Editing Eddy Merckx (section)

=== 1971–1976: Molteni ===

====1971: A third consecutive Tour and second world championship====
[[File:Tour de France, Luis Ocaña, Bestanddeelnr 926-5233.jpg|upright|thumb|180px|Spaniard [[Luis Ocaña]] (pictured at the [[1973 Tour de France]]) was one of Merckx's major rivals during the [[1971 Tour de France]].|alt=A picture of a cyclist in a jersey that reads "Bic."]]
Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, [[Molteni (cycling team)|Molteni]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=162}}{{sfn|Foot|2011|p=225}} The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=162}} He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=162}} In the Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=162}} Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=162}} Six days later, he won the [[Omloop Het Nieuwsblad|Omloop Het Volk]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=162}}

After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=163}} During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=163}} A week later, he suffered five flat tires during the Paris–Roubaix.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=163}} The [[1971 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|Liège–Bastogne–Liège]] was held in cold and rain conditions.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=163}} After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=163}} He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=163}} Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=164}} Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France, the [[Grand Prix du Midi Libre]] and the [[Critérium du Dauphiné]], both of which he won.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=164}}

The [[1971 Tour de France|Tour de France]] began with a [[team time trial]] that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=165}} The next day's racing was split into three parts.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=165}} Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=165}} During the second stage, a major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=166}} The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around [[Roger De Vlaeminck]] during the sprint to win the day.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=166}} After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=166}} The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to [[Puy-de-Dôme]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=166}} [[Bernard Thévenet]] attacked on the lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=166}} [[Joop Zoetemelk]] and [[Luis Ocaña]] went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=166}}

[[File:Col du Cucheron - Le Planolet.JPG|thumb|left|While descending the [[Col du Cucheron]] during the ninth stage of the [[1971 Tour de France]], Merckx suffered a puncture. Seeing this, his rivals attacked and wound up gaining 1' 30" on Merckx.|alt=A picture of a mountain.]]
On the descent of the [[Col du Cucheron]] during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and [[Gösta Pettersson]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=166–167}} The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk the lead.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=167}} The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=168–169}} At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=170}} Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=171}} After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=172}} The race entered the [[Pyrenees]] with the first stage, into [[Luchon]], being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=173}} On the descent of the [[Col de Menté]], Merckx crashed on a left bend.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=174}} Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=174}} Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from the crash.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=175}} Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=175}} He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=175}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=176}}

Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the [[1971 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]] that were held in [[Mendrisio]], Switzerland.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=179}} The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=179}} Merckx was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=179}} After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=179}} This earned him his second rainbow jersey.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=179}} He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the [[Giro di Lombardia]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=179}} This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments.<ref name="sports-reference" /> Merckx made the winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=179}} During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=181}}

====1972: Breaking the hour record alongside a Giro–Tour double====
[[File:Raymond Poulidor, Tour de France 1966 (cropped).jpg|thumb|180px|upright|[[Raymond Poulidor]] (pictured at the [[1966 Tour de France]]) won [[1972 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]] after taking the lead away from Merckx in the race's final stage, an individual time trial.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=182}}|alt=A picture of a cyclist on a bike.]]
Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=181}} In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=181}} Against the advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=181}} In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=182}} Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to [[Raymond Poulidor]] and finished in second place overall.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=182}} Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=182}}

In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=183}} He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=183}} Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=183}} Merckx won the uphill sprint to the finish despite his [[derailleur]] shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=184}} He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=183}} Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the [[1972 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]], he chose to take part in the [[1972 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=182}}

Merckx lost over two and a half minutes to Spanish climber [[José Manuel Fuente]] after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=187}} In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=187}} However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=187}} He expanded his lead by two minutes through the stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=188}} Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=188}} He and teammate [[Francisco Galdós]] attacked, leaving Merckx behind.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=188}} Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the final climb of the stage.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=188}} He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=188}} He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during the seventeenth leg that finished atop the [[Stelvio Pass]],{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=188}} but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=189}}

Merckx entered the [[1972 Tour de France|Tour de France]] in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=189}} He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=189–190}} Going into the Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=190}} The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=190}} Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=190}} Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=190}} Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had a flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=190}} Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=190}} During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=191}} He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner,{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=192}} thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in the process.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=193}}

