Rik Van Looy has passed away at the age of 90. The former cyclist is one of the greatest cycling icons in Belgium. Van Looy had been ill for several weeks and his health was deteriorating rapidly, Het Nieuwsblad reports. He passed away during the night of Tuesday/Wednesday morning.
At the age of 90, Rik Van Looy was the oldest living World champion. He took the rainbow jersey in 1960 in Sachsenring, Germany and a year later in 1961 in Bern, Switzerland. Van Looy also won all five monuments during his career: Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.
He was nicknamed βThe Emperor of Herentalsβ and was also jokingly called βRik IIβ as the successor to Rik Van Steenbergen. He was a man of the Classics, but he also finished in the top-10 in all three Grand Tours and win a total of 39 stages, 9 in the Tour, 12 in the Giro and 18 in the Vuelta.
He was also Belgian twice, as well as several victories in top classics such as Paris-Roubaix and Gent-Wevelgem. He won those races three times in his career. Van Looy won Flanders twice. After his career, Van Looy, born in nearby Grobbendonk, opened a cycling school in his Herentals and was appointed honorary citizen of Herentals.
Rik Van Looyβs wife, Nini MariΓ«n, died in 2021 at the age of 88 after a lingering illness. By then, Van Looy had already withdrawn from public life for a while to assist her. βShe has done so much for me, now itβs my turnβ Van Looy said.
The couple had a daughter and a son. When he lectured his young son by saying βwhen will you come home with a good school report again?β the boyβs response was βwhen will you win another classic again?β The following week, the 34-year-old Van Looy won La FlΓ¨che Wallonne.
R.I.P. Champion β Rik Van Looy.
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