Rik Van Looy

Olympic Games
Competitor for Belgium
	Helsinki 1952	Team road race
Road bicycle racing
World Championships
	1960 Karl Marx Stadt	Road race
	1961 Bern	Road race
	1956 Copenhagen	Road race
	1963 Ronse	Road race
	1953 Lugano	Amateur's Road Race

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 Eddy Merckx only. He is ninth on the all-time list of Grand Tour stage winners with thirty-seven victories.

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. At the 1952 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the team road race event.^[1]

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.

1959 saw Van Looy take the early-season Tour of Flanders 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, Tour of Flanders), 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.^[2]

Van Looy was also a star on the track, winning 11 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 Dutchman Peter Post.

Teams

Rik Van Looy in 2010

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 achievements

1952

Belgium national amateur road race champion

1953

Belgium national amateur road race champion

1956

Belgium national interclubs road race champion

1957

Six days of Brussels (with Willy Vannitsen)

1958

Six Days of Ghent (with Reginald Arnold)

Milano-Mantova

Belgium national interclubs road race champion

Vuelta a España:

Winner stages 4, 5B, 6, 9 and 10

Milan–San Remo

Paris–Brussels

Belgium National Road Race Championship

1959

Giro d'Italia:

Winner stages 1, 5, 11 and 14

4th place overall classification

Giro di Sardegna

Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen – Koolskamp

Paris–Tours

Tour of Flanders

Vuelta a España:

Winner stages 1B, 8, 9 and 11

3rd 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)

Giro d'Italia:

Winner stages 7B, 8 and 11

Winner mountains classification

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)

Giro d'Italia:

Winner stages 13, 15 and 17

7th place overall classification

Paris–Roubaix

Tour of Belgium

Liège–Bastogne–Liège

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)

Giro d'Italia:

Winner stages 9 and 11

Tour of Flanders

1963

Winner stages 2, 8, 13 and 21

10th place overall classification

Winner Points classification Tour de France

Belgium National Road Race Championship

1964

Winner stage 2

1965

Winner stages 1 and 19

Vuelta a España:

Winner stages 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15 and 17

Winner points classification

3rd place overall classification

1966

1967

1968

1969

Six Days of Antwerp (with Peter Post and Patrick Sercu)

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen

Tour de France:

Winner stage 4

Belgium National track madison Championship (with Patrick Sercu)

References

↑ "Rik Van Looy Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
↑ Van Walleghem, Rik (1993). Eddy Merckx:the greatest cyclist of the 20th century. Pinguin Productions. ISBN 1-884737-72-2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rik Van Looy.

Palmeres (French)
Rik Van Looy profile at Cycling Archives
Official Tour de France results for Rik Van Looy

UCI Road World Champions – Men's road race

1927: Binda
1928–29: Ronsse
1930: Binda
1931: Guerra
1932: Binda
1933: Speicher
1934: Kaers
1935: Aerts
1936: Magne
1937: Meulenberg
1938: Kint
1946: Knecht
1947: Middelkamp
1948: Schotte
1949: Van Steenbergen
1950: Schotte
1951: Kübler
1952: Müller
1953: Coppi
1954: Bobet
1955: Ockers
1956–57: Van Steenbergen
1958: Baldini
1959: Darrigade
1960–61: Van Looy
1962: Stablinski
1963: Beheyt
1964: Janssen
1965: Simpson
1966: Altig
1967: E. Merckx
1968: Adorni
1969: Ottenbros
1970: Monseré
1971: E. Merckx
1972: M. Basso
1973: Gimondi
1974: E. Merckx
1975: Kuiper
1976: Maertens
1977: F. Moser
1978: Knetemann
1979: Raas
1980: B. Hinault
1981: Maertens
1982: Saronni
1983: LeMond
1984: Criquielion
1985: Zoetemelk
1986: Argentin
1987: S. Roche
1988: Fondriest
1989: LeMond
1990: Dhaenens
1991: Bugno–92: Bugno
1993: Armstrong
1994: Leblanc
1995: Olano
1996: Museeuw
1997: Brochard
1998: Camenzind
1999: Freire
2000: Vainšteins
2001: Freire
2002: Cipollini
2003: Astarloa
2004: Freire
2005: Boonen
2006–07: Bettini
2008: Ballan
2009: Evans
2010: Hushovd
2011: Cavendish
2012: Gilbert
2013: Costa
2014: Kwiatkowski
2015: Sagan

