VeloNews Interview: A conversation with King Eddy

Here are excerpts from the interview:

VeloNews.com: How did you become involved in the Tour of Qatar?

Eddy Merckx: The photographer of the emir of Qatar, who saw the Tour de France one year while traveling to his home in Avignon, is Belgian. The emir expressed interest in bringing a race to Qatar. The photographer mentioned my name and the emir requested a meeting with me. The first thing I did was call (former UCI president) Hein Verbruggen and said it would be interesting to promote the sport in the Middle East. We came here for three or four days to talk about the project. They were interested in doing something here to help build up their Olympic sports. We inspected the road system and decided that it would be sufficient to have a race.

VN.com: How did ASO become involved?

EM: I thought it was an interesting project, but I didn’t have the tools to organize the race on my own. I contacted Jean-Marie Leblanc (ex-director of Tour de France) and there was interest from them to organize the race. From there, it moved really fast. After the first year of the race, it was expanded to four years and now we’re in the first year of a five-year contract extension.

VN.com: Why is Qatar a good race for riders to start their season?

EM: It’s perfect for the early season. You can stay in the same hotel. Normally the weather is very good, especially compared to Europe this time of year. It’s only a two-hour time difference to Europe. It’s only a six-hour flight from Europe. There are no hard mountains. There’s a little wind. The roads are good.

VN.com: It’s probably nice not to have a race that’s too hard too soon?

EM: So early in the season you really don’t need mountains in the race. Sometimes riders used to go to Mexico, but they all came back too exhausted from the effort. It’s perfect for a rider like Boonen, who’s building up for the classics. He always comes out of this race in good condition.

VN.com: What races were you riding in January during your career?

EM: I was riding the six-day races. It’s about the same as Qatar – you race hard for two or three hours. We used to ride 100km Madison’s with 42-43 kilometers per hour. The effort would be same, but I think I would prefer to ride in Qatar if we had had the choice.

VN.com: You probably weren’t staying in hotels like these! (note – riders, staff and reporters are staying in the five-star Ritz-Carlton Doha during their stay)

EM: In 1965, I was sleeping under the grandstands with a wool cap, in cold weather, with the rats running around. It wasn’t comfortable like this.

VN.com: There have been so many changes since you raced, is there one difference that really stands out for you?

EM: There’s much more pressure and attention from the media. Some people say that cycling used to be a bigger sport for the media, but we would never have 500 journalists come to the Tour. There were never TV broadcasts all over the world. It was never such a large event like it is today.

VN.com: And what characteristics of cycling haven’t changed?

EM: Cycling remains a difficult sport. You have to have talent. You have to work hard. You can be talented, but if you don’t work hard, you will never win a bicycle race.

VN.com: When you look at today’s riders, who do you see as someone who is capable of becoming a big star?

EM: Boonen is already a big star. He’s proven he has all the qualities of a great champion. Alejandro Valverde has the potential to improve, especially in the grand tours. We can expect more from him. Alberto Contador is a rider who won the Tour at a young age. I hope that he is able to confirm that Tour with another victory. He needs another good ride.

VN.com: It’s always important for a new Tour winner to defend his title, no?

EM: It would be important for cycling if Contador could win again and become a big champion. You have to confirm a Tour victory with a second one. That proves he deserved to win. There will be no questions about whether or not he deserved it. That’s what makes athletes popular. People like to see champions like Lance Armstrong, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods. Cycling needs a new strong figure.

VN.com: There is some talk that Contador won’t be allowed to defend his title, is that fair in your view?

EM: Contador should be allowed to defend his title. He signed with Astana because Johan Bruyneel took over the team. It’s a completely different team now than when they had problems. They’ve changed their staff. There are new tests. They are following the rules. Alberto Contador deserves to be in the Tour.

VN.com: What are your hopes for the 2008 season?

EM: We hope we can have a positive year in cycling. The doping scandals are bad for the sport. We cannot have more because it will be a catastrophe for cycling. The new testing programs will work. I like some of the ideas such as the biological passport, the out-of-competition testing.

VN.com: You were close with Armstrong during his career, do you still stay in contact with him?

