Cycling: Merckx after bicycle crash in the hospital

Even at the age of 74, Eddy Merckx can not break away from his cycling enthusiasm. The five-time winner of the Tour de France was on a bike ride with friends last Sunday when he fell and was taken to the hospital in the Belgian community of Dendermonde. This was reported by the Belgian newspaper "Het Nieuwsblad".

Initially it was said that Merckx had suffered serious head injuries, but now the extent of the injury was put into perspective. So the Belgian idol is already on a normal hospital room - as "Het Laatste Nieuws" reported. "I had contact with his wife last night," said former footballer Paul van Himst, a close friend of Merckx's newspaper. "In her opinion, everything is not so bad."

Merckx had celebrated in 1969 his first of a total of five victories in the Tour de France. Because of his aggressive driving style he was called in his active time "cannibal". At the beginning of the tour in his hometown of Brussels, he was euphorically celebrated in July this year as a guest of honor.