Eddy Merckx is a former Belgian cyclist who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. With 521 victories on the road, he is by far the best cyclist of his generation. He won the Tour of Italy five times, the Tour de France five times, the Tour of Spain once and became world champion three times. In addition, he won almost all the classics and broke the world hour record. After his career, he founded a bicycle company called Eddy Merckx Cycles.