[[File:EddyMerckxHourRecordBike.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ernesto Colnago]] designed the bike Merckx used (pictured) during his [[hour record]] attempt to be similar to Merckx's track bike.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=197}} The bike weighed 5.9 kilograms and saw two hundred hours put into its production.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=200}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=224}}|alt=An orange bicycle behind glass.]]
After initially planning to attempt to break the [[hour record]] in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from [[criterium]] racing to heal and prepare.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=197}} The attempt took place on 25 October in [[Mexico City]], Mexico at the outdoor track [[Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome|Agustin Melgar]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=198}} Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=198}} He arrived in Mexico on the 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=200}} His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=201–202}} However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=203}} He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of {{convert|49.431|km|0|abbr=on}}, breaking the world record.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=204}}{{sfn|Heijmans|Mallon|2011|p=131}}{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=368}} After finishing he was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant."{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=204}}

====1973: A Giro–Vuelta double====
An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=213}} During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=213}} He decided to race the [[1973 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]] and the [[1973 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]], instead of racing the [[1973 Tour de France|Tour de France]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=213}} He won the opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=213}} Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=213}} In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's [[Points classification in the Vuelta a España|points classification]] and [[Combination classification in the Vuelta a España|combination classifications]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=213}}

Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=214}} He won the opening two-man time trial with [[Roger Swerts]] and the next day's leg as well.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=215}} Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=214}} He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to [[Monte Carpegna]] despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=215}} Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=215}} Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish, a feat only previously accomplished by [[Alfredo Binda]] and [[Costante Girardengo]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=215}} He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=215}}

[[File:Felice Gimondi 1966.jpg|thumb|180px|upright|[[Felice Gimondi]] (pictured in 1966) won the men's road race at the [[1973 UCI Road World Championships]], ahead of Merckx who was unable to contest the final sprint to the line, finishing last out of the leading group of four.|alt=A Felice Gimondi stamp.]]
The [[1973 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]] were held in [[Barcelona]], Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=216}} During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=216}} His move was marked by [[Freddy Maertens]], Gimondi, and Ocaña.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=216–217}} Merckx attacked on the final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=217}} It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=217}} Following the road race, Merckx won his first [[Paris–Brussels]] and [[Grand Prix des Nations]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=218}} He won both legs of [[À travers Lausanne]], as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a [[#Doping|doping positive]] disqualified him.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=218}} He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=218}}

====1974: Completion of cycling's Triple Crown====
The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win a spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=244}} [[Pneumonia]] forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the [[1974 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]] in poor form.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=245}} He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=245}} Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=245}} Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in a stage that was plagued by horrendous weather.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=245}} Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=245}} The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=246}} Fuente and [[Gianbattista Baronchelli]] attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=246}} He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=246}} He held on to that lead until the race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=246}}

Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=247}} He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=247}} He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=247}} After finishing the race, Merckx had a [[sebaceous cyst]] removed on 22 June.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=247}} Five days following the surgery, he was scheduled to begin the [[1974 Tour de France|Tour de France]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=247}} The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=247}}

At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's ''maillot jaune'' ({{langx|en|yellow jersey}}),{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=247}} which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=248}} He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in the closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=248}} He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the [[Col du Galibier]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=249}} The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, [[Vicente López Carril]] and [[Gonzalo Aja]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=249}} He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in a flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in [[Orléans]] almost a minute and a half before the chasing group.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=250}} Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=250}}

[[File:Eddy Merckx Canada 1974 WK.jpg|thumb|left|With his victory in the [[1974 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|men's road race]] at the [[1974 UCI Road World Championships]] and his victories in two Grand Tours, the [[1974 Giro d'Italia|Giro]] and [[1974 Tour de France|Tour]], Merckx became the first rider to win the [[Triple Crown of Cycling]].|alt=A few cyclists riding on racing bicycles with a lot of spectators cheering.]]
Going into the [[1974 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|men's road race]] at the [[1974 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]], Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=253}} The route featured twenty-one laps of a circuit that contained two climbs.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=253}} Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=253}} The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=253–254}} By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the [[Triple Crown of Cycling]], which consists of winning the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year.<ref name="ELM 74 WC">{{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1974/08/26/MD19740826-023.pdf|title=Merckx logro su tercer titulo mundial batiendo a Poulidor|date=26 August 1974|page=23|language=es|trans-title=Merckx achieving his third world title beating Poulidor|newspaper=El Mundo Deportivo|access-date=20 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630020705/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1974/08/26/MD19740826-023.pdf|archive-date=30 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CN EM TC">{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/gallery-eddy-merckx-turns-70 |title=Gallery: Eddy Merckx turns 70 |date=16 March 2012 |work=Cycling News|publisher=Future Publishing |access-date=19 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630015848/http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/gallery-eddy-merckx-turns-70|archive-date=30 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and [[Rik Van Steenbergen]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=254}}

