How Eddy Merckx Made History At The 1974 Montréal Worlds

At the 1974 UCI Road World Championships in Montréal, Eddy Merckx won the Elite men's road race by beating Raymond Poulidor and Mariano Martínez in a grueling 262.5-kilometer race that saw only 18 of 70 starters finish. The victory completed Merckx's Giro d'Italia-Tour de France-World Championship Triple Crown, making him the first rider to achieve all three titles in a single season. Montréal also made history as the first city outside Europe to host the complete UCI Road World Championships, a milestone in the sport's global expansion.