Cycling legend Rik Van Looy dies aged 90

Rik Van Looy, twice world champion, nicknamed the 'King of the Classics', died this week aged 90, according to reports in the Belgian press.

The Belgian dominated cycling in the late 1950s and early 1960s, becoming the first man - and one of only three - to win all five of cycling's Monuments, in a career which saw him win 161 times.

Het Nieuwsblad reported on Wednesday morning that the man from just east of Antwerp passed away after a short illness. He was the oldest living world champion, and was set to turn 91 this week.

"Rik Van Looy passed away peacefully yesterday on the birthday of his wife Nini, who passed away in January 2021, surrounded by his family after a short illness,” his family said in a statement. “The farewell will take place privately.”

Van Looy turned professional in 1953, and took his first win that season, at Heist-op-den-Berg for Gitante-Hutchinson, aged 19. His first big wins came in 1956, when he won Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Brussels, as well as finishing second at the World Championships.

However, he took his first step to cycling immortality with victory at Milan-Sanremo in 1958. The following year saw Van Looy win the Tour of Flanders and Il Lombardia, before winning his first World Championships road race in 1960. Aged 28, in 1961, he won Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, becoming the first man to win all five of the Monuments, although this was not thought of as much as a collective in the 1960s as it is now. He tied 1961 off by winning the World Championships for a second time.

In a varied career, he also won 18 stages of the Vuelta a España, 12 stages of the Giro d'Italia, and seven stages of the Tour de France. His three wins at Paris-Roubaix put him joint-second on the overall wins list, only behind fellow great Belgians Roger De Valeminck and Tom Boonen.

Van Looy's wife, Nini, died in 2021 aged 88.

His successor as a Belgian cycling icon, Eddy Merckx, paid tribute on Wednesday. Merckx himself has recently left hospital after a cycling incident.

"Rik's passing is very sad," Merckx told Het Nieuwsblad. "I was aware that things had not been going so well for him recently. He is one of the best Belgian riders ever. He was a great champion and a great opponent. If you had to ride against Rik... it was not against just anyone. His willpower and his will to win are things that will always stay with me."