Eddy Merckx - Track Crash

Track Crash

In 1969 Merckx crashed in a derny race in the Blois velodrome towards the end of the season. A pacer and a cyclist fell in front of Merckx's pacer, Fernand Wambst. Wambst died instantly, and Merckx was knocked unconscious. He cracked a vertebra and twisted his pelvis. He said his riding was never the same after the injuries. He frequently adjusted his saddle while riding – including coming down the col de la Faucille on the way to Divonne-les-Bains – and was often in pain, especially while climbing. He said:

The crash in Blois was terrible for me. From that day cycling became suffering. I had stitches in my head and was scraped and bruised all over, but those injuries healed. I was lucky in a way in that I could have been killed, but the problem that crash gave me was the damage it did to my back. What happened was that my hips were knocked out of line with my body. It meant that my legs were also out of line with the rest of my body. After that day I could never sit comfortably on my bike again. I tinkered with my position and changed my frame angles. I would keep many bikes, all subtly different, all ready to race on, but I never found comfort. Before Blois I cannot say that I suffered in a bike race. The Tour de France even. I just pressed on the pedals when I wanted to, that was all I had to do. After the crash it was never the same. The pain changed from day to day, some days I would weep on my bike, on others it was OK. One time, towards the end of my career, it was so bad that I was riding up the Alsemberg hill in Brussels, and I wondered if I was going to get to the top. I thought that I might have to get off and walk, and it isn't a very steep or a very long hill. My back became my weakness. It still affects me today. I cannot jog to keep fit because of my back.