Historic Overview Rik van Looy
Rider
| Overall Rank | 12 |
| Name | Rik VAN LOOY |
| Country | Belgium |
| Date of birth | 20-Dec-1933 - Grobbendonk (Antwerpen) |
| Contempories | View Contemporary Ranking |
Biography
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 city where he lived), he dominated the classic cycle races in the late 1950s and first half of the ‘60s.
Van Looy 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 professional road victories, he ranks second all-time behind Eddy Merckx. Van Looy is ninth on the all-time list of Grand Tour stage winners with thirty-seven victories. These numbers could still have risen had he not been the victim of a significant number of falls resulting in serious injuries. Moreover, early in his career he had to compete with the legendary Rik Van Steenbergen, and at the end with Merckx.
Badges
2
3
6
7
12
18
2
14
2
3
7
3
3
4
111
Major Victories
| 1960, 1961 | |
| 1958 | |
| 1959, 1962 | |
| 1961, 1962, 1965 | |
| 1961 | |
| 1959 | |
| 1956, 1957, 1962 | |
| 1968 | |
| 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969 | |
| 1959, 1967 | |
| 1956, 1958 | |
| 1959 | |
| 1956, 1957 | |
| 1956 | |
| 1957, 1958 | |
| 1965 | |
| 1964 | |
| 1956, 1957 | |
| 1965 | |
| 1963 (4), 1965 (2), 1969 (1) | |
| 1959 (4), 1960 (3), 1961 (3), 1962 (2) | |
| 1958 (5), 1959 (4), 1964 (1), 1965 (8) | |
| 1960 (2), 1961 (2), 1962 (2), 1963 (3), 1966 (1), 1967 (1) | |
| 1963 (2), 1964 (1) | |
| 1958 (1) | |
| 1958 (3), 1959 (3) | |
| 1957 (1) | |
| 1954 (1), 1956 (1), 1957 (2), 1958 (1), 1960 (1) | |
| 1964 (1) | |
| 1965 (3), 1966 (1) | |
| 1965 (1) | |
| 1958 (1) | |
| 1956 (2), 1957 (3) | |
| 1966 (1) | |
| More results |