Rik Van Looy

Henri "Rik" Van Looy (born 20 December 1933 in Grobbendonk) is a Belgian former professional cyclist of the post-war period. Nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals (after the small Belgian city where he lived), he dominated the classic cycle races in the late 1950s and first half of the ‘60s.

Van Looy was twice world professional road race champion, and was the first cyclist to win all five 'Monuments': the most prestigious one-day classics – a feat since achieved by just two others (both also Belgians: Roger De Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx).

With 367 professional road victories, he ranks second all-time behind Eddy Merckx. Van Looy is ninth on the all-time list of Grand Tour stage winners with thirty-seven victories. These numbers could still have risen had he not been the victim of a significant number of falls resulting in serious injuries. Remarkable was his sporting rivalry with two other cycling legends: namely established value Rik Van Steenbergen at the beginning of Van Looy's career. Conversely, Van Looy had to face the generational change with a young Eddy Merckx at the end of his career.

Early life
Rik Van Looy was born in 1933 in Grobbendonk, in the Antwerp Province. As a child, Van Looy was fascinated by cycling. Before the age of 13, he worked as a paper boy. The foundation of his further career was laid in that period, by daily riding on a packed, much too heavy bicycle.

In his very first races as a youngster, however, he did not yet stand out as the big talent.

Amateur years
Van Looy rose to prominence when he won the Belgian amateur road championship in 1952. He repeated the victory the following year, adding third place in the world title race the same year, before turning professional. He took part in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, participating in the road race, but without completing it. Instead, he and his teammates won the gold medal in the team road race. At the age of 19, Van Looy won the bronze medal in the World Championship amateur road race in Lugano.

1953-1960
A powerful sprinter, Van Looy won two races in what was left of his first professional season (1953), and 20 more over the next couple of seasons. In 1956, his victories included Gent–Wevelgem and Paris–Brussels, plus two stages and overall victory in the Tour of the Netherlands. He also won a silver medal in the world road race championship, behind his countryman Rik Van Steenbergen (whom the team was obliged to ride for). He repeated his Gent–Wevelgem and Tour of the Netherlands victories in 1957, and in 1958, Van Looy won the season's opening classic, Milan–San Remo.

1959 saw Van Looy take the early-season Tour of Flanders and the autumn classic, the Giro di Lombardia. In between, he scored another 38 victories, including three stages of the Vuelta a España (finishing third overall and winning the points competition) and four stages of the Giro d'Italia (for 4th overall).

1961-1966
In 1960, he scored the first of two consecutive victories in the world road race championship, but "classic" victories eluded him. However, he made up for this in 1961, winning both Paris–Roubaix and Liège–Bastogne–Liège – making him the first rider to take all five 'Monuments' – as well as retaining his rainbow world title jersey, and taking three stages, plus the mountains competition in the Giro d' Italia.

Van Looy scored two more Classic wins in 1962 (Paris–Roubaix, Tour of Flanders), took another Gent–Wevelgem, and two more Giro stages. At the age of 28, he made his debut in the 1962 Tour de France as one of the major favorites. Van Looy's strategy was to exhaust co-favorites Federico Bahamontes and Jacques Anquetil before the mountain stages started. However, after ten stages in which Van Looy gave a spectacle, he was forced to abandon the Tour due a collision with a motorcyclist. Tour director Jacques Goddet publicly regretted his departure.

In 1963 Van Looy rode the Tour de France again, taking four stages en route to victory in the points competition and a 10th place on general classification. He also grabbed a silver medal in the world title race. In the latter race, held in Ronse in his native Belgium, he was beaten in the sprint by his countryman Benoni Beheyt who manually pushed Van Looy aside. Van Looy, starting the sprint too early, did not take this defeat lightly. This race has remained memorable in the history of Belgian cycling.

In 1965, he scored 42 victories, including Paris–Roubaix, and eight stages of the Vuelta on his way to his second third place overall (his highest placing in a Grand Tour). Van Looy also took two stages in the Tour de France.

1966-1970
During the final years of his career, Rik Van Looy's road performances began to fade, as the new Belgian star Eddy Merckx rose to prominence, but he still grabbed second in the 1967 Paris–Roubaix. He won La Flèche Wallonne in 1968, becoming the only cyclist to win all 8 original classics. Van Looy also took a stage of the 1969 Tour de France. His rivalry with Eddy Merckx reached the height of sabotage of Merckx in the world championships organized in Belgium, in 1969.

