 12.30pm London express at Waverley on Thursday afternoon to rendez-vous with VeloVeritas Editor, Martin.

Giro d’Italia 2009 – Day 4: Stage 17, Chieti – Blockhaus

I woke with a start, in the middle of the night, damn! I thought, things I should have mentioned, in the diary - Blockhaus; today's mega climb, we caught sight of it yesterday morning as we hurtled down the Autostrada.

At Random

Lindsay Gordon says Hello

Hi VeloVeritas readers, my name is Lindsay Gordon and I will be riding for the Bicycleworks.com Under 25 team this season and keeping a blog updated here too.

Le Tour de France 2016 – Stage 12; Montpellier – Mont Ventoux. De Gendt Wins Amidst the Chaos

First of all, a fantastic win by Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), let’s say that first and foremost. The Belgian was away all day then won the sprint from another two survivors of the big break of the day. As a bonus, he takes the polka dot jersey, too. De Gendt He's tamed the Stelvio and (most of) the Ventoux - he just needs to win on the Angleru now...

Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day One

I'm standing on the chair so as I can see over the cabin, Leif Lampater and Roger Kluge are the only pair left to ride in the 1,000 metres time trial here at the Berlin Six Day.

Tour de Yorkshire 2018 – Stage 1 Wrap Up; Harry Tanfield’s Seated Acceleration!

Yorkshire has a new cycling hero – and Harry Tanfield can’t quite believe it. Never before had a local won a Tour de Yorkshire stage but with one superb breakaway and one big push to the line, this 23-year-old from Great Ayton had the Doncaster crowd rocking, to take stage 1 of the Tour de Yorkshire 2018.