Editing Eddy Merckx (section)

====1970: A Giro–Tour double====
Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild [[tendonitis]] in his [[knee]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=140}} His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won the general classification, along with three stages.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=140}}<ref name="BRI 1970 Giro" /> On 1 April, Merckx won the [[Gent–Wevelgem]], followed by the [[Tour of Belgium]] – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and [[1970 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=140–141}}<ref name="BRI 1970 Giro" /> In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=140}} He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=140}} The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate [[Joseph Bruyère]] in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=141}}

[[File:Ventoux Flamme Rouge (14829387042).jpg|thumb|right|After winning the fourteenth stage to the summit of [[Mont Ventoux]] during the [[1970 Tour de France]], Merckx had to be given oxygen.|alt=The summit of a mountain.]]
After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in [[1970 Giro d'Italia|1970]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=141}} His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to a lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=141}} He started the race and won the second stage,<ref name="BRI 1970 Giro" /> but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=141}} However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of [[Brentonico]] to win the stage and take the lead.<ref name="BRI 1970 Giro" /> He won the stage nine [[individual time trial]] by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly.<ref name="BRI 1970 Giro" /> Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion.<ref name="BRI 1970 Giro" />

Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the [[Belgian National Road Race Championships]].<ref name="BRI 1970 Tour">{{cite web|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1970.html|title=1970 Tour de France |work=Bike Race Info|first1=Bill |last1=McGann |first2=Carol |last2=McGann |publisher=Dog Ear Publishing|access-date=10 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618031114/http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1970.html|archive-date=18 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's [[General classification in the Tour de France|yellow jersey]].<ref name="BRI 1970 Tour" />{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=142}} After losing the lead following the second stage,<ref name="BRI 1970 Tour" />{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=142}} he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with [[Lucien Van Impe]] and regained the lead.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=143}} After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification.<ref name="BRI 1970 Tour" />{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=143}} Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to [[Mont Ventoux]], where upon finishing he was given [[oxygen]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=143–144}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=145}} Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications.<ref name="BRI 1970 Tour" />{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=145}} The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France.<ref name="BRI 1970 Tour" />{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=146}} Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in the same calendar year.<ref name="BRI 1970 Tour" />{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=142}}