# Rik Van Looy

Henri "Rik" Van Looy (20 December 1933 – 17 December 2024) was a Belgian professional cyclist of the post-war period. Nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals (after the small Belgian city where he lived), he dominated the classic cycle races in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Van Looy was twice world professional road race champion, and was the first cyclist to win all five 'Monuments': the most prestigious one-day classics – a feat since achieved by just two others (both also Belgians: Roger De Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx).
With 367 professional road victories, he ranks second all-time behind Eddy Merckx. Van Looy is ninth on the all-time list of Grand Tour stage winners with thirty-seven victories. These numbers could still have risen had he not been the victim of a significant number of falls resulting in serious injuries. Remarkable was his sporting rivalry with two other cycling legends: namely the successful Rik Van Steenbergen at the beginning of Van Looy's career. Conversely, Van Looy had to face the generational change with a young Eddy Merckx at the end of his career.

## Early life

Rik Van Looy was born in 1933 in Grobbendonk, in the Antwerp Province. As a child, Van Looy was fascinated by cycling. Before the age of 13, he worked as a paper boy. The foundation of his further career was laid in that period, by daily riding on a packed, much too heavy bicycle.
In his very first races as a youngster, however, he did not yet stand out as the big talent.

## Career
### Amateur years

Van Looy rose to prominence when he won the Belgian amateur road championship in 1952. He repeated the victory the following year, adding third place in the world title race the same year, before turning professional. He took part in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, participating in the road race, but without completing it. Instead, he and his teammates won the gold medal in the team road race. At the age of 19, Van Looy won the bronze medal in the World Championship amateur road race in Lugano.

### 1953–1960

A powerful sprinter, Van Looy won two races in what was left of his first professional season (1953), and 20 more over the next couple of seasons. In 1956, his victories included Gent–Wevelgem and Paris–Brussels, plus two stages and overall victory in the Tour of the Netherlands. He also won a silver medal in the world road race championship, behind his countryman Rik Van Steenbergen (whom the team was obliged to ride for).
He repeated his Gent–Wevelgem and Tour of the Netherlands victories in 1957, and in 1958, Van Looy won the season's opening classic, Milan–San Remo.
1959 saw Van Looy take the early-season Tour of Flanders and the autumn classic, the Giro di Lombardia. In between, he scored another 38 victories, including three stages of the Vuelta a España (finishing third overall and winning the points competition) and four stages of the Giro d'Italia (for 4th overall).

### 1961–1966

In 1960, he scored the first of two consecutive victories in the world road race championship, but "classic" victories eluded him. However, he made up for this in 1961, winning both Paris–Roubaix and Liège–Bastogne–Liège – making him the first rider to take all five 'Monuments' – as well as retaining his rainbow world title jersey, and taking three stages, plus the mountains competition in the Giro d' Italia.
Van Looy scored two more Classic wins in 1962 (Paris–Roubaix, Tour of Flanders), took another Gent–Wevelgem, and two more Giro stages. At the age of 28, he made his debut in the 1962 Tour de France as one of the major favorites. Van Looy's strategy was to exhaust co-favorites Federico Bahamontes and Jacques Anquetil before the mountain stages started. However, after ten stages in which Van Looy gave a spectacle, he was forced to abandon the Tour due a collision with a motorcyclist. Tour director Jacques Goddet publicly regretted his departure.
   "My main rival in the tours wasn’t Baldini, Gaul or Poulidor. It was Van Looy. I had to match him in the flat stages and even in the mountains, because if I didn’t, he would turn up in the time-trials with a 15-minute advantage."
In 1963 Van Looy rode the Tour de France again, taking four stages en route to victory in the points competition and a 10th place on general classification. He also grabbed a silver medal in the world title race. In the latter race, held in Ronse in his native Belgium, he was beaten in the sprint by his countryman Benoni Beheyt who manually pushed Van Looy aside. Van Looy, starting the sprint too early, did not take this defeat lightly. This race has remained memorable in the history of Belgian cycling.
In 1965, he scored 42 victories, including Paris–Roubaix, and eight stages of the Vuelta on his way to his second third place overall (his highest placing in a Grand Tour). Van Looy also took two stages in the Tour de France.

