Belgium has arguably the greatest rider in the history of cycling in the name of Eddy Merckx. Moreover, he competed in the 20th century. But he is not the only important name that this bicycle-loving country has had over the course of the 20th century.
There are many more like Rik van Looy, Freddy Maertens, Johan Museeuw, Roger de Vlaeminck or the last Belgian winner of the Tour de France, Lucien van Impe. Here are the top 10 cyclists from this nation in the 20th century.
1. Eddy Merckx
- 5x Tour de France ('74, '72, '71, '70, '69)
- 34x stages in Tour de France ('75, '74, '72, '71, '70, '69)
- 5x Giro d'Italia ('74, '73, '72, '70, '68)
- 7x Milan-San Remo ('76, '75, '72, '71, '69, '67, '66)
- 3x World Championship road race ('74, '71, '67)
- 5x Liège-Bastogne-Liège ('75, '73, '72, '71, '69)
- 3x Paris-Nice ('71, '70, '69)
- 3x Paris-Roubaix ('73, '70, '68)
- 3x Flèche Wallonne ('72, '70, '67)
- 3x Ghent-Wevelgem ('73, '70, '67)
- 1x Vuelta a Espana ('73)
- 6x Climbing Montjuïc ('75, '74, '72, '71, '70, '66)
2. Roger de Vlaeminck
- 6x Tirreno Adriatico ('77, '76, '75, '75, '74, '73, '72)
- 22x stages in the Giro d'Italia ('79, '76, '75, '74, '73, '72)
- 3x Milan-San Remo ('79, '78, '73)
- 4x Paris-Roubaix ('77, '75, '74, '72)
- 2x Il Lombardia ('76, '74)
- 2x Giro del Lazio ('76, '75)
- 1x Tour of Flanders ('77)
- 1x Liège-Bastogne-Liège ('70)
- 1x Tour de Suisse ('75)
- 1x Flèche Wallonne ('71)
- 1x Züri Metzgete ('75)
- 3x Giro d'Italia points classification ('75, '74, '72)
3. Rik van Looy
- 18x stages in the Vuelta a España ('65, '64, '59, '58)
- 3x Paris-Roubaix ('65, '62, '61)
- 2x World Championship road race ('61, '60)
- 12x stages in the Giro d'Italia ('62, '61, '60, '59)
- 7x stages in the Tour de France ('69, '65, '63)
- 3x Ghent-Wevelgem ('62, '57, '56)
- 2x Tour of Flanders ('62, '59)
- 2x Paris-Brussels ('58, '56)
- 2x Paris-Tours ('67, '59)
- 1x Milan-San Remo ('58)
- 1x Il Lombardia ('59)
- 4x Harelbeke-Antwerp-Harelbeke ('69, '66, '65, '64)
4. Herman van Springel
- 5x stages in the Tour de France ('71, '69, '68, '67)
- 7x Bordeaux - Paris ('81, '80, '78, '77, '75, '74, '70)
- 1x Il Lombardia ('68)
- 1x Paris-Tours ('69)
- 1x Ghent-Wevelgem ('66)
- 1x Züri Metzgete ('71)
- 1x Baracchi Trophy ('69)
- 2x Grand Prix des Nations ('70, '69)
- 5x stages in the Tour de Suisse ('73, '69, '68)
- 2x Cronostaffetta ('72, '71)
- 1x Tour de France points classification ('73)
- 1x Omloop Het Volk ('68)
5. Freddy Maertens
- 15x stages in the Tour de France ('81, '78, '76)
- 2x World Championship road race ('81, '76)
- 13x stages in the Vuelta a España ('77)
- 1x Vuelta a Espana ('77)
- 7x stages in the Giro d'Italia ('77)
- 2x Ghent-Wevelgem ('76, '75)
- 4x 4 Days of Dunkirk ('78, '76, '75, '73)
- 12x stages in Paris-Nice ('77, '76, '75)
- 1x Paris-Nice ('77)
- 3x Tour de France points classification ('81, '78, '76)
- 1x Paris-Tours ('75)
- 1x Volta a Catalunya ('77)
6. Johan Museeuw
- 3x Tour of Flanders ('98, '95, '93)
- 2x Paris - Roubaix ('00, '96)
- 2x Züri Metzgete ('95, '91)
- 1x World Championship road race ('96)
- 1x Paris - Tours ('93)
- 2x stages in the Tour de France ('90)
- 2x 4 Days of Dunkirk ('97, '95)
- 1x Amstel Gold Race ('94)
- 1x Omloop Het Volk ('00)
- 2x E3-Prijs Harelbeke ('98, '92)
- 3x Brabantse Pijl ('00, '98, '96)
7. Lucien van Impe
- 1x Tour de France ('76)
- 9x stages in the Tour de France ('83, '81, '79, '77, '76, '75, '73, '72)
- 6x Tour de France mountain classification ('83, '81, '77, '77, '75, '72, '71)
- 2x Giro d'Italia mountain classification ('83, '82)
- 2nd Tour de France ('81)
- 9x 2nd stages in the Tour de France ('79, '76, '75, '73, '72, '71, '70)
- 3x 3rd Tour de France ('77, '75, '71)
- 1x stage in the Giro d'Italia ('83)
- 1x stage in the Vuelta a España ('79)
- 1x Tour de l'Aude ('75)
- 2x stages in the Tour de Suisse ('77)
- 1x Tour of the Mining Valleys ('86)
8. Stan Ockers
- 1x World Championship road race ('55)
- 2x Flèche Wallonne ('55, '53)
- 3x stages in the Tour de France ('56, '54, '50)
- 1x Liège-Bastogne-Liège ('55)
- 2x Tour de France points classification ('56, '55)
- 2x 2nd Tour de France ('52, '50)
- 2x Scheldeprijs ('46, '41)
- 16x 2nd stages in Tour de France ('56, '55, '55, '52, '51, '50, '49, '48)
- 1x Grand Prix Cyclomotoristique des Nations ('56)
- 1x Ronde van België / Tour de Belgique ('48)
- 2x stages in the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ('56)
- 1x Schaal Sels ('54)
9. Raymond Impanis
- 2x Paris-Nice ('60, '54)
- 2x Ghent-Wevelgem ('53, '52)
- 1x Paris-Roubaix ('54)
- 1x Tour of Flanders ('54)
- 3x stages in the Tour de France ('48, '47)
- 1x Flèche Wallonne ('57)
- 2x Dwars door België / À travers la Belgique ('51, '49)
- 2x Berg - Housse ('50, '47)
- 4x 2nd Liège-Bastogne-Liège ('55, '54, '48, '47)
- 2x stages in Paris-Nice ('54, '52)
- 1x GP Stan Ockers ('57)
- 1x Berg - Housse ('49)
10. Claude Criquielion
- 1x World Championship road race ('84)
- 2x Flèche Wallonne ('89, '85)
- 1x Tour of Flanders ('87)
- 2x GP du Midi-Libre ('88, '86)
- 1x Tour de Romandie ('86)
- 1x San Sebastian Classic ('83)
- 2x Climbing Montjuïc ('84, '79)
- 1x Setmana-Catalana ('79)
- 2x 2nd Liège-Bastogne-Liège ('91, '85)
- 1x Brabantse Pijl ('82)
- 1x Grand Prix de Wallonie ('88)
- 2x 2nd Flèche Wallonne ('91, '87)
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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