Eddy Merckx turns 60

The world's greatest ever cyclist, Eddy Merckx, turns 60 today (Friday). The Belgian, who is fit and looking as lean as he did in his racing days, has been celebrated around the world for several weeks already, and he is clearly still as popular as ever.

"It's been a madhouse for weeks," Eddy told Het Nieuwsblad. "I think that now it's really the last time that I will agree to all the requests from the national and international media." Today, he will give interviews to RTBF radio, Radio 2, Omroep Vlaams-Brabant, a German TV crew, VTM news, and then RTBF TV, squeezing in a drink with his former teammates and some time with his family late in the evening.

The greater Merckx family may be enhanced very soon as Axel's wife Jodi is expecting their second daughter, possibly even today. "That would be beautiful," said Eddy. "Only, you can't control nature."