The Death of an Emperor by Wiscot

Photo – Miroir du Cyclisme

As if 2024 didn’t bring enough bad news, it was sad to learn of the death of Rik van Looy – the Emperor of Herentals – aged ninety.

The Guardian newspaper did a very nice obituary, which I’ll link to below but I always had a soft spot for “the Emperor” despite my decidedly non-royalist tendencies. In the 1962 movie “Vive le Tour” by Louis Malle, there is wonderful footage of the Tour and the riders: salt-encrusted, sweaty, gaunt, exhausted and yet so alive thanks to the stunning (and rare) color footage. By today’s standards they are huge men and many likely still had winter jobs to supplement their cycling wages. It’s all there: the café raids, the paper-up-the-jersey for a chilly descent, the domestiques grinding their way up mountains. While these scenarios provoke strong nostalgia, one hard-to-watch segment shows Giuseppe Zorzi of the Ignis-Moschettieri team riding in a state of utter exhaustion until he literally collapses roadside. It wouldn’t happen today – so maybe things have improved.

Even though Jacques Anquetil is shown in resplendent full flight, one rider stands out for me: Van Looy. Unsullied by any sponsor names, his world champion’s rainbow jersey is immaculate. It is as pristine as possible. His black wool shorts list his sponsors (Faema-Flandria) while they barely contain the most awe-inspiring and frightening pair of thighs. His socks are pure white and his shoes jet black leather. All topped off by the most perfectly worn cycling cap ever. As aesthetics go, it could not be better. Alas, it was not to be a good race for van Looy: the film is unclear on what stage it is, but it shows him getting up from a crash, clearly in great pain, and pedaling off. As we all know, you have to finish every stage to stay in the race; he retired on stage eleven. He would go on to win seven Tour stages in subsequent years.

As hard a rider as van Looy was, according to Vin Denson, he liked a beer mid race, but also carried a scented hankerchief in his jersey pockets. He was the leader of the “Red Guard”, as the Flandria team came to be known. His teammates earned more than most of their contemporaries, but there was only one boss: van Looy. He enjoyed his wins of which there were plenty – 367 is one total I’ve seen, but this seems to be a debateable number. Whatever the number, he’s second only to Merckx. Speaking of whom, together with Merckx and de Vlaeminck van Looy was the only rider to ever win all five Monuments and also added the two historical classics: Fleche Wallonne and Paris-Tours to his palmares. (Neither Merckx nor de Vlaeminck won Paris-Tours). Oh, and he won the world road race championship twice. All topped off with a devilishly cheeky grin.

Until Merckx came along in the late 60s, van Looy filled the gap between such great Belgian riders as Rik van Steenbergen, Stan Ockers, Raymond Impanis and Briek Schotte. Even though he retired in 1970, he remained close to the sport, appointed as team manager for Willem II–Gazelle. Afterwards he became a driver-consultant for a newspaper and magazine during races and in a later phase director of the Flemish cycling school in Herentals, the city of which he was an honorary citizen. For all his accomplishments, he remained astoundingly modest – jerseys, bikes, trophies were all given away. One anecdote speaks volumes about his humility. He married his wife Nini in 1955 and she hugely supported her husband in his career. As she suffered ill health, van Looy withdrew from public life to assist her, “She has done so much for me, now it’s my turn” Van Looy said simply.

Two statues in Belgium testify to his modesty: one is a simple bust commemorating his two world championship road race wins. To a stranger it is clear in its purpose – to celebrate a great cyclist. The other is remarkable in its ordinariness: it’s of a man, hands in pockets, wearing non-descript trousers and jacket: to a stranger it might be quite perplexing: there is no inkling that this man was a great bike racer. I suspect that’s how van Looy wanted it.

Here’s the link to the Guardian obituary

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/dec/29/rik-van-looy-obituary

Here’s the link to the Vive Le Tour film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MK2JTqVlVI