Merckx. Inaccesible

Eddy Merckx is not only an extraordinary champion, he is also a historical figure, a conqueror of the impossible, a prestigious ambassador for all Belgians. Today, he is a legend. Five-time winner of the Tour de France, ninety-seven days in yellow (a record) and thirty-four stage victories, he has left his mark on almost every race he has participated in. The statistics speak for themselves: 1,800 races and 525 victories on the road, forming a veritable constellation under the starry sky of his fourteen-year professional career. His performance was even more remarkable given the opposition he faced in the 1970s, which was formidable and gave rise to some brilliant battles. His record is and will remain unattainable, even for Tadej Pogacar, the greatest hope of modern cycling, already a three-time winner of the Tour de France at the age of twenty-five. To come close to this summit, the Slovenian would have to race until at least the age of forty-six at a rate of twenty victories per year. We travel to the depths of his seasons, sometimes coated with a romantic veneer, the breakaways of the greatest Cannibal in history, his attacks, his madness, his courage, his doubts, his will to always go further, catching our breath in the memories of his adversaries and fellow riders. After setting out to meet these glorious elders, the author traces through them the fascinating destiny of Eddy Merckx, the tension between the ecstasy of a phenomenon and the fall of a star.