Belgian National Road Race Champion (men)

1894 Houa
1895-1896 Luyten
1897-1898 Bertrand
1899 Degeetere
1900 Quoidbach
1901 Burger
1902 Defrance
1903 Vanderstuyft
1904 Sales
1905 Jamar
1906 Not held
1907-1908 Verstraeten
1909 Van Hauwaert
1910 Hanlet
1911 Defraye
1912 Verschoore
1913 Van Daele
1914 Dethier
1915-1918 Not held
1919 Rossius
1920-1921 Vanhevel
1922 Vermandel
1923 Sellier
1924 Vermandel
1925 Debaets
1926 Sellier
1927 Mortelmans
1928 Dervaes
1929-1930 Wauters
1931 Schepers
1932 Lemaire
1933 Duerloo
1934 Roels
1935 Danneels
1936 Aerts
1937 Kaers
1938 Van Theemsche
1939 Kint
1940 Van Den Meersschaut
1941 Defoort
1942 Maelbrancke
1943 Van Steenbergen
1944 Not held
1945 Van Steenbergen
1946-1947 Masson
1948 Buysse
1949 Ollivier
1950 Ramon
1951 Anthonis
1952 Schils
1953 Vansteenkiste
1954 Van Steenbergen
1955 Van Cauter
1956-1957 Vlayen
1958 Van Looy
1959 Oellibrandt
1960 De Mulder
1961 Van Aerde
1962 Planckaert
1963 Van Looy
1964 Sels
1965 Godefroot
1966 Reybrouck
1967 Boons
1968 Stevens
1969 De Vlaeminck
1970 E. Merckx
1971 Van Springel
1972 Godefroot
1973 Verbeeck
1974 Swerts
1975 Teirlinck
1976 Maertens
1977-1978 Pollentier
1979 Verlinden
1980 Jacobs
1981 De Vlaeminck
1982 Hoste
1983 Van Impe
1984 Vanderaerden
1985 Haghedooren
1986 Sergeant
1987 Van Den Haute
1988 De Wilde
1989 Bomans
1990 Criquielion
1991 Van Itterbeeck
1992 Museeuw
1993 Van Den Bossche
1994-1995 Nelissen
1996 Museeuw
1997-1998 Steels
1999 Dierckxsens
2000 A. Merckx
2001 Capelle
2002 Steels
2003 Omloop
2004 Steels
2005 Baguet
2006 Eeckhout
2007 Devolder
2008 Roelandts
2009 Boonen
2010 Devolder
2011 Gilbert
2012 Boonen
2013 Devolder
2014 Debusschere
2015 Van Hecke

Tour de France points classification winners

Tour de France combativity award winners

Vuelta a España points classification winners

Milan–San Remo winners

1900–1919	Lucien Petit-Breton (1907) Cyrille van Hauwaert (1908) Luigi Ganna (1909) Eugène Christophe (1910) Gustave Garrigou (1911) Henri Pélissier (1912) Odile Defraye (1913) Ugo Agostoni (1914) Ezio Corlaita (1915) (1916, not held) Gaetano Belloni (1917) Costante Girardengo (1918) Angelo Gremo (1919)

1920–1939	Gaetano Belloni (1920) Costante Girardengo (1921) Giovanni Brunero (1922) Costante Girardengo (1923) Pietro Linari (1924) Costante Girardengo (1925–1926) Pietro Chesi (1927) Costante Girardengo (1928) Alfredo Binda (1929) Michele Mara (1930) Alfredo Binda (1931) Alfredo Bovet (1932) Learco Guerra (1933) Jef Demuysere (1934) Giuseppe Olmo (1935) Angelo Varetto (1936) Cesare Del Cancia (1937) Giuseppe Olmo (1938) Gino Bartali (1939)

