Half Man, Half Bike : The Life of Eddy Merckx, Cycling's Greatest Champion

Looks at the life of the Belgian cyclist who amassed 445 victories during his racing career.

Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pele to soccer: simply the best there has ever been. Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories. Lance Armstrong, by comparison, managed fewer than 100. Merckx didn’t just beat his opponents; he crushed them.

            But his triumphs only tell half a story that includes horrific injury, a doping controversy, and tragedy. He was nicknamed “the Cannibal” for his insatiable appetite for victory, but the moniker did scant justice to a man who was handsome, sensitive, and surprisingly anxious.

            A number-one bestseller in the United Kingdom, Half Man, Half Bike is the definitive story of a man whose fear of failure drove him to the highest pinnacles before ultimately destroying him.

Leading cycling writer William Fotheringham presents the biography of the greatest cyclist in history, Eddy Merckx—the extraordinary man who is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing. This definitive history chronicles his life, examining both the ups and the downs. Throughout his professional career Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories and exhibited a remorseless sense of domination that created his legend. But his triumphs only tell half of a story that includes horrific injury, a doping controversy, and tragedy. To discover the background of the Belgian cyclist's former invincibility, the author spoke with those who were there at the time and those who knew Merckx best. This is the singular tale of a man whose fear of failure would drive him to reach the highest pinnacles before ultimately destroying himself. Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pele to soccer: simply the best there has ever been. Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories. Lance Armstrong, by comparison, managed fewer than 100. Merckx didn't just beat his opponents; he crushed them. But his triumphs only tell half a story that includes horrific injury, a doping controversy, and tragedy. He was nicknamed "the Cannibal" for his insatiable appetite for victory, but the moniker did scant justice to a man who was handsome, sensitive, and surprisingly anxious. A number-one bestseller in the United Kingdom, Half Man, Half Bike is the definitive story of a man whose fear of failure drove him to the highest pinnacles before ultimately destroying him Front Cover Copyright Dedication contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE: The 1960s Father And Son Arriva Merckx World Domination In Five Phases Oui Or Ya? Savona Revolutionary Merckxism PART TWO: The 1970s Descent Of A God Scorched By The Sun King Accidental Attacks Of An Anarchist Annus Mirabilis La Course En Tête Serving The Cannibal Twilight Of The God All Passion Spent Eddy Merckx’s Major Victories Bibliography Index Back Cover