### 1966–1970

During the final years of his career, Rik Van Looy's road performances began to fade, as the new Belgian star Eddy Merckx rose to prominence, but he still grabbed second in the 1967 Paris–Roubaix. He won La Flèche Wallonne in 1968, becoming the only cyclist to win all 8 original classics. Van Looy also took a stage of the 1969 Tour de France. His rivalry with Eddy Merckx reached the height of sabotage of Merckx in the world championships organized in Belgium, in 1969.

### Track cycling career

Van Looy was also a star on the track, winning 12 Six-day races. His first came in Brussels in 1957, his last in Antwerp in 1968. For ten of these victories, he was paired with Dutchman Peter Post.
In the winter of 1956 he was paired with Rik Van Steenbergen for some track races. Events that many looked forward to, but the plans were shelved after they both had arguments during the 1956 world championship in Copenhagen. The two Riks would eventually ride together in a few Six-days races in 1963.

## Riding style

Van Looy was a very powerful sprinter, rather heavy for his height due to his muscular legs. In mountain stages, he was usually able to keep up the pace of the true climbers, but less able to make the difference.
The power he could exert was unprecedented at the time. During his victory in 1961 UCI Road World Championships, his back wheel collapsed just after he crossed the finish line because his powerful stroke had ripped out several of the spokes. This incident earned him the nickname “The Wheelbreaker”.
Despite his sprint qualities, he usually wanted to avoid the sprint by escaping earlier. Van Looy enjoyed the cheering of the crowd more during solo arrivals. There was no time for that, while participating in a sprint and preparing for it.
Van Looy's popularity was mainly due to his attacking style of cycling. His early escapes already quickly created excitement in races in which he participated.
He could also motivate himself knowing he was being chased by competitors. This is also why he did not excel in individual time trials, it fascinated him less. Yet that shortcoming is hard to link with a man who could ride in the lead for miles without a flinch, visibly hurting his opponents. The more calculated riding during stage races, was at odds with his attacking style. As a result, he never won the overall classification in a Grand Tour, which also always included time trials. He did win overall victories in shorter stage races (in the 1965 Giro di Sardegna for example, by winning 5 out of 6 stages).

## Leadership

Van Looy did not spare himself during preparations for races, which were characterized by spartan training methods combined with a carefully selected diet.
Gradually, he stood out for his dominant character, both in his team and in the peloton. His leadership was strict, but always fair. Because of him, the term "team captain" was brought to a higher level. He worked out the fledgling leader-domestique system to perfection, and the team had to ride entirely in his service. Instead of the team manager, he himself decided the tactics, which riders were best suited for this and even what they would earn.
The Flandria-Faema team that was built around Van Looy was nicknamed the Red Brigade by the peloton and public, after the red jerseys the riders wore.

## 1963 World Championship incident

The 1963 world championship in Ronse seemed an ideal opportunity to triumph a third time, with a course that suited Van Looy, and this time supported by a home crowd.
The Belgian team would be riding completely for Van Looy, but during the race it turned out that Gilbert Desmet and Benoni Beheyt (both riding for a different brand team than Van Looy) had other plans. At the end of the race, Desmet escaped and Van Looy was forced to start the sprint much earlier than expected, after which Beheyt (pushing away on Van Looy's shoulder) eventually finished first.
The jury only briefly considered the problem of the obviously irregular sprint and did not change the final result. The medals were awarded in front of a rather confused audience, with both Van Looy and Beheyt having a hard time smiling. The story about the Betrayal of Ronse dragged on for a long time in the press and public, and crowds of people showed up at races where both gentlemen would start.
It didn't really seem to bother Van Looy, he enjoyed the commotion that cycling caused. Nevertheless, it is suggested that he systematically thwarted Beheyt's career afterwards. Fact is that the latter already stopped cycling a few years later at the age of 27, also due to injury problems.
The two gentlemen turned out to be on good terms after that, although neither of them seldom wanted to talk about the 1963 world championship again in interviews.

## Retirement

On 22 August 1970, after a race, Van Looy decided to quit professional cycling immediately and in all discretion. Unlike his predecessor Rik Van Steenbergen, he resolutely refused a lucrative "farewell tour" via criteria and track races. Neither was he interested in a high-paying farewell cycling race in the Antwerp Sports Palace.
Not surprisingly, he subsequently was appointed as team manager for Willem II–Gazelle. Afterwards he became a driver-consultant for a newspaper and magazine during races and in a later phase director of the Flemish cycling school in Herentals, the city of which he is now an honorary citizen.
In his house nothing reminds of his glorious past. "What's past is past. All the trophies, jerseys and medals,... I've given it all away. To charities, supporters and friends, it means more to them than to me" Van Looy once mentioned.