1940–1959	Gino Bartali (1940) Pierino Favalli (1941) Adolfo Leoni (1942) Cino Cinelli (1943) (1944–1945, not held) Fausto Coppi (1946) Gino Bartali (1947) Fausto Coppi (1948–1949) Gino Bartali (1950) Louison Bobet (1951) Loretto Petrucci (1952–1953) Rik Van Steenbergen (1954) Germain Derycke (1955) Fred De Bruyne (1956) Miguel Poblet (1957) Rik Van Looy (1958) Miguel Poblet (1959)

1960–1979	René Privat (1960) Raymond Poulidor (1961) Emile Daems (1962) Joseph Groussard (1963) Tom Simpson (1964) Arie den Hartog (1965) Eddy Merckx (1966–1967) Rudi Altig (1968) Eddy Merckx (1969) Michele Dancelli (1970) Eddy Merckx (1971–1972) Roger De Vlaeminck (1973) Felice Gimondi (1974) Eddy Merckx (1975–1976) Jan Raas (1977) Roger De Vlaeminck (1978–1979)

1980–1999	Pierino Gavazzi (1980) Alfons De Wolf (1981) Marc Gomez (1982) Giuseppe Saronni (1983) Francesco Moser (1984) Hennie Kuiper (1985) Sean Kelly (1986) Erich Maechler (1987) Laurent Fignon (1988–1989) Gianni Bugno (1990) Claudio Chiappucci (1991) Sean Kelly (1992) Maurizio Fondriest (1993) Giorgio Furlan (1994) Laurent Jalabert (1995) Gabriele Colombo (1996) Erik Zabel (1997–1998) Andrei Tchmil (1999)

2000–2019	Erik Zabel (2000–2001) Mario Cipollini (2002) Paolo Bettini (2003) Óscar Freire (2004) Alessandro Petacchi (2005) Filippo Pozzato (2006) Óscar Freire (2007) Fabian Cancellara (2008) Mark Cavendish (2009) Óscar Freire (2010) Matthew Goss (2011) Simon Gerrans (2012) Gerald Ciolek (2013) Alexander Kristoff (2014) John Degenkolb (2015) Arnaud Démare (2016)

Paris–Roubaix winners

1880–1899	Josef Fischer (1896) Maurice Garin (1897–1898) Albert Champion (1899)

1900–1919	Émile Bouhours (1900) Lucien Lesna (1901–1902) Hippolyte Aucouturier (1903–1904) Louis Trousselier (1905) Henri Cornet (1906) Georges Passerieu (1907) Cyrille van Hauwaert (1908) Octave Lapize (1909–1911) Charles Crupelandt (1912) François Faber (1913) Charles Crupelandt (1914) (1915–1918, not held) Henri Pélissier (1919)

1920–1939	Paul Deman (1920) Henri Pélissier (1921) Albert Dejonghe (1922) Heiri Suter (1923) Jules Vanhevel (1924) Félix Sellier (1925) Julien Delbecque (1926) Georges Ronsse (1927) André Leducq (1928) Charles Meunier (1929) Julien Vervaecke (1930) Gaston Rebry (1931) Romain Gijssels (1932) Sylvère Maes (1933) Gaston Rebry (1934–1935) Georges Speicher (1936) Jules Rossi (1937) Lucien Storme (1938) Émile Masson Jr. (1939)

1940–1959	(1940–1942, not held) Marcel Kint (1943) Maurice Desimpelaere (1944) Paul Maye (1945) Georges Claes (1946–1947) Rik Van Steenbergen (1948) André Mahé, Serse Coppi (1949) Fausto Coppi (1950) Antonio Bevilacqua (1951) Rik Van Steenbergen (1952) Germain Derycke (1953) Raymond Impanis (1954) Jean Forestier (1955) Louison Bobet (1956) Fred De Bruyne (1957) Leon Vandaele (1958) Noël Foré (1959)