Track cycling career
Van Looy was also a star on the track, winning 12 Six-day races. His first came in Brussels in 1957, his last in Antwerp in 1968. For ten of these victories, he was paired with Dutchman Peter Post.

In the winter of 1956 he was paired with Rik Van Steenbergen for some track races. Events that many looked forward to, but the plans were shelved after they both had arguments during the 1956 world championship in Copenhagen. The two Riks would eventually ride together in a few Six-days races in 1963.

Riding style
Van Looy was a very powerful sprinter, rather heavy for his height due to his muscular legs. In mountain stages, he was usually able to keep up the pace, but less able to make the difference.

Despite his sprint qualities, he usually wanted to avoid the sprint by escaping earlier. Van Looy enjoyed the cheering of the crowd more during solo arrivals. There was no time for that, while participating in a sprint and preparing for it.

He could also motivate himself knowing he was being chased by competitors. This is also why he did not excel in individual time trials, it fascinated him less. Yet that shortcoming is hard to link with a man who could ride in the lead for miles without a flinch, visibly hurting his opponents. The more calculated riding during stage races, was at odds with his attacking style. As a result, he never won the overall classification in a Grand Tour, which also always included time trials. He did win overall victories in shorter stage races (in the 1965 Giro di Sardegna for example, by winning 5 out of 6 stages).

Leadership
Van Looy did not spare himself during preparations for races, which were characterized by spartan training methods combined with a carefully selected diet.

Gradually, he stood out for his dominant character, both in his team and in the peloton. His leadership was strict, but always fair. Because of him, the term "team captain" was brought to a higher level. He worked out the fledgling leader-domestique system to perfection, and the team had to ride entirely in his service. Instead of the team manager, he himself decided the tactics, which riders were best suited for this and even what they would earn.

The Flandria-Faema team that was built around Van Looy was nicknamed the Red Brigade by the peloton and public, after the red jerseys the riders wore.

1963 World Championship incident
The 1963 world championship in Ronse seemed an ideal opportunity to triumph a third time, with a course that suited Van Looy, and this time supported by a home crowd.

The Belgian team would be riding completely for Van Looy, but during the race it turned out that Gilbert Desmet and Benoni Beheyt (both riding for a different brand team than Van Looy) had other plans. At the end of the race, Desmet escaped and Van Looy was forced to start the sprint much earlier than expected, after which Beheyt (pushing away on Van Looy's shoulder) eventually finished first. The jury only briefly considered the problem of the obviously irregular sprint and did not change the final result. The medals were awarded in front of a rather confused audience, with both Van Looy and Beheyt having a hard time smiling. The story about the Betrayal of Ronse dragged on for a long time in the press and public, and crowds of people showed up at races where both gentlemen would start.

It didn't really seem to bother Van Looy, he enjoyed the commotion that cycling caused. Nevertheless, it is suggested that he systematically thwarted Beheyt's career afterwards. Fact is that the latter already stopped cycling a few years later at the age of 27, also due to injury problems.

The two gentlemen turned out to be on good terms after that, although neither of them seldom wanted to talk about the 1963 world championship again in interviews.

Retirement
On August 22, 1970, after a race, Van Looy decided to quit professional cycling immediately and in all discretion. Unlike his predecessor Rik Van Steenbergen, he resolutely refused a lucrative "farewell tour" via criteria and track races. Neither was he interested in a high-paying farewell cycling race in the Antwerp Sports Palace.

Not surprisingly, he subsequently was appointed as team manager for Willem II–Gazelle. Afterwards he became a driver-consultant for a newspaper and magazine during races and in a later phase director of the Flemish cycling school in Herentals, the city of which he is now an honorary citizen.

In his house nothing reminds of his glorious past. "What's past is past. All the trophies, jerseys and medals,... I've given it all away. To charities, supporters and friends, it means more to them than to me" Van Looy once mentioned.

Personal life
Rik Van Looy married Nini Mariën in 1955. Both formed a close-knit couple. Nini was partly behind the top career Rik Van Looy was able to build. She was one of the most famous riders' wives in the peloton in the 1950s and 1960s, and put her life entirely at the service of Van Looy's career.

After a lingering illness, she died in 2021 at the age of 88. By then, Van Looy had already withdrawn from public life for a while to assist her. "She has done so much for me, now it's my turn" Van Looy said.