## Personal life and death

Rik Van Looy married Nini Mariën in 1955. Both formed a close-knit couple. Nini was partly behind the top career Rik Van Looy was able to build. She was one of the most famous riders' wives in the peloton in the 1950s and 1960s, and put her life entirely at the service of Van Looy's career.
The couple had a daughter and a son. Van Looy rode on incentives, which could also come from his family. When he lectured his young son by saying "when will you come home with a good school report again?" the boy's response was "when will you win another classic again?" The following week, the 34-year-old Van Looy won La Flèche Wallonne.
After a lingering illness, his wife died in 2021 at the age of 88. By then, Van Looy had already withdrawn from public life for a while to assist her. "She has done so much for me, now it's my turn" Van Looy said.
Afterwards, Van Looy sporadically came into the spotlight. He continued to give the starting shot of the GP Rik Van Looy every year. And in, 2023 there were several events in Herentals around his 90th birthday.
Three days before his 91th birthday, Van Looy died on 17 December 2024 after an illness of several weeks.

## Legacy

Given the specialization of a cyclist's role in the modern peloton, Rik Van Looy's number of professional road race victories will most likely never be surpassed in the future.
Van Looy is also probably the most popular rider Belgium has ever known. Obviously because of his victories and his attacking way of cycling. But his constant accessibility towards supporters, combined with his honest no-nonsense style in interviews contributed even more to this. Common people could identify with him, in contrast to the less language-savvy Eddy Merckx. Even when Merckx's performances began to surpass those of Van Looy, he seemed to have more opponents among Belgian cycling fans, compared to Van Looy.
In addition, Van Looy had a "clean image", compared to many of his colleagues and the generations of cyclists that would follow. "My performances started to improve significantly after I started following the training schedules and diets of doctor Dries Claes, which I had to convince to start a collaboration. As he was outspokenly opposed to doping in sports, and even a member of the anti-doping commission, the use of banned substances was completely out of the question." Van Looy mentioned in a 2023 interview.

## Awards and honours

* Trophée Edmond Gentil: 1959
* Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1961
* General Tour de France Combativity Award: 1963
* Stage Combativity Awards (8): 4 in 1963, 1 in 1962, 1964, 1965 & 1966
* Swiss AIOCC Trophy (fr): 1982
* UCI Hall of Fame: 2002
* Mémoire du Cyclisme – The Greatest Cyclists: 11th place: 2002
* Sports Personality of the Antwerp province: 2005
* Honorary citizen of Grobbendonk: 2012
* Statue in Herentals: 2017
* Grote Prijs Rik Van Looy: from 2018
* Bust in Grobbendonk: 2021
* Mural in KOERS Museum, Roeselare: 2023
* Exposition Van Looy 90 in Herentals: 2023
* ProcyclingStats – All Time Wins Ranking: 2nd place (162 wins)
* ProCyclingStats – All Time Ranking: 8th place
* CyclingRanking – Overall All Time Ranking: 12th place
* UCI Top 100: 16th place
Through his career, several vinyl singles about Van Looy were released by Belgian and Dutch artists.

### Records

* The only cyclist to win all 8 original classics: the 5 Monuments plus Paris–Tours, Paris–Brussels and La Flèche Wallonne
* Winner of all 5 Monuments of Cycling (record shared with Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck)
* Winner of all 3 cobbled classics in one season: 1962 (record shared with Tom Boonen)
* Former record of most races won by a professional cyclist: 367 (1961–1972)

## Major results
### Road
#### 1952

    1st Team road race, Olympic Games
    1st Road race, National Amateur Championships
    1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten Amateurs
    2nd Brussels–Opwijk (fr)

#### 1953

    1st Road race, National Amateur Championships
    1st Ronde van Midden-Nederland
    1st Heistse Pijl
    1st Omloop Het Volk U23
    1st Stage 5 Tour of Austria
    3rd Road race, UCI World Amateur Championships
    7th Paris–Tours

#### 1954

    1st Roubaix–Huy
    1st Stage 3a Driedaagse van Antwerpen
    2nd Overall Tour of Belgium
    4th Scheldeprijs

