Eddy Merckx is the greatest racing cyclist that ever lived.  He has won more Classic races than anyone else, worn the Tour de France’s yellow jersey for more days than anyone and won more stages than anyone else.  A five-time Tour de France winner, he remains the only person to win all three major jerseys (Leaders, King of the Mountain, Sprinters) in the same year (1967).  During his peak years from 1969 through 1975, Merckx won a full 35% of the races he entered.  His record of 525 victories, including 445 as a professional is truly untouchable. 

After his retirement from professional cycling in 1978, Eddy made plans to begin manufacturing bicycles that would meet his exacting standards.  He was always well known for tinkering with geometry and positioning on his race bicycles, and that continues to this day with the frames bearing his name.   Though there are some earlier frames bearing the Merckx name, Eddy began production in 1980 in his hometown of Meise, Belgium, where it still continues.