====1975: Second place at the Tour====
With victories at Milan–San Remo and [[1975 Amstel Gold Race|Amstel Gold Race]], Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the [[Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=254}} In the Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=254}} Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the [[1975 Tour of Flanders|Tour of Flanders]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=254}} He launched an attack with eighty kilometers to go, with only [[Frans Verbeeck (cyclist)|Frans Verbeeck]] being able to match his acceleration.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=255}} Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=255}} In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered a flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=255}} After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=255}} Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=255}}

Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=255–256}} Notably, in the Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=256}} Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=256}} Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=258}} This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the [[1975 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=258}} He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won the race.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=258}} At the Tour de Suisse, De Vlaeminck won the race as a whole, while Merckx finished second.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=258}}

[[File:Eddy Merckx, Amstel Gold Race 1975 finish.jpg|thumb|Merckx crossing the finish line to win the [[1975 Amstel Gold Race]]|alt=A cyclist holding his hands aloft.]]
He placed second in the [[1975 Tour de France|Tour de France]]'s prologue.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=259}} The following morning's split stage saw Merckx put time on Thevenet by attacking with [[Francesco Moser]], Van Impe, and Zoetemelk.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=259}} In day's second leg, Merckx gained time on Zoetemelk.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=259}} He won the stage six individual time trial and gaining more time on Thevenet and Zoetemelk.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=259}} He won the next time trial into [[Auch]] as well.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=260}} During the race's eleventh stage, Merckx sent his team to set the pace early on in the stage.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=260}} Reaching the final climb of the day, Merckx was on his own as his team had been used to set the pace throughout the day.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=260}} On the day's final climb to [[Pla d'Adet]], he matched an acceleration by Zoetemelk.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=260}} Thevenet then launched an attack, to which Merckx could not follow and saw him lose over two minutes.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=260}} After the stage Merckx switched decided to mark Thevenet for the rest of the race and make an attack on the Puy-de-Dôme.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=260}}

While climbing the Puy-de-Dôme, Thevenet and Van Impe attacked.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=260}} Merckx followed at his own pace and kept the two riders within a hundred meters.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=261}} With about 150&nbsp;m remaining, Merckx was prepared to sprint to the line, but was punched in the back by a spectator, Nello Breton.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=261}} He crossed the line thirty-four seconds behind Thevenet and proceeded to vomit after catching his breath.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=261}} The punch left him with a large bruise.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=261}} During the rest day he was found to have an inflamed liver for which he was prescribed blood thinners.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=261}}

The stage following the rest day featured five climbs, Merckx felt a pain on the third climb in the area of the punch and had a teammate get him an [[analgesic]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=262}} Thevenet attacked several times on the climb of the [[Col des Champs]], all of which Merckx countered.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=263}} Merckx retaliated by speeding away on the descent.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=263}} On the start of the next climb, Merckx had his Molteni teammates set the pace and he distanced himself from his competitors before the start of the final climb.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=263}} However, as Merckx began the final climb he cracked. Thevenet caught and passed him with four kilometers left.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=264}} Gimondi, Van Impe, and Zoetemelk passed Merckx, who finished fifth and one minute and twenty-six seconds down.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|pp=264–265}} The following day, Merckx caught up with the leading breakaway and wanted to push ahead, but the riders chose not to participate in the pace making, leading Merckx to sit up and get caught.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=265}} He lost two more minutes to Thevenet, who attacked on the [[Col d'Izoard]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=265}} He crashed in the next leg, breaking a [[cheekbone]], and gained some time on Thevenet before the finish in Paris.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=266}} He finished in second place, the first time he had lost a Tour in his six starts.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=267}}

====1976: A record seventh Milan–San Remo====
He opened his 1976 season with his record seventh victory in Milan–San Remo.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=269}} He followed with a victory in the Catalan Week, but suffered a crash in the final stage when a spectator's bag caught his handlebars, injuring his elbow.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=269}} This injury plagued his performance throughout the spring classic season.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=269}} He entered the [[1976 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]] but failed to win a stage for the first time in his career.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=269}} He finished the race in eighth overall while battling a saddle boil throughout the race.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=269}} Following the Giro's conclusion Merckx announced that he and his team Molteni would not take part in the [[1976 Tour de France|Tour de France]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=270}} He took part in the men's road race at the [[1976 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]] and finished in fifth position.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=270}} He ended his season in October after racing for most of August.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=270}} He failed to win the [[Super Prestige Pernod International]], a competition where riders were awarded points for their placements in certain professional races, for the first time since 1968.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=270}} In the first two months of his off-season, Merckx spent the majority of his time lying down.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=270}} Molteni ended their sponsorship at the end of the season.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2013|p=270}}