1960–1979	Pino Cerami (1960) Rik Van Looy (1961–1962) Emile Daems (1963) Peter Post (1964) Rik Van Looy (1965) Felice Gimondi (1966) Jan Janssen (1967) Eddy Merckx (1968) Walter Godefroot (1969) Eddy Merckx (1970) Roger Rosiers (1971) Roger De Vlaeminck (1972) Eddy Merckx (1973) Roger De Vlaeminck (1974–1975) Marc Demeyer (1976) Roger De Vlaeminck (1977) Francesco Moser (1978–1979)

1980–1999	Francesco Moser (1980) Bernard Hinault (1981) Jan Raas (1982) Hennie Kuiper (1983) Sean Kelly (1984) Marc Madiot (1985) Sean Kelly (1986) Eric Vanderaerden (1987) Dirk Demol (1988) Jean-Marie Wampers (1989) Eddy Planckaert (1990) Marc Madiot (1991) Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (1992–1993) Andrei Tchmil (1994) Franco Ballerini (1995) Johan Museeuw (1996) Frédéric Guesdon (1997) Franco Ballerini (1998) Andrea Tafi (1999)

2000–2019	Johan Museeuw (2000) Servais Knaven (2001) Johan Museeuw (2002) Peter Van Petegem (2003) Magnus Bäckstedt (2004) Tom Boonen (2005) Fabian Cancellara (2006) Stuart O'Grady (2007) Tom Boonen (2008–2009) Fabian Cancellara (2010) Johan Vansummeren (2011) Tom Boonen (2012) Fabian Cancellara (2013) Niki Terpstra (2014) John Degenkolb (2015)

Giro di Lombardia winners

1900–1919	Giovanni Gerbi (1905) Cesare Brambilla (1906) Gustave Garrigou (1907) François Faber (1908) Giovanni Cuniolo (1909) Giovanni Micheletto (1910) Henri Pélissier (1911) Carlo Oriani (1912) Henri Pélissier (1913) Lauro Bordin (1914) Gaetano Belloni (1915) Leopoldo Torricelli (1916) Philippe Thys (1917) Gaetano Belloni (1918) Costante Girardengo (1919)

1920–1939	Henri Pélissier (1920) Costante Girardengo (1921–1922) Giovanni Brunero (1923–1924) Alfredo Binda (1925–1927) Gaetano Belloni (1928) Pietro Fossati (1929) Michele Mara (1930) Alfredo Binda (1931) Antonio Negrini (1932) Domenico Piemontesi (1933) Learco Guerra (1934) Enrico Mollo (1935) Gino Bartali (1936) Aldo Bini (1937) Cino Cinelli (1938) Gino Bartali (1939)

1940–1959	Gino Bartali (1940) Mario Ricci (1941) Aldo Bini (1942) (1943–1944, not held) Mario Ricci (1945) Fausto Coppi (1946–1949) Renzo Soldani (1950) Louison Bobet (1951) Giuseppe Minardi (1952) Bruno Landi (1953) Fausto Coppi (1954) Cleto Maule (1955) André Darrigade (1956) Diego Ronchini (1957) Nino Defilippis (1958) Rik Van Looy (1959)

1960–1979	Emile Daems (1960) Vito Taccone (1961) Jo de Roo (1962–1963) Gianni Motta (1964) Tom Simpson (1965) Felice Gimondi (1966) Franco Bitossi (1967) Herman Van Springel (1968) Jean-Pierre Monseré (1969) Franco Bitossi (1970) Eddy Merckx (1971–1972) Felice Gimondi (1973) Roger De Vlaeminck (1974) Francesco Moser (1975) Roger De Vlaeminck (1976) Gianbattista Baronchelli (1977) Francesco Moser (1978) Bernard Hinault (1979)

