Merckx
Documentary about Eddy “the cannibal” Merckx, the greatest cyclist of all time. The more he won, the more admiration turned to discord. How do you keep cycling when adoration gives way to hatred?
Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx won everything there was to win on a bike between 1967 and 1975: five Tours de France, five Giro’s, three World Championships, one Vuelta and a slew of classics. He also set a legendary world hour record in Mexico. He became the ultimate cycling icon.
Directors Christophe Hermans and Boris Tilquin offer a new, fresh look at the Merckx phenomenon. In this documentary, composed entirely of archive footage, all the highs and lows of his career are covered. But Merckx is more than a review of victories and crashes. The archive material – some of which has never been shown before – also shows a special era in which the world of professional cycling was in transition. The compelling dramatic structure creates a layered portrait of a man with the will to surpass himself again and again.