Rik Van Looy has handed away on the age of 90. The previous bike owner is without doubt one of the best biking icons in Belgium. Van Looy had been unwell for a number of weeks and his well being was deteriorating quickly, Het Nieuwsblad reviews. He handed away in the course of the evening of Tuesday/Wednesday morning.
On the age of 90, Rik Van Looy was the oldest dwelling World champion. He took the rainbow jersey in 1960 in Sachsenring, Germany and a 12 months later in 1961 in Bern, Switzerland. Van Looy additionally gained all 5 Monuments throughout his profession: Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.
Rik van Steenbergen and Rik van Looy with Bruno Risi
He was nicknamed ‘The Emperor of Herentals’ and was additionally jokingly known as ‘Rik II’ because the successor to Rik Van Steenbergen. He was a person of the Classics, however he additionally completed within the top-10 in all three Grand Excursions and win a complete of 39 phases, 9 within the Tour, 12 within the Giro and 18 within the Vuelta.
He was additionally Belgian twice, in addition to a number of victories in high Classics comparable to Paris-Roubaix and Gent-Wevelgem. He gained these races 3 times in his profession. Van Looy gained Flanders twice. After his profession, Van Looy, born in close by Grobbendonk, opened a biking college in his Herentals and was appointed honorary citizen of Herentals.
Rik Van Looy’s spouse, Nini Mariën, died in 2021 on the age of 88 after a lingering sickness. By then, Van Looy had already withdrawn from public life for some time to help her. “She has performed a lot for me, now it’s my flip” Van Looy mentioned.
The couple had a daughter and a son. When he lectured his younger son by saying “when will you come house with a great college report once more?” the boy’s response was “when will you win one other basic once more?” The next week, the 34-year-old Van Looy gained La Flèche Wallonne.
R.I.P. Champion – Rik Van Looy.
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