Eddy Merckx immortalised with café mural in his hometown
Eddy Merckx, the Cannibal, who hasn’t heard his name before? His likeness was immortalised on a mural right across from where he was born.
The Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Baron Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx has won them each five times, and that’s only a small part of his long list of achievements. He is a living legend within the cycling world and has been honoured through statues, places and prizes named after him, and now a mural depicting a young Eddy Merckx graces the outside of Café ‘t Klein Verlet in Kiezegem, just metres from where he saw the light of day on 17 June 1945.
The mural is the first of 10 examples of street art that the province of Flemish Brabant has in store to add to the local cycling experience. The towns of Pepingen, Korbeek-Dijle, Overijse, Diest, Londerzeel and Holsbeek are next on the list, and later in the year, various gravel routes will see some additional decoration.
One young man from Flemish Brabant, who is often compared to Eddy Merckx including by the legend himself, has already received a similar honour. The side of In De Rustberg, a small café in Schepdaal just outside of Brussels, boasts a painting of Remco Evenepoel – rainbow (ie, world champions’) colours and all.
The new decoration in Kiezegem is a fitting way to celebrate the greatest Belgian cyclist of all time.