Merckx Crushes the 1969 Tour
Watching Tadej Pogačar dismantle the field at this year’s Tour de France, it is impossible not to think of Eddy Merckx. When Pogačar’s rivals look vulnerable, he attacks. When they look strong, he attacks anyway. By the time Pogačar powered away on Alpe d’Huez on Stage 19, winning his fifth stage and stretching his overall lead beyond seven minutes, we couldn’t take our eyes off the screen.
Which brings us to the 1969 Tour de France.
Merckx was only 24 years old and riding his first Tour, but he did not arrive in France to cautiously learn the race. He came to seize it. What followed was not merely a victory, but three weeks of competitive destruction: in the mountains, against the clock and, eventually, through one of the most audacious long-range attacks in Tour history.
Pogačar has been thrilling to watch as he makes life thoroughly unpleasant for everyone else, so this seems like the perfect time to revisit the Tour that introduced Eddy Merckx to France—and introduced the Tour to the full meaning of the word domination.
- Shelly
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| Merckx - Pre-race Favorite 1969 Tour de France |
Eddy Merckx and the Annihilation of the 1969 Tour de France
Merckx won in the mountains. He won against the clock. He attacked when he had no tactical reason to attack and continued racing after the Tour was already effectively decided. By Paris, Merckx had won six individual stages, the yellow jersey, the green jersey, the mountains classification, the combination classification, the overall combativity prize, and finished nearly 18 minutes ahead of his closest challenger. His Faema team also won the team classification.
Most remarkably, he accomplished all of this at age 24, in his first appearance in the Tour de France, and went on to win the race 4 more times.
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| Merckx & Jacques Anquetil - pre-race equipement check |
Let’s set the Stage…
Merckx arrived in Roubaix for the June 28 prologue as the obvious favorite, but also as a Tour de France debutant. He was only twenty-four years old, yet his résumé already included the 1967 World Championship, the 1968 Giro d’Italia, Milan–San Remo three times, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and, earlier in 1969, his first victory in the Tour of Flanders.
The great unanswered question was not whether Merckx possessed the talent to win the Tour. It was whether even he could impose himself on a race of more than 4,100 kilometers against a field containing most of the established Grand Tour champions of the period.
The field contained an extraordinary collection of established Tour champions.
Jan Janssen returned as the defending winner after his narrow victory in 1968. Roger Pingeon, the 1967 champion and runner-up in 1968, led the powerful Peugeot team. Felice Gimondi, winner of the 1965 Tour as well as the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, remained one of the most complete stage racers in the world. Raymond Poulidor had never won the Tour, but had already finished on its podium five times and remained France’s most beloved contender.
There were other dangerous riders as well. Herman Van Springel had lost the 1968 Tour to Janssen by only 38 seconds. Rudi Altig was a former Vuelta winner, world champion and exceptional time trialist. Joaquim Agostinho was emerging as a formidable climber, while Olympic champion Pierfranco Vianelli and the young Lucien Van Impe strengthened an unusually deep field.
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| "We Belive in you for the Yellow Jersey" Fans on Stage 2 |
Merckx arrived in France furious.
Only weeks earlier, Merckx had been expelled from the Giro d’Italia while leading the race after returning a positive doping test. Merckx maintained that he was innocent, and the circumstances of the test became one of the most controversial episodes of his career. Whether motivated by injustice, humiliation or simple competitive appetite, he entered the Tour with something to prove.
The established champions may have hoped his inexperience would show over three weeks. Instead, Merckx turned the Tour into a demonstration of what a rider without an obvious weakness could do to the greatest stage race in the world.
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| Merckx - Prologue TT |
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| Merckx - Prologue TT |
Prologue: Roubaix, 10.4 km Individual Time Trial
Rudi Altig opened the Tour by winning the short time trial in 13 minutes. Merckx finished second, seven seconds behind, with Gimondi fifth, Poulidor sixth and Janssen ninth.
It was hardly a defeat. Altig was one of the finest short-distance time trialists in cycling, and Merckx had already placed himself ahead of almost every serious general-classification rival. The Tour was one day old, and the danger was apparent.
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| Rudi Altig, Eddy Merckx & Felice Gimondi Stage 1 - 1969 Tour |
Stage 1A: Roubaix to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, 147 km
Marino Basso won the mass sprint ahead of Janssen and Roger De Vlaeminck. Merckx finished fifth in the same time and remained seven seconds behind Altig.
The important development was geographic rather than tactical: the Tour had crossed into Belgium and was headed toward Merckx’s home territory.
Stage 1B: Woluwe-Saint-Pierre Team Time Trial, 15.6 km
Faema crushed the team time trial, beating Bic and Salvarani by 45 seconds and Peugeot by more than two minutes.
The stage times did not count directly toward the individual standings, but bonuses were awarded to the first three teams. Faema’s victory gave Merckx a 20-second bonus and placed him in the yellow jersey for the first time in his career, eight seconds ahead of Altig.
The course passed near the grocery store operated by Merckx’s parents. The young Belgian star had taken yellow on home roads.
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| Merckx - 1969 Tour de France |
Stage 2: Woluwe-Saint-Pierre to Maastricht, 181.5 km
Faema teammate Julien Stevens escaped and won the stage, taking over the yellow jersey by 12 seconds from Merckx.
This was no crisis. Merckx had no reason to defend yellow through every early flat stage, and having a teammate in the lead allowed Faema to control the race without forcing its principal rider to carry every responsibility.
