The sTory of Mourenx

The story of Mourenx ‘69
is all about courage
and endurance.
It’s about a man who took part in the Tour de France for the
first time and immediately surpassed all expectations by
coming top of General, Points and Mountains classifications
and authoritatively winning the race. To this day many
keep claiming he was the greatest cyclist ever.
His name is Eddy Merckx.
gn
e
Di
l
gn
e
G
M ran
ot d
te e-
ve
rd
ia
ux
Br
ea
nç
on
o
Ch
le non
am
s- Ba
on
in
ix
s
Th
er
m
D
on
le ivo
ts- nn
Fe
Ba err
in
an
s
d
Cl
Dô y d
m u
e
Pu
M
on
Eddy merckx’s victories
La
Re
Bo
ta
ul
is
M
rg
l
us
ei
ho
èt
ris
Cr
Pa
e
e-
aa
er
x
re
ric
Pi
ai
st
t-
ub
in
M
Sa
Ro
y
ht
Ch
M arle
éz v
iè ill
re e-
uw
nc
ol
Na
W
stages
ba
y
x
22
Au
ud
ar
en
n
r
na
o
u
el
h
st
c
Ca
Lu
o
130 contestants — 13 teams
56
edition
M
th
climbs
15.07.1969 — 17 th stage — 214,50 km
luchon > Mourenx
Col de Peyresourde [cat. 2] 1569 m
Col d’Aspin [cat. 2]
1489 m
Col du Tourmalet [cat. 1]2 115 m
Col d’Aubisque [beyond category] 1709 m
Joaquin GALERA MAGDELANO
Joaquin GALERA MAGDELANO
eddy merckx
eddy merckx
1 Eddy Merckx BEL
2 Michele Dancelli
7M56S
ITA
3 Martin Van Den BosscheBEL
7M57S
4 André Bayssiere FRA
5 Roger Pingeon
FRA
S.T.
S.T.
6 Jean-Claude Theillière FRA
S.T.
7 André Zimmermann FRA
8 Raymond Poulidor
FRA
S.T.
S.T.
9 Jan Janssen
NL
10 marinus Wagtmans NL
14M47S
14M48S
Admired
revered
envied
It’s the morning of 15 July 1969 and Merckx is two-thirds through his first Tour.
Stage 17 promises to be a tough one. There are four gruellingly steep cols on the programme,
followed by a 75 kilometre quick ride to the finish itself in the industrial town of Mourenx.
Since the beginning of this Tour,
Merckx has scored 4 wins
and built up an 8 minute
overall lead.
Journalists and sports
commentators agree by now
that victory beckons for him.
And he is determined to cross
the finishing line in Paris with
the winner’s jersey on his back.
All he has to do is to foil any
of his contenders’ escape
attempts and keep up with
the pack, which is precisely
what any of his rivals would do.
But Merckx never misses an opportunity to win a race.
Even when it’s not
strictly necessary
he still goes to the limit…
And beyond.
Mental strength and tenacity have made him a superior
rider who commands admiration among many. In some
quarters, however, veneration has given way to envy,
which has led his rivals to nickname him ‘the cannibal’.
When asked about his
tremendous urge to win,
Merckx sometimes hints at
uncertainty and even fear
of failure that have plagued
him all through his career.
You’re never certain of winning.
You can always have a bad day,
no matter how much of a lead
you have. The bigger the lead
you have, the more time you have
to play with. You can lose
10 minutes on a bad day.
It can always happen.
On his way to the start of stage 17,
Merckx doesn’t look too happy.
There is a rumour going around that some
overambitious newcomer wants to grab
victory on the Tourmalet. Although this
poses no real threat to his leadership
Merckx has no intention to let that
happen. From the start of the ride he
never loses sight of his challenger.
In the mountains, cyclists use low gear. They typically
combine the 39 or 41 tooth chainring and the 21 or 23
tooth sprocket on the back wheel. But near the top of
the Tourmalet Merckx shifts upwards to an unusually
high gear by combining the 53 tooth chainring
with a 17 tooth sprocket. For a motor vehicle,
it would be like shifting from first to
fourth gear.