The couple had a daughter and a son. Van Looy rode on incentives, which could also come from his family. When he lectured his young son by saying "when will you come home with a good school report again?" the boy's response was "when will you win another classic again?" The following week, the 34-year-old Van Looy won La Flèche Wallonne.

Legacy
Given the specialization of a cyclist's role in the modern peloton, Rik Van Looy's number of professional road race victories will most likely never be surpassed in the future.

Van Looy is also probably the most popular rider Belgium has ever known. Obviously because of his victories and his attacking way of cycling. But his constant accessibility towards supporters, combined with his honest no-nonsense style in interviews contributed even more to this. Common people could identify with him, in contrast to the less language-savvy Eddy Merckx. Even when Merckx's performances began to surpass those of Van Looy, he seemed to have more opponents among Belgian cycling fans, compared to Van Looy.

In addition, Van Looy had a "clean image", compared to many of his colleagues and the generations of cyclists that would follow. "My performances started to improve significantly after I started following the training schedules and diets of doctor Dries Claes, which I had to convince to start a collaboration. As he was outspokenly opposed to doping in sports, and even a member of the anti-doping commission, the use of banned substances was completely out of the question." Van Looy mentioned in an 2023 interview.

Awards and honours
Through his career, several singles about Van Looy were released by Flemish and Dutch artists.
 * Trophée Edmond Gentil: 1959
 * Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1961
 * General Tour de France Combativity Award: 1963
 * Stage Combativity Awards (8): 4 in 1963, 1 in 1962, 1964, 1965 & 1966
 * Swiss AIOCC Trophy (fr): 1982
 * UCI Hall of Fame: 2002
 * Mémoire du Cyclisme – The Greatest Cyclists: 11th place: 2002
 * Sports Personality of the Antwerp province: 2005
 * Honorary citizen of Grobbendonk: 2012
 * Statue in Herentals: 2017
 * : from 2018
 * Bust in Grobbendonk: 2021
 * Mural in KOERS Museum, Roeselare: 2023 
 * Exposition Van Looy 90 in Herentals: 2023 
 * ProcyclingStats – All Time Wins Ranking: 2nd place (162 wins)
 * ProCyclingStats – All Time Ranking: 8th place
 * CyclingRanking – Overall All Time Ranking: 12th place
 * UCI Top 100: 16th place

Records

 * The only cyclist to win all 8 original classics: the 5 Monuments + Paris–Tours, Paris–Brussels & La Flèche Wallonne
 * Winner of all 5 Monuments of Cycling (record shared with Eddy Merckx & Roger De Vlaeminck)
 * Winner of all 3 cobbled classics in one season: 1962 (record shared with Tom Boonen)
 * Former record of most races won by a professional cyclist: 367 (1961-1972)

Road

 * 1952
 * 1st Gold medal olympic.svg Team road race, Olympic Games
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Road race, National Amateur Championships
 * 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten Amateurs
 * 2nd Brussels–Opwijk (fr)


 * 1953
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Road race, National Amateur Championships
 * 1st Ronde van Midden-Nederland
 * 1st Heistse Pijl
 * 1st Omloop Het Volk U23
 * 1st Stage 5 Tour of Austria
 * 3rd Bronze medal uci.svg Road race, UCI World Amateur Championships


 * 1954
 * 1st Roubaix–Huy
 * 1st Stage 3a Driedaagse van Antwerpen
 * 1st Berchem
 * 2nd Overall Tour of Belgium


 * 1955
 * 1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
 * 2nd Heistse Pijl
 * 3rd Omloop van Midden-België


 * 1956
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Road race, National Interclubs Championships
 * 1st Jersey orange.svg Overall Tour of the Netherlands
 * 1st Stages 3, 4b & 6
 * 1st Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
 * 1st Stages 2a & 2b
 * 1st Gent–Wevelgem
 * 1st Paris–Brussels
 * 1st Scheldeprijs
 * 1st De Drie Zustersteden
 * 1st Vijfbergenomloop
 * 1st GP van Brasschaat
 * 2nd Silver medal uci.svg Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 2nd Nationale Sluitingsprijs
 * 2nd Heistse Pijl
 * 2nd Omloop van de Fruitstreek


