Eddy Merckx’s drama on Mont Ventoux: ups and downs

On the clear and lunar slope of Mont Ventouxof the giant of provence, great and memorable days of cycling were experienced, but some of the most dramatic passages of Tour de Franceand one of these chapters is executed, no other and no less than by eddy merckx. The great Belgian champion can remember even now at the age of 77 what happened on a hot July 10, 1970, in what would be the second of five editions of Tour de France where he can achieve success.

‘The Cannibal’ Wants to make one of his greatest exhibitions and dedicate success to the British cyclist Tom Simpson, He died three years ago on the same climb due to the intense heat that cyclists often face on this 22-kilometer climb, accompanied by a deadly cocktail of alcohol and amphetamine. Lord where they are, when passing next to the plate, located three kilometers from the finish line, honored Simpson Eddy crossed himself and continued on his way to two thousand an hour towards the finish line.

Merckx first reached the finish line after 5h47’44 “of intense effort, with a margin of 1’11” over its compatriots Martin Van Den Bossche and Lucien Van Impe. The effort required by the stage caused the first two classified to faint, after a stage in which, due to the high temperature, the organizers changed the start of the stage.

Just after crossing the finish line, press on top of Mont Ventoux They punched him to collect their first impressions, with no time for him to catch his breath and as his heart came out of his mouth, a situation that could cause even a cannibal like the Belgian to faint. . “He made a great effort and in the end he was about to fail. The doctor put an oxygen mask on him because he was drowning,” read in the pages of Mundo Deportivo on Saturday, July 11, 1970.

the former cyclist Lucien Alou, Merckx’s father -in -law, explained the doctor’s diagnosis to the MD and expressed his concern for Eddy’s courage. “Attempts are fruitful when they are made above 1,500 meters of altitude. I think he is very generous with the efforts. He is able to do everything he does while saving 50% of the energy that he has. wasted in vain, but I cannot tell him. ” because he doesn’t listen and we often fight “.

Ultimately, this incident did not cease to be an anecdote, as Merckx had healed well and he, who had only won the previous five stages and dressed as leader in twelve days, would be consolidating his leadership behind of the giant from Provence to head the Tour, who also won the remaining trials in time before arriving in Paris.