Rik Van Looy, “The Emperor of Herentals”, a Belgian cycling legend with 397 professional victories, including two world championships and eight monuments, has died at the age of 90 after a long illness.
He is gone forever a winner of race since his youth, who at the age of 22 years coincided in the Faema with Bahamontes. He immediately began to excel in the classics, winning in his first season the Ghent Wevelgem and the GP Escalde.
Successor of Rik Van Steenbergen, three times world champion, Van Looy was nicknamed Rik II. Due to his easy way with words and his Hollywood charm, and thanks to his dazzling wife, Nini, Van Looy soon surpassed Van Steenbergen in terms of popularity.
Rik won the Milan-San Remo in 1958, always surrounded by a team of guarantees that was known as “The Red Guard” because of the color of the jerseys.
He was not a great climber, but his sprinting was devastating, which led him to win all the classics. His 397 professional victories include 2 World Championships, 3 Paris Roubaix, 2 Tour of Flanders, 1 Milan San Remo, 3 Ghent Wevelgem, 1 Liège-Bastogne, 1 Lombardy and 1 Flèche Wallonne.
In major stage races, Van Looy was top 10 in Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.
After his professional career, Van Looy became director of the Flemish cycling school in Herentals, the city of which he is also an honorary citizen and to which he owes his nickname: “The Emperor of Herentals”.
Source: www.elheraldo.es