 * 1957
 * 1st Jersey orange.svg Overall Tour of the Netherlands
 * 1st Stages 2, 3a, 3b & 6a
 * 1st Gent–Wevelgem
 * 1st Scheldeprijs
 * 1st Coppa Bernocchi
 * 1st Schaal Sels-Merksem
 * 1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
 * 1st GP Roeselare
 * 1st GP van Brasschaat
 * 1st Stage 5 Roma–Napoli–Roma
 * Driedaagse van Antwerpen
 * 1st Stages 3a & 3b
 * 2nd Classica Sarda
 * 2nd Circuit des Trois Provinces
 * 2nd Omloop van Midden-België
 * 3rd Circuit of Houtland


 * 1958
 * National Championships
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Road race
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Interclubs road race
 * 1st Milan–San Remo
 * 1st Coppa Bernocchi
 * 1st Milano-Mantova
 * 1st Paris–Brussels
 * 1st GP Dr. Eugeen Roggeman
 * Vuelta a España
 * 1st Stages 4, 5b, 6, 9 & 10
 * Vuelta a Levante
 * 1st Stages 1, 3 (TTT), 4 & 8
 * 1st Stage 2b Grand Prix Marvan
 * 2nd Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
 * 1st Stage 3
 * 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
 * 2nd Omloop Het Volk
 * 3rd Overall Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stage 3
 * 3rd Paris–Roubaix
 * 3rd Giro di Sardegna
 * 3rd Nationale Sluitingsprijs


 * 1959
 * 1st Jersey Sardegna (Red-Blue Stripe).png Overall Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stages 2, 4 & 6
 * 1st Jersey gold.svg Overall Vuelta a Levante
 * 1st Stages 2, 6, & 7
 * 1st Jersey yellow flanders.svg Championship of Flanders
 * 1st Tour of Flanders
 * 1st Giro di Lombardia
 * 1st Paris–Tours
 * 1st Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
 * 1st GP Stad Vilvoorde
 * 1st Tielt-Antwerpen-Tielt
 * 3rd Overall Vuelta a España
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 1b, 8, 9 & 11
 * 3rd Overall Super Prestige Pernod
 * 4rd Overall Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Stages 1, 5, 11 & 14


 * 1960
 * 1st Jersey rainbow.svg Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 1st Ronde van Brabant
 * Paris–Nice
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stage 2 (TTT), 5 & 8b
 * Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stages 4 & 5
 * 1st Stage 2a Driedaagse van Antwerpen
 * 2nd Sassari-Cagliari
 * 2nd Weekend ardennais
 * 3rd Tour of Flanders
 * 3rd Critérium des As
 * 4th Overall Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Mountains classification
 * 1st Stages 7b, 8 & 11


 * 1961
 * 1st Jersey rainbow.svg Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 1st Jersey red.svg Overall Tour of Belgium
 * 1st Stages 4a & 4b
 * 1st Overall Weekend ardennais
 * Paris–Nice
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 7 & 8
 * Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stages 2 & 6
 * 1st Paris–Roubaix
 * 1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 1st Critérium des As
 * 1st Bol d'Or des Monédières
 * 1st Heusden Koers
 * 2nd Milan–San Remo
 * 3rd Overall Super Prestige Pernod
 * 7th Overall Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Stages 13, 15 & 17


 * 1962
 * 1st Jersey Sardegna (Red-Blue Stripe).png Overall Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stages 3 & 5b
 * Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Stages 9 & 11
 * Paris–Nice
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 7b & 9b
 * Tour of Belgium
 * 1st Jersey red.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 3 & 4a (TTT)
 * 1st Gent–Wevelgem
 * 1st Tour of Flanders
 * 1st Paris–Roubaix
 * 1st Critérium de Boulogne-sur-Mer
 * 1st Textielprijs Vichte
 * 1st Memorial Fred De Bruyne
 * 1st Stage 2b (TTT) Tour de France
 * 1st Grand Prix du Parisien (TTT)
 * 2nd Schelde-Dender-Leie
 * 3rd Eschborn–Frankfurt
 * 3rd Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen


 * 1963
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Road race, National Championships
 * 1st Boucles de l'Aulne
 * 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten
 * Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
 * 1st Stages 2 & 5
 * 2nd Overall Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stage 4
 * 2nd Silver medal uci.svg Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 2nd Paris Roubaix
 * 3rd Overall Paris–Nice
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 1, 4 & 8
 * 3rd Critérium des As
 * 10th Overall Tour de France
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * Jersey red number.svg Combativity award
 * 1st Stages 2, 8, 13 & 21