EM: Not so much, but that’s normal. We exchange messages and phone calls occasionally, but he’s busy with his new life. We remain close. I rode with him last year in a charity ride in Canada.

VN.com: Contemporary riders such as Armstrong have become so specialized, but in your day, everyone raced everything, is that a good development?

EM: Lance focused on the Tour de France. It made sense at a certain level because the race became so popular. There was so much media attention focused on that one race. He was an exceptional champion. Let’s not forget that Lance had cancer and came back from that. Lance made cycling very popular in the United States. But I’ve always said cycling is not just the Tour de France. There are other races that are important, too, like the Giro, the Vuelta, Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo. For the riders today, it’s a question of motivation to race.

VN.com: I was doing some research online and found an interesting statistic that Paris-Tours was the only race that you started but never won, what happened there?

EM: Well, you can’t win them all!

VN.com: Well, you did win everything except Paris-Tours, what happened?

EM: It can happen to anyone. It was always at the end of the year. There was always a sprint. I never won there, but I have no regrets about my career. I think I won enough.

VN.com: Do you know exactly how many races you won? Some riders don’t even know their official number?

EM: I won 525 races.

VN.com: Did you ever believe that you would win so many races when you started your career?

EM: I never dreamed I would be so successful. I dreamed first of turning professional. Then I dreamed of winning some races. I never dreamed I could win as many as I did.

VN.com: Did you appreciate the success you were having while you were in the best years of your career?

EM: I appreciate it now more of what I accomplished. There were so many victories, to win so often. At the time it was unbelievable, but you are caught up in the racing, the training.

VN.com: When you finally retired, was it an easy decision to make or did you have some unfinished business at a certain level?

EM: There was too much pressure. Every race I went to I was expected to win. There was so much pressure mentally. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the motivation anymore. It became too much mentally to continue. I was empty because if I didn’t win it was bigger news than if I did win. It was harder to carry this mental burden than it was the physical challenge of racing.

VN.com: It’s been a long time since Belgium has produced a Tour winner, why do you think that is?

EM: We have good riders, but it’s been 30 years since we’ve had Tour success. Now we’re seeing some young guys come up that have promise. The races are different now. The circuits are smaller. Riders can make a good living without winning the Tour. They don’t have to race as hard as we did in our time. Belgium is also a small country. Less people ride the bike now. The youngsters are interested in other sports, playing soccer or tennis. Racing the bike is hard business. Maybe life is too easy now.

VN.com: How involved are you in Belgian sports?

EM: I am administrator for the Belgian Olympic Committee. I am also president of a group to develop Belgian sport. I would never work with the UCI. I also work with a charity that works in the Congo to help fight tuberculosis and other diseases.

VN.com: How many people work in your bicycle frame company?

EM: We have about 30 employees. It’s located just north of Belgium in Meise. My daughter works there as well. The business is going well.

VN.com: Are you still doing TV commentary?

EM: No, no more television for me.

VN.com: What do you do in your spare time?

EM: I don’t have a lot of spare time! When I do, I still enjoy going to the races and being around cycling. It’s a sport that I still have a lot of passion for. I like to take in a soccer match when I can. In March, I am going to Barcelona to watch a big match there.

VN.com: Do you still ride the bike?

EM: I am starting to ride it more the past few years. I enjoy it again. It’s healthy and it’s nice to roll on the roads. No more racing for me!

VN.com: How many kilometers did you ride last year?

EM: Last year I rode 8500 kilometers. It’s the first time ever in my life that I actually wrote down how many kilometers I would ride. When I was racing, I would never do that. There was no need. You did your training and that was it. I did it to help (Mauro) Giannetti to raise money to help plant trees in Mali. It was a fund raiser that collected money for every kilometer I rode. We managed to raise quite a bit of money for the effort.

VN.com: How is Axel doing in retirement?

EM: He’s fine. He’s living with his family in British Columbia. His wife is from there. He is spending more time with his children. My daughter also has children, so we are happy grandparents now. He had a nice career and now he’s enjoying his new life. That’s how life is for professional racers. You have a limited time, then life continues.