The following is an interview conducted by fellow Belgi Bart "the Bike Doctor" Busschaert:

Eddy Merckx and the management team of the Eddy Merckx Bicycles company visited New York on the weekend of  November 14-15th.  It was the first visit to New york after Merckx sold his shares of the bicycle company to Mr. Brantegem (Sobradis).  
 

On Saturday he was leading the charity ride for the Children’s Specialized Hospital’s wheelchair athletic program “Lightning wheels “

On both days he visited some bike shops and took the time to meet and greet his enthusiastic fans in New York.

On Saturday night Eddy Merckx received a lifetime achievement award from the Belgian-American Chamber of commerce. 

As a rider who raced and won in both the classics and also the grand tours, do you think it’s still possible to win both in the modern age of cycling? has cycling gone the way of specialization in terms of training and racing? 

It sure is still possible. For example Contador, Schleck and others performed really well at the beginning of the season in Paris-Nice and they were also the protagonists in the Tour de France. So physically it is absolutely realistic to achieve multiple goals in one season.

However, mentally it is very different compared to the time when I raced. The media presence is so much more as it sometimes becomes overwhelming. This puts an enormous load on the riders’ shoulders. Because of this mental stress it is difficult to stay in the spotlights for months in a row.

Further the Tour de France is, more than it used to be, the most important stage race in the season, so the racers can afford to skip some other races…if they do well in the Tour.

 
Do you think it’s possible to win a grand tour with a weak team and little support? it seemed this contributed to evans’ chances the past  3 years. in other words, what is contador going to able to accomplish next year if he signs with astana?  

Cadell Evans wasn’t good enough this year! He just did’nt perform as planned and THAT is the reason why he did such a bad Tour de France. His team is not to blame.

Ok, maybe that wasn’t the best example, but do you believe an individual rider can still make the difference in modern racing?

Of course you’ll always need a team, but in crucial  moments it’s the rider who has to do the job. Time trials or mountain stages, the rider has to get to the finish on his own as fast as possible.

Now that they decided to no longer organise a team time trial –I have always been opposed to this concept – the individual differences  will become even more clear.

Whats is your opinion on race radios?

In general I think it reduces the level of improvisation in a race. In the past riders followed their racing instinct much more. Nowadays, an individual rider using a radio is an actor who is following the script that is written in the car of the Director Sportif. As a result races are much more predictable than they used to be and that is regrettable. Races used to be much more ‘open’, and I like it that way.

Needless to say that radios also have upsides. Passing a message can be done by just saying things once. Riders also often use the argument that it’s safer using a race radio.

I don’t believe in the ‘technical’ advantage of being able to call ‘your’ car in the race because you always have some team mate or neutral car arround you. To be quite honest, if you’re racing Roubaix the cars are nowhere near, so why bother asking for assistance…
 
How do you feel about giving up the Merckx factory and getting out of the bicycle making business? Was it your wish that Axel take over operations?

It might sound strange but I feel relieved. The last couple of years I found it harder to stay motivated to run the company. Since I was the end-responsible for every process in the company it obviously took a lot of energy. I always liked being involved in the creative part of bicycle manufacturing but the whole administration that comes with it was my least favourite activity.

I built this business  to ensure the future of my children (Axel and Sabrina). However, over the years it became clear that neither of them wanted to continue working in this factory. After Axels’ career end I waited for him to join the company but he preferred to do other things. When he made his choice, there was no personal long term goal with the factory anymore. Knowing that I don’t want to work untill the age of 80, I decided to take things slower now and to sell most of my shares.

Selling my shares was a difficult emotional proces for me and I took my time for it. The factory is something I put my soul in and I want it to be taken good care of.  Product quality, but also the faith of my employees were the most important criteria in choosing a candidate to take over my shares. Mr. Brantegems’ investment group (Sobradis) seemed the best candidate, so we came to an agreement earlier this year.

Are you still involved in any capacity)? 

My passion for making bicycles and my experience puts me in an ideal position to guide the whole development proces. Since this is what I always liked the most about this business, I will continue doing so. Further, being there for the company in a public relations role is one of my tasks. 

Who do you think of as your main competition in the cycling business?

Well, we’re not competing with big brands such as Trek, Cannondale, Giant and others. Those brands have a full range of bicycle types and that’s not our goal. We are true believers in the “niche” product Merckx Bicycles always has been. We want to continue developing and producing high-end road bikes. In terms of quantities that puts us in the league of brands as Colnago, DeRossa and Pinarello.

Eventhough the history and value of the brand are the core elements of our marketing vision we also reshaped our product range. The new Merckx bikes have a younger, more agressive design. Adding to this, we launched some women-specific bicycles since this is a rapidly increasing  market.

Since we are a Belgian/European brand we focused this year on expanding our market share in Europe. The US market, in which we are obviously underrepresented, is our next target. 

 What products have recently been introduced that excite you and what do you see on the horizon that will change the way people ride?  
Over the years the shift from toeclips to clipless pedals and the integrated shifting solutions of different brands are the 2 major ideas that changed the way people ride in a very spectacular way. For now I don’t see another product or concept having such a great impact.

 
Last Question, have you tried electronic shifting?  
No, I’m using Campa 11 speed. Good stuff, but pretty fragile in terms of tuning. 

Thank you Eddy!