Stage 3: Maastricht to Charleville-Mézières, 213.5 km
Eric Leman won the sprint ahead of Basso and Michele Dancelli. The principal contenders finished together, and Stevens retained the race lead.
The Tour remained in its opening phase, but Merckx was already ideally situated: protected by the strongest team, near the top of the standings and waiting for the first real climbs.
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| Eddy Merckx & Felice Gimondi 1969 Tour de France, Stage 4 |
Stage 4: Charleville-Mézières to Nancy, 214 km
The aging 35-year-old Belgian star Rik Van Looy won from a breakaway, with Stevens second at 42 seconds. Désiré Letort also gained time and moved to second overall.
Merckx slipped to third, 1:37 behind Stevens, but the gap was largely artificial. His teammate still held yellow, and none of the recognized Tour favorites had gained a meaningful advantage.
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| Rik Van Looy & Merckx - Stage 2 |
Stage 5: Nancy to Mulhouse, 193.5 km
The race reached the Vosges, crossing the Col de la Schlucht and the Firstplan. Joaquim Agostinho won alone, 18 seconds ahead of a group containing Altig, De Vlaeminck, Merckx, Janssen, Gimondi and Letort.
Stevens lost contact, and Letort inherited the yellow jersey. Merckx was now second overall, only nine seconds behind. Pingeon sat 54 seconds back, while Gimondi and Poulidor were already behind Merckx.
The preliminaries were over. The next day … a beast of a mountain… the Ballon d’Alsace.
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| Felice Gimondi & Eddy Merckx Stage 6 - 1969 Tour |
Stage 6: Mulhouse to Belfort, 133.5 km
Merckx attacked with devastating force and won by 55 seconds over Spanish climber Joaquín Galera. Altig finished third at 1:55. The group containing Janssen, Gimondi and Pingeon arrived 4:21 behind.
In one afternoon, Merckx demolished the idea that his Tour inexperience might be exploited in the mountains.
He regained the yellow jersey with Altig second at 2:03. Janssen was 4:41 behind, Gimondi 4:50, Poulidor 4:56 and Pingeon 5:06. It was Merckx’s first individual Tour stage victory, and the race already had a clear master.
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| Merckx & Gimondi - Stage 7 |
Stage 7: Belfort to Divonne-les-Bains, 241 km
Mariano Díaz won from a breakaway. Merckx and the principal contenders finished safely in the main group, leaving the general classification largely unchanged.
This became a recurring pattern. Merckx did not need to contest every ordinary stage, but he never allowed his principal rivals an opportunity to recover meaningful time.
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| Stage 8 Prep |
Stage 8A: Divonne-les-Bains, 8.8 km Individual Time Trial
Merckx won again, covering the course in 10:38 and beating Altig by two seconds. Pingeon lost 15 seconds, Poulidor 16, and Janssen 20.
The margins were small, but the message was substantial. Altig’s specialty had been short time trials, yet Merckx had beaten him. The rider who had just destroyed the climbers on the Ballon d’Alsace could also defeat the specialists against the clock.
Stage 8B: Divonne-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains, 136.5 km
Michele Dancelli won after escaping with Andrés Gandarias. The leading contenders arrived together behind them, and Merckx carried a lead of 2:05 over Altig into the Alps.
Pingeon, Poulidor, Janssen and Gimondi were grouped between five and a little more than six minutes behind.
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| Stage 8 Time Trial |
Stage 9: Thonon-les-Bains to Chamonix, 111 km
Roger Pingeon finally mounted a serious challenge.
On the Col de la Forclaz, Pingeon attacked, and Merckx followed. The Frenchman repeatedly attempted to dislodge him, but Merckx refused to yield. The pair crossed the Col des Montets together and continued to Chamonix, where Pingeon outsprinted a tired and cramping Merckx for the stage victory.
It was an excellent ride by Pingeon, but strategically it benefited Merckx almost as much. Poulidor lost 1:33, while Gimondi and Janssen conceded 2:13. Pingeon moved into second overall, but still trailed Merckx by 5:21.
The strongest challenger had identified himself. He had also learned that even when Merckx was suffering, he could not ride him off his wheel.
Stage 10: Chamonix to Briançon, 220.5 km
The Tour crossed the Madeleine, Télégraphe and Galibier on one of its grand Alpine stages. Herman Van Springel won from a breakaway, while Merckx arrived two minutes later with Wagtmans, Gimondi and Pingeon.
Poulidor lost another four seconds to that group. Merckx’s lead over Pingeon remained 5:21, with Poulidor at 6:51 and Gimondi at 7:29.
The opposition had survived the day, but it had not weakened Merckx.
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| Stage 11 |
Stage 11: Briançon to Digne, 198 km
Merckx won his third individual stage after a difficult route over the Col de Vars, Col d’Allos and Col du Corobin.
Gimondi finished with him, while Pingeon lost 22 seconds and Poulidor conceded 2:52. Merckx now led Pingeon by 5:43, Gimondi by 7:29 and Poulidor by 9:41.
By this point, his dominance was becoming systematic. When a rival showed strength, Merckx marked him. When an opportunity appeared, Merckx attacked. When the road rose, most of the field simply disappeared behind him.
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| Stage 11 |
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| Stage 11 Repair |
Merckx had already taken control of the race, but his most famous attack—and the full measure of his dominance—was still to come. Stay tuned for part 2 of the astounding 1969 Tour in our next edition of 1K TO GO.
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| Merckx - '69 Tour |
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