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Merckx: Armstrong has no rivals Posted: Sunday July 28, 2002 2:15 PMPARIS (Reuters) -- Belgian Eddy Merckx, the greatest rider in the history of cycling, has said he can not see any rider capable of challenging Sunday's Tour winner Lance Armstrong in the near future. "He did not have any rivals in this Tour," said Merckx, who won five Tours between 1968 and 1974, in French Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche. "As long as Lance stays at the same level, I can't see any possible strategy against him, whether from a potential rival like Jan Ullrich or from a team like ONCE. "The harder you make the race, the better it is for the boss. It's ironic but that's the rule of cycling," he said. Merckx, a friend of the American rider, added that he had a lot in common with Armstrong, including his lack of popularity in France. The pair became friends 10 years ago when Merckx equipped the American's Motorola team with bikes and the Belgian visited Armstrong when he was suffering from cancer in 1997. "He knows he was lucky to go through the eye of a needle and in such a situation, the only thing you think about is life," Merckx said. In the Mont Ventoux climb, Armstrong was angered by partisan French fans who booed him and called him "dopé" (doped). Merckx said he knew very well what went through the mind of the American, having been highly unpopular with French crowds in his time. In 1975, he was even been knocked off his bike by a Tour spectator. "That's the price to pay for being a champion," he said. "I became popular as soon as I started losing. But what happened on the Ventoux was not very nice. "But I think it's typical of France, especially when they don't have a rider to win the Tour," Merckx added.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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