#### 1955

    1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
    2nd Heistse Pijl
    3rd Omloop van Midden-België

#### 1956

    1st Road race, National Interclubs Championships
    1st Overall Ronde van Nederland
       1st Stages 3, 4b (TTT) & 6
    1st Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
       1st Stages 2a
    1st Gent–Wevelgem
    1st Paris–Brussels
    1st Scheldeprijs
    1st De Drie Zustersteden
    2nd Road race, UCI World Championships
    2nd Nationale Sluitingsprijs
    2nd Heistse Pijl
    2nd Omloop van de Fruitstreek
    5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    8th Omloop Het Volk

#### 1957

    1st Overall Ronde van Nederland
       1st Stages 2, 3a, 3b (TTT) & 6a
    1st Gent–Wevelgem
    1st Scheldeprijs
    1st Coppa Bernocchi
    1st Schaal Sels-Merksem
    1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
    1st GP Roeselare
    1st Stage 6a Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico delle Nazioni
    2nd Classica Sarda
    2nd Omloop van Midden-België
    3rd Omloop van het Houtland
    4th Road race, UCI World Championships
    4th Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
       1st Stages 3a & 3b
    4th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
    5th Omloop Het Volk
    6th Paris–Tours
    7th Milano–Torino

#### 1958

    National Championships
       1st Road race
       1st Interclubs road race
    1st Milan–San Remo
    1st Coppa Bernocchi
    1st Milano-Mantova
    1st Paris–Brussels
    1st GP Dr. Eugeen Roggeman
    Vuelta a España
       1st Stages 4, 5b, 6, 9 & 10
       Held after Stages 9–11
    Vuelta a Levante
       1st Stages 1, 3 (TTT), 4 & 8
    1st Stage 2 Tour of Belgium
    2nd Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
       1st Stage 2a
    2nd Gent–Wevelgem
    2nd Omloop Het Volk
    3rd Overall Giro di Sardegna
       1st Stage 3
    3rd Paris–Roubaix
    3rd Nationale Sluitingsprijs
    4th Paris–Tours
    4th Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
    4th Omloop van het Houtland
    5th Overall Ronde van Nederland
    10th Liège–Bastogne–Liège

#### 1959

    1st Overall Giro di Sardegna
       1st Stages 2, 4 & 6
    1st Overall Vuelta a Levante
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 2, 6, & 7
    1st Tour of Flanders
    1st Giro di Lombardia
    1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
    1st Paris–Tours
    1st Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
    1st GP Stad Vilvoorde
    1st Tielt-Antwerpen-Tielt
    3rd Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 1b, 8, 9 & 11
    3rd Overall Super Prestige Pernod
    4th Overall Giro d'Italia
       1st Stages 1, 5, 11 & 14
       Held after Stage 1
    4th Paris–Roubaix
    5th Road race, National Championships
    5th Scheldeprijs
    5th Paris–Brussels
    5th Critérium des As
    9th Trofeo Baracchi (with Raymond Impanis)

#### 1960

    1st Road race, UCI World Championships
    1st Ronde van Brabant
    Giro d'Italia
       1st Mountains classification
       1st Stages 7b, 8 & 11
    Paris–Nice
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 2 (TTT), 5 & 8b
    Giro di Sardegna
       1st Stages 4 & 5
    2nd Sassari-Cagliari
    2nd Weekend ardennais
    3rd Tour of Flanders
    3rd Critérium des As
    4th Road race, National Championships
    4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    5th Overall Driedaagse van Antwerpen
       1st Stage 2a
    6th Milan–San Remo
    7th Paris–Brussels
    8th La Flèche Wallonne

#### 1961

    1st Road race, UCI World Championships
    1st Overall Tour of Belgium
       1st Stages 4a (TTT) & 4b
    1st Paris–Roubaix
    1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    1st Critérium des As
    1st Bol d'Or des Monédières
    1st Heusden Koers
    2nd Milan–San Remo
    3rd Overall Super Prestige Pernod
    6th Overall Giro di Sardegna
       1st Stages 2 & 6
    7th Overall Giro d'Italia
       1st Stages 13, 15 & 17
    7th Overall Paris–Nice
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 7 & 8
    7th Paris–Brussels

#### 1962

    1st Overall Giro di Sardegna
       1st Stages 3 & 5b
    1st Paris–