Eddy Merckx career and especially 1971 and 1974 seasons were amazing.
1971 he won 54% of the bike races he entered, a nearly impossible rate. I'm pretty sure nobody else is even close.
1974 he won the Giro d Italia, tour de suisse and tour de france within an 8 week stretch and later won the world championship as well.
1969 he won the general classification(overall winner) points classification(sprinters) And mountains classification in the same tour de france. Nobody else has.
1972 he set the record for distance in an hour breaking records for 10 and 20 kilometers along the way. The existing records had been done in individual rides. His Hour record stood till 1984 when a succession of riders on aerodynamic bikes began. When the UCI rolled back the degree of aerodynamics allowed in 2000 the record nearly held on, only being beaten by 10 meters. And the record is still less thana kilometer more.
525 professional road victories, plus a handful in cyclocross and 6 day racing.
Steve B
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