1980–1999	Alfons De Wolf (1980) Hennie Kuiper (1981) Giuseppe Saronni (1982) Sean Kelly (1983) Bernard Hinault (1984) Sean Kelly (1985) Gianbattista Baronchelli (1986) Moreno Argentin (1987) Charly Mottet (1988) Tony Rominger (1989) Gilles Delion (1990) Sean Kelly (1991) Tony Rominger (1992) Pascal Richard (1993) Vladislav Bobrik (1994) Gianni Faresin (1995) Andrea Tafi (1996) Laurent Jalabert (1997) Oscar Camenzind (1998) Mirko Celestino (1999)

2000–2019	Raimondas Rumšas (2000) Danilo Di Luca (2001) Michele Bartoli (2002–2003) Damiano Cunego (2004) Paolo Bettini (2005–2006) Damiano Cunego (2007–2008) Philippe Gilbert (2009–2010) Oliver Zaugg (2011) Joaquim Rodríguez (2012–2013) Dan Martin (2014) Vincenzo Nibali (2015)

Liège–Bastogne–Liège winners

1880–1899	Léon Houa (1892–1894) (1895–1907, not held)

1900–1919	André Trousselier (1908) Victor Fastre (1909) (1910, not held) Joseph Van Daele (1911) Omer Verschoore (1912) Maurice Moritz (1913) (1914–1918, not held) Léon Devos (1919)

1920–1939	Léon Scieur (1920) Louis Mottiat (1921–1922) René Vermandel (1923–1924) Georges Ronsse (1925) Dieudonné Smets (1926) Maurice Raes (1927) Ernest Mottard (1928) Alphonse Schepers (1929) Hermann Buse (1930) Alphonse Schepers (1931) Marcel Houyoux (1932) François Gardier (1933) Théo Herckenrath (1934) Alphonse Schepers (1935) Albert Beckaert (1936) Éloi Meulenberg (1937) Alfons Deloor (1938) Albert Ritserveldt (1939)

1940–1959	(1940–1942, not held) Richard Depoorter (1943) (1944, not held) Jan Engels (1945) Prosper Depredomme (1946) Richard Depoorter (1947) Maurice Mollin (1948) Camille Danguillaume (1949) Prosper Depredomme (1950) Ferdinand Kübler (1951–1952) Alois De Hertog (1953) Marcel Ernzer (1954) Stan Ockers (1955) Fred De Bruyne (1956) Frans Schoubben and Germain Derycke (1957) Fred De Bruyne (1958–1959)

1960–1979	Albertus Geldermans (1960) Rik Van Looy (1961) Jef Planckaert (1962) Frans Melckenbeeck (1963) Willy Bocklant (1964) Carmine Preziosi (1965) Jacques Anquetil (1966) Walter Godefroot (1967) Valere Van Sweevelt (1968) Eddy Merckx (1969) Roger De Vlaeminck (1970) Eddy Merckx (1971–1973) Georges Pintens (1974) Eddy Merckx (1975) Joseph Bruyère (1976) Bernard Hinault (1977) Joseph Bruyère (1978) Dietrich Thurau (1979)

1980–1999	Bernard Hinault (1980) Josef Fuchs (1981) Silvano Contini (1982) Steven Rooks (1983) Sean Kelly (1984) Moreno Argentin (1985–1987) Adri van der Poel (1988) Sean Kelly (1989) Eric Van Lancker (1990) Moreno Argentin (1991) Dirk De Wolf (1992) Rolf Sørensen (1993) Evgeni Berzin (1994) Mauro Gianetti (1995) Pascal Richard (1996) Michele Bartoli (1997–1998) Frank Vandenbroucke (1999)

2000–2019	Paolo Bettini (2000) Oscar Camenzind (2001) Paolo Bettini (2002) Tyler Hamilton (2003) Davide Rebellin (2004) Alexander Vinokourov (2005) Alejandro Valverde (2006) Danilo Di Luca (2007) Alejandro Valverde (2008) Andy Schleck (2009) Alexander Vinokourov (2010) Philippe Gilbert (2011) Maxim Iglinsky (2012) Dan Martin (2013) Simon Gerrans (2014) Alejandro Valverde (2015)

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 285230724

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