And before anyone realises what is happening,
breaks away from the pack.
A few minutes later he
catches up with his
challenger and sprints past
him to the summit. Feeling
really good about his timely
intervention he begins
the descent, half expecting
the lead group to catch up
with him at the end of the
descent. But quite the
opposite happens. By the
time he reaches the flat
roads again he has built up
a 42 second lead.
Slightly
confused,
he slows down,
but his pursuers
seem not to
have recovered
yet from his
dramatic solo
breakaway.
Merckx decides to push
through with his escape
and embarks on a lonely
and seemingly endless
battle. When he reaches
the foot of the Aubisque,
he has amassed one
minute’s lead and by
setting a searing pace he
succeeds in extending his
lead even further to five
minutes at the summit.
It is not the first time Merckx pulls off such a spectacular escape. In the preceding weeks,
the other racers have grown accustomed to him striking at the most unexpected
moments. And those brave enough to pursue him have discovered to their shame
there is no stopping him. Years later, commenting on this 17th stage Merckx would say
that passion drove him.
It was not merely a question of winning,
but of fulfilling what you were given,
to the best of your ability.
overwhelmed
by
the
win
It is a stifling hot day, but Merckx appears to be physically
and mentally fresh when he tackles the foot of the Aubisque.
Although he has been riding all alone since his breakaway
on the Tourmalet, this fourth col isn’t much of a challenge
for him, and he extends his lead to 8 minutes.
Everyone is convinced
by now that he is
going to complete the
remaining 75 kilometres
in total comfort, but in
Laruns, 56 kilometres
from the finish line,
he suddenly feels a
hunger pang. His physical
powers quickly slip
away, and he starts
sweating excessively.
Over a distance of
barely 16 kilometres
two minutes are cut out
of his lead. He stays
focused, does not panic
and slows down to eat.
But the
pain lingers
and during
the last twenty
kilometres
it engulfs
his whole
body.
With his solo escape, Merckx doubles his lead in
the standings to 16 minutes and ends the tour as a contest.
His victory at Mourenx is an epic feat that required
four hours of superior endurance, endless willpower
and total commitment.
It was the highlight
of my career. The win
overwhelmed me.
he would say a few years later.
Mourenx amounts to a superhuman
achievement that sets Merckx
apart from his peers and places him
among the truly great sportsmen
in history. To this day it keeps
overwhelming and inspiring
Merckx’s admirers. It makes
them dream of their
own long escapes…
general
classification
1 Eddy Merckx
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Roger Pingeon
Raymond Poulidor
Felice Gimondi
Andrés Gandarias
Marinus Wagtmans
Pierfranco Vianelli
Joaquim Agostinho
9 Désiré Letort
10 Jan Janssen
11 Joaquin Galera
12Lucien van Impe
13 Jean-Claude Theillière
14 Wladimiro Panizza
15 Eddy Schutz
16 Jean Dumont
17 Paul Gutty
18Herman Van Springel
19Eduardo Castello
20 Michele Dancelli
21Francisco Galdos
22 José-Manuel Lopez-Rodriguez
23 Martin Vandenbossche
24 Francisco Gabica
25Bernard Labourdette
26 André Zimmermann
27 Wilfried David
28 Jozef Spruyt
29 Victor Van Schil
30Lucien Aimar
31 André Bayssiere
