Rik Van Looy

'''Henri ("Rik") van Looy''' (born 20 December 1933 in [[Grobbendonk]]) is a [[Belgium|Belgian]] former professional [[cyclist]] of the post-[[World War II|war]] period, nicknamed the ''King of the Classics'' or ''Emperor of Herentals'' (after the small Belgian town where he lived). He was twice [[World Cycling Championship|world professional road race champion]], and was the first cyclist to win all five of the most prestigious one-day [[Classic cycle races|classics]] – a feat since achieved by just two others (both also Belgians: [[Roger De Vlaeminck]] and [[Eddy Merckx]]). ==Career== 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. A powerful [[cycling sprinter|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 [[Ronde van Nederland|Tour of the Netherlands]] victories in 1957, and in 1958 won the season's opening classic, [[Milan – San Remo]]. 1959 saw Van Looy take the early-season [[Ronde van Vlaanderen]] and the autumn classic, the [[Giro di Lombardia]]. In between, he scored another 38 victories, including three stages of the [[Vuelta a España]] (finishing third overall and winner of the points competition) and four stages of the [[Giro d'Italia]] (for 4th overall). In 1960, he scored the first of two consecutive victories in the world road race championship, but Classic victories eluded him. However, he made up for this in 1961, winning both [[Paris–Roubaix]] and [[Liège–Bastogne–Liège]] – making him the first rider to take all five 'Monuments' - as well as retaining his rainbow world title jersey, and taking three stages, plus the mountains competition, in the Giro. Van Looy scored two more Classic wins in 1962 (Paris–Roubaix, Ronde van Vlaanderen), took another Gent–Wevelgem, and two more Giro stages. In 1963 van Looy rode the [[Tour de France]], taking four stages en route to victory in the points competition and a 10th place on general classification; he also grabbed a silver in the world title race. In the latter race, held in [[Ronse]] in his native Belgium, he was beaten in the sprint by his countryman [[Benoni Beheyt]]. Van Looy, starting the sprint too early, did not take this defeat lightly. This race has remained memorable in the history of Belgian cycling. In 1965, he scored 42 victories including Paris–Roubaix, and eight stages of the Vuelta on his way to his second third place overall (his highest placing in a Grand Tour). For good measure, he also took two stages in the Tour de France. During the final years of his career (1966–1970), van Looy's road performances began to fade, as the new Belgian star Eddy Merckx rose to prominence, but he still grabbed second in the 1967 Paris–Roubaix, won [[La Flèche Wallonne]] in 1968, and took a stage of the 1969 Tour de France. His rivalry with [[Eddy Merckx]] reached the height of sabotage of Merckx in the world championships in 1969. Van Looy was also a star on the track, winning 11 [[six-day racing|Six-day races]]. His first came in [[Brussels]] in 1957, his last in Antwerp in 1968. For nine of these victories, he was paired with [[Netherlands|Dutchman]] [[Peter Post]]. == Teams == * L'Avenir 1953-1954 * Touring - Bianchi 1954 * Van Hauwaert 1955 * Girardengo Eldorado (Giro d'Italia 1955) * Faema-Guerra 1957-1958 * Faema 1959-1961 * Faema-Flandria 1962 * GBC – GBC Libertas 1963 * Solo Superia 1964-1966 * Cynar (Giro d'Italia 1967) * Willem II 1967-1970 == Selected Palmarès == {{palmares start|3}} 1952 :{{BEL}} national amateur road race champion 1953 :{{BEL}} national amateur road race champion 1956 :{{BEL}} national interclubs road race champion :[[Ronde van Nederland]] :[[Gent–Wevelgem]] :[[Paris–Brussels]] :[[Grote Scheldeprijs]] 1957 :Six days of Brussels (with [[Willy Vannitsen]]) :[[Coppa Bernocchi]] :[[Gent–Wevelgem]] :[[Ronde van Nederland]] :[[Grote Scheldeprijs]] :[[Schaal Sels-Merksem]] 1958 :[[Coppa Bernocchi]] :[[Six Days of Ghent]] (with [[Reginald Arnold]]) :[[Milano-Mantova]] :{{BEL}} national interclubs road race champion :[[1958 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]: ::Winner stages 4, 5B, 6, 9 and 10 :[[Milan – San Remo]] :[[Paris–Brussels]] :{{BEL}} National Road Race Championship 1959 :[[1959 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]]: ::Winner stages 1, 5, 11 and 14 ::4th place overall classification :[[Giro di Sardegna]] :Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen - Koolskamp :[[Paris–Tours]] :[[Ronde van Vlaanderen]] :[[1959 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]: ::Winner stages 1B, 8, 9 and 11 ::3{{Clarify|date=January 2010}}th place overall classification ::Winner points classification :Vuelta a Levante :[[Giro di Lombardia]] :[[Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana]] 1960 :Six Days of Berlin (with [[Peter Post]]) :[[1960 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]]: ::Winner stages 7B, 8 and 11 ::[[Image:Jersey green.svg|20px]] Winner mountains classification :{{flagiconUCI}} World Road Race Championships :[[Six Days of Ghent]] (with [[Peter Post]]) 1961 :Six days of Antwerp (with [[Willy Vannitsen]] and [[Peter Post]]) :Six days of Köln (with [[Peter Post]]) :[[1961 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]]: ::Winner stages 13, 15 and 17 ::7th place overall classification :[[Paris–Roubaix]] :[[Tour of Belgium]] :[[Liège–Bastogne–Liège]] :{{flagiconUCI}} World Road Race Championships :Six days of Brussels (with [[Peter Post]]) :[[Six Days of Ghent]] (with [[Peter Post]]) 1962 :Six days of Antwerp (with [[Oscar Plattner]] and [[Peter Post]]) :Six days of Berlin (with [[Peter Post]]) :Six days of Dortmund (with [[Peter Post]]) :[[1962 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]]: ::Winner stages 9 and 11 :[[Giro di Sardegna]] :[[Gent–Wevelgem]] :[[Ronde van Vlaanderen]] :[[Paris–Roubaix]] 1963 :[[Boucles de l'Aulne]] :[[1963 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: ::Winner stages 2, 8, 13 and 21 ::10th place overall classification ::[[Image:Jersey green.svg|20px]] Winner Points classification Tour de France :{{BEL}} National Road Race Championship 1964 :[[Boucles de l'Aulne]] :[[1964 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]: ::Winner stage 2 :[[E3 Prijs Vlaanderen]] :[[Paris–Luxembourg]] 1965 :[[E3 Prijs Vlaanderen]] :[[Giro di Sardegna]] :[[1965 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: ::Winner stages 1 and 19 :[[1965 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]: ::Winner stages 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15 and 17 ::Winner points classification ::3rd place overall classification :[[Paris–Roubaix]] 1966 :[[E3 Prijs Vlaanderen]] 1967 :[[Paris–Tours]] 1968 :[[La Flèche Wallonne]] 1969 :Six Days of Antwerp (with [[Peter Post]] and [[Patrick Sercu]]) :[[E3 Prijs Vlaanderen]] :[[1969 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: :Winner stage 4 :{{BEL}} National track madison Championship (with [[Patrick Sercu]]) {{palmares end}} == External links == *[http://velopalmares.free.fr/vanlooy.htm Palmeres {{fr icon}}] *[http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/TDF/riders/us/3713.html Official Tour de France results for Rik van Looy] {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2010}} {{Persondata | NAME = Van Looy, Rik | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = cyclist | DATE OF BIRTH = 20 December 1933 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Grobbendonk, Belgium | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Looy, Rik}}