The Cannibal dominated the daunting 262.5km elite men’s Montreal road course in 30C, to earn a third rainbow jersey in 1974. His shining moment: to celebrate a cycling ‘triple crown’, adding the world title to wins at the Giro d’ltalia and Tour de France in the same year. Merckx stood on the podium alongside French riders Raymond Poulidor (38 years old) and Mariano Martinez, and only 15 other riders completed the course. “It’s an incredible memory. Initially, they said the course was for sprinters, but Mont Royal turned out to something quite different. I believe it was a very tough race, with Thevenet leading a hunch breakaway. I think the Belgian team worked well in my favour, allowing us to catch up on the final lap. By the point we caught up with Thevenet, of course, at that point, I was in a better position to become World Champion for the third time. I was able to attack, and only Poulidor was able to follow me, but I managed to beat him in the sprint. That’s tru...
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