Eddy Merckx Movies, TV Shows, and Filmography
Eddy Merckx
Acting
Biography
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours de France, five Giros d'Italia, and a Vuelta a España), all five Monuments, setting the hour record, three World Championships, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Solo–Superia. His first major victory came in the Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to Peugeot–BP–Michelin. After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to Faema, and won the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974 Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the elite men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown. Merckx broke the hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 metres. He acquired the nickname "The Cannibal", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia) and the only one to have won them all at least twice. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle brand, Eddy Merckx Cycles, in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted in running the Tour of Oman, before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. (Taken from Wikipedia)
Filmography Movies
Acting
A Sunday in Hell
A chronology of the 1976 Paris-Roubaix bicycle race from the perspective of participants, organizers and spectators.
Stars and the Water Carriers
The images from the Tour de France in the television production Eddy Merckx in the Vincinity of a Cup of Coffee may be seen as a small sketch for the fully unfurled epic cycling drama Stars and Watercarriers. The film follows the 1973 Giro d'Italia and in his commentary Leth explains the fascination exerted by the great cycle races: "The most beautiful, most pathetic images cycling can give us involve extreme performances in classic terrain."
Eddy Merckx - The Greatest Show on Earth
Documents the 1974 Giro d'Italia, from the Pope's blessing of the riders to the record-tying finish.
The Tour - The Legend of the Race
Jean-Christophe Rosé directs this documentary tracing the history of the world's most famous cycle race. Celebrating the event's centenary year, the film highlights the tour's enduring relationship with the public by looking back at the legendary riders whose names have become synonymous with the race, including Fausto Coppi, Louison Bobet, Jacques Anquetil, Raymond Poulidor, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Bradley Wiggins and Lance Armstrong.
Moser: Dare to Win
Francesco Moser the man, and legend.
Leading The Race
A documentary film that looks at the racing and private life of professional road and track bicycle racer Eddy Merckx and which is one of the pillars of films about cycling.
Frankly... Jacky Ickx
Frankly ... Jacky Ickx is a documentary that explores the life of Belgian racing legend Jacky Ickx, tracing his journey from motocross to his iconic status in Formula One and endurance racing. Known as “Monsieur Le Mans” for his six Le Mans wins, Ickx’s story is one of fearless racing, deep introspection, and resilience. Through interviews and archival footage, the film highlights his career milestones, thoughts on the dangers of motorsport, and his legacy, both on the track and in humanitarian efforts, offering an intimate portrait of a true motorsport icon.
American Flyers
When Dr. Marcus Sommers realizes that he and his troubled, estranged brother David may be prone a fatal brain disease that runs in their family, he decides to make peace with his sibling, and invites him on a trip to the Rockies. There, the brothers bond over their shared enthusiasm for cycling and decide to enter a grueling bike race through the mountains. However, Marcus' health soon begins to fail, and David must compete without his brother at his side.
MERCKX
In 1969, the grocery store's son and promising cyclist Eddy Merckx took part in the Tour de France for the first time. He devours the competition and is the first to cross the finish line with a lead of more than seventeen minutes. 'The Cannibal' is born.
Car seuls les dieux ont mordu la pomme de l'amour
The ending of filming 24 passions over 24 years in Burzet (France). Shot on a silver film, it takes us on a tour around the area now left empty.
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