 * 1964
 * 1st Jersey gold.svg Overall Paris–Luxembourg
 * 1st Stage 2
 * 1st Harelbeke-Antwerpen-Harelbeke
 * 1st Boucles de l'Aulne
 * 1st Bruxelles–Meulebeke
 * 1st Textielprijs Vichte
 * 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a España
 * 1st Stage 4b Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
 * 1st Stage 4 Tour of Belgium
 * 1st Stage 4 Giro di Sardegna
 * 2nd Paris–Brussels
 * 2nd Paris–Tours
 * 2nd Championship of Flanders
 * 2nd Ronde van Brabant
 * 3rd Gent–Wevelgem


 * 1965
 * 1st Jersey Sardegna (Red-Blue Stripe).png Overall Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stages 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6
 * 1st Harelbeke-Antwerpen-Harelbeke
 * 1st Paris–Roubaix
 * 1st Elfstedenronde
 * 1st Classica Sarda
 * 1st Bruxelles–Meulebeke
 * 1st Flèche enghiennoise
 * 1st GP Ninove
 * 1st Heusden Koers
 * Tour de Luxembourg
 * 1st Stages 1, 2b & 4
 * Tour de France
 * 1st Stages 1 & 19
 * 1st Stage 4b Tour du Sud-Est
 * 1st Stage 2 Tour of Belgium
 * 3rd Overall Vuelta a España
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15 & 17
 * Held Jersey gold.svg after Stages 1a & 1b
 * 3rd Liederkerkse Pijl


 * 1966
 * 1st Harelbeke-Antwerpen-Harelbeke
 * 1st Omloop van de Fruitstreek
 * 1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice
 * 1st Stage 2 Tour of Belgium
 * 1st Stage 3 Tour de Luxembourg
 * 2nd Paris–Tours
 * 2nd Omloop van Midden-België
 * 3rd Overall Tour of the Netherlands
 * 1st Stage 2
 * 3rd Paris-Brussels


 * 1967
 * 1st Paris–Tours
 * 1st Omloop van de Fruitstreek
 * 1st GP Briek Schotte
 * 1st Stage 5 Tour de France
 * 1st Stage 2 Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice
 * 1st Jersey red.svg Points classification, Tour of Belgium
 * 2nd Paris–Roubaix
 * 2nd Circuit of Houtland
 * 2nd Flèche enghiennoise
 * 2nd Wezembeek-Oppem
 * 2nd Trofee Luc Van Biesen


 * 1968
 * 1st La Flèche Wallonne
 * 1st Seraing–Aachen–Seraing
 * 1st Rotheux-Aix-Rotheux
 * 1st Critérium de Boulogne-sur-Mer
 * 2nd Flèche enghiennoise
 * 3rd Championship of Flanders
 * 3rd Halle–Ingooigem


 * 1969
 * 1st Stage 4 Tour de France
 * 1st E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 1st Omloop van de Grensstreek
 * 1st Omloop der Zennevallei
 * 1st Heistse Pijl
 * 1st GP Briek Schotte


 * 1970
 * 1st Kessel–Lier

Track

 * 1953
 * 1st Omnium of Antwerp, 10 Jan
 * 1st Omnium of Antwerp, 24 Jan
 * 1st Omnium of Antwerp, 13 Feb


 * 1956
 * 1st Omnium of Rocourt
 * 1st Omnium of Brussels
 * 3rd Six Days of Brussels (with Lucien Acou)


 * 1957
 * 1st Six Days of Brussels (with Willy Vannitsen)
 * 1st Omnium of Antwerp
 * 1st Omnium of Brussels
 * 1st Omnium of Gent, 29 Sep
 * 1st Omnium of Gent, 1 Nov


 * 1958
 * 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Reginald Arnold)
 * 1st Omnium of Milan
 * 1st Omnium of Gent
 * 1st Omnium of Brussels
 * 1st Omnium of Zürich


 * 1959
 * 1st Omnium of Gent, 14 Feb
 * 1st Omnium of Paris
 * 1st Omnium of Brussels, 15 April
 * 1st Omnium of Gent, 16 Apr
 * 1st Omnium of Rocourt
 * 1st Omnium of Brussels, 31 Oct
 * 1st Omnium of Gent, 1 Nov