32 Derek Harrison
33 André Poppe
34Stéphane Abrahamian
35 Maurice Izier
36 Dino Zandegu
37Raymond Delisle
38Domingo Perurena
39Franco Balmamion
40Edward Janssens
41Santiago Lazcano
42 Christian Raymond
43 Giancarlo Ferretti
44 Roger Swerts
45 Gilbert Bellone
46 Jean-Claude Lebaube
47 Manuel Galera
48 Jean Vidament
49 Evert Dolman
50 Bernard Guyot
51 Roberto Poggiali
52 Wilfried Peffgen
53Roland Berland
54 Francis Rigon
55 Robert Bouloux
56Georges Vandenberghe
57Ferdinand Bracke
58 José Gomez-Lucas
59 Pietro Scandelli
60 Jaak De Boever
61Nemesio Jiménez
62 Jean-Louis Bodin
63 Cees Haast
64 Juul Van Der Flaas
65 Gerben Karstens
66 José Catieau
67 Barry Hoban
68 Jean-Pierre Genet
69 Mario Anni
70 Edouard Delberghe
71 Michael Wright
72 Julien Stevens
73 Giacinto Santambrogio
74 Michel Coulon
75 Paul In't Ven
76Frans Mintjens
77Guido Reybrouck
78 Harm Ottenbros
79 Eric Leman
80Raymond Riotte
81 Pietro Guerra
82 Marc De Block
83 Eddy Beugels
84Roger Cooreman
85 Pierre Matignon
86 André Wilhelm
points
classification
1 Eddy Merckx
2 Jan Janssen
3 Marinus Wagtmans
4 Roger Pingeon
5 Felice Gimondi
6 Raymond Poulidor
7 Michele Dancelli
8 Joaquim Agostinho
9 Andrés Gandarias
10 Harm Ottenbros
Mountains
1 Eddy Merckx • • • 2 Roger Pingeon • • • 3 Joaquim Galera • • • 4 Paul Gutty • • • 5 Andrés Gandarias • • • 6 Fe
classification
lice Gimondi
•••
7 Raymond Poulidor
•••
8 Martin Vandenbossche
•••
9 Raymond Delisle
•••
10 Wladimiro Panizza
CLASSIFICATION
COMBINATION
1 Faema
2 Roger Pingeon
2 Peugeot
3 Felice Gimondi
4 Raymond Poulidor
5 Andrés Gandarias
3 Kas
4 Fagor
5 Frimatic
6 Salvarani
COMBATIVITY
AWARD
7 Mercier
1 Eddy Merckx
2 Joaquim Agostinho
3 Michele Dancelli
8 Molteni
9 Sonolor
10 B ic
11 Flandria
4 Felice Gimondi
12 W illem II
5 Andrés Gandarias
13 M ann
team classification
1 Eddy Merckx
FAEMA
team
MATES
(Italian acronym: Fabbrica Apparecchiature Elettromeccaniche
e Affini) primarily engaged in the production of espresso
machines, was founded in 1945 by Carlo Ernesto Valente,
in Milan, Italy. Faema was to become synonymous with
the post-war production boom in Italy, by actively pursuing
technological innovation as the company’s driving force.
FRANS
MINTJENS
Guido
Reybrouck
pietro
scandelli
• GP Pino Cerami (1969)
• Belgium Road Race
• 1 stage Giro d’Italia (1966)
23.11.1946 — bel
25.12.1941 — bel
Championship (1966)
• Amstel Gold Race (1969)
• Paris-Tours (1964, 1966, 1968)
• Züri-Metzgete (1964)
• 3 stages Giro d’Italia
• 6 stages Tour de France
• 4 stages and points classification
(1970) Vuelta a Espana
16.11.1941 — ita
Joseph
Spruyt
julien
stevens
roger
swerts
GEORGES
Vandenberghe
Martin
Van Den Bossche
Victor
Van schil
• 3 stages Tour de France
• Brabanste Pijl (1971)
• Belgium Champion Track Cycling
• 1 stage Tour de France
• 1 stage Vuelta a Espana
• Belgium National Road
• 1 stage Tour de France
• 1 stage Giro d’Italia
• Mountains classification
• Brabantse Pijl (1968)
• 2 stages Vuelta a Espana
25.02.1943— bel
That was never seen
from a leader
in the Tour.
25.02.1943— bel
28.12.1942— bel
Race Champion
• Züri-Metzgete (1969)
• 2 stages Giro d’Italia
• 5 stages Vuelta a Espana
28.12.1941— bel
10.03.1941— bel
Giro d’Italia (1970)
21.12.1939— bel
Léon Zitrone
photo credits: Tonny Strouken - All rights reserved.
Bravo Merckx.
C’est un seigneur.