 * 1960
 * 1st Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
 * 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Peter Post)
 * 1st Omnium of Brussels
 * 2nd Six Days of Brussels (with Peter Post)
 * 2nd Six Days of Frankfurt (with Peter Post)


 * 1961
 * 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Willy Vannitsen & Peter Post)
 * 1st Six Days of Cologne (with Peter Post)
 * 1st Six Days of Brussels (with Peter Post)
 * 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Peter Post)
 * 1st Omnium of Brussels
 * National Championships
 * 2nd Madison (with Edgard Sorgeloos)
 * 2nd Omnium
 * 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
 * 2nd Six Days of Frankfurt (with Peter Post)
 * 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Peter Post)


 * 1962
 * 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Oscar Plattner & Peter Post)
 * 1st Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
 * 1st Six Days of Dortmund (with Peter Post)
 * European Championships
 * 2nd Silver medal europe.svg Madison (with Peter Post)
 * 3rd Bronze medal europe.svg Derny
 * 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
 * 3rd Six Days of Milan (with Peter Post)


 * 1963
 * 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Rik van Steenbergen)
 * 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Rik van Steenbergen)


 * 1964
 * 1st Omnium of Rocourt
 * 1st Omnium of Ostend


 * 1965
 * 1st Omnium of Ostend, 30 July
 * 1st Omnium of Ostend, 12 Aug
 * 1st Omnium of Rocourt
 * 1st Omnium of Ostend, 21 Aug
 * 1st Omnium of Valenciennes
 * 1st Omnium of Brussels


 * 1968
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Madison (with Patrick Sercu), National Championships
 * 1st Omnium of Gent, 30 Oct (with Patrick Sercu)
 * 1st Omnium of Gent, 1 Nov (with Julien Stevens)
 * 1st Omnium of Gent, 11 Nov
 * 2nd Six Days of Ghent (with Patrick Sercu)
 * 2nd Six Days of Antwerp (with Fritz Pfenninger & Peter Post)


 * 1969
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Madison (with Patrick Sercu), National Championships
 * 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Peter Post & Patrick Sercu)


 * 1970
 * 3rd Six Days of Antwerp (with Sigi Renz & Theo Verschueren)

Source

Books

 * Pedalare! The Emperor: The Rik Van Looy Story by David Armstrong in 1971, Kennedy Brothers, 34 p. (English)
 * The Beast, The Emperor and the Milkman by Harry Pearson in 2019, Bloomsbury Publishing, 289 p. (English) ISBN 9781472945068
 * Rik Van Looy: De Temperamentvolle Wereldkampioen by Marcel Grosjean & Roger Meuleman in 1960. G.P.V., 40 p. (Dutch)
 * Rik Van Looy by Fred De Bruyne in 1963. 42 p. (Dutch)
 * Rik Van Looy: Heerser en Verdeler by Louis Clicteur & Lucien Berghmans in 1966, De Steenbok, 222 p. (Dutch)
 * Ik, Rik! by Rik van Looy & Rob Jans in 1972, Brito, 95 p. (Dutch)
 * Van Looy Story by André Blancke, Jan Cornand & Roger Quick in 1979, Het Volk, 69 p. (Dutch)
 * Rik Van Looy: Monument Voor Een Keizer by Roger De Maertelaere, Guy Crasset & Modest Maertens in 2005. De Eecloonaar, 192 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789077562185
 * Flandria: de 20 Wondere Jaren van een Wielerploeg by Mark van Hamme in 2007, De Eecloonaar, 392 p. ISBN 9789077562338
 * Groene Leeuw: de Wielerploeg die de Keizer Uitdaagde by Jan De Smet and Patrick Feyaerts in 2008, De Eecloonaar, 360 p. ISBN 9789077562512
 * Rik Van Looy 80 by Mark Vanlombeek & Robert Janssens in 2013. Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, 272 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789089313997
 * Van Looy / Les Héros! by Robert Janssens in 2018. Kannibaal Books, 120 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789492677402
 * Rik Van Looy - De Val van een (Wieler)Keizer. 1963 & 1964 Anni Horribiles by Jan De Smet and Patrick Feyaerts, De Eecloonaar, 210 p. (Dutch)
 * ’t Is Rik – Hommage aan de Keizer by Bart Lamers en Thijs Delrue in 2021 (Dutch, French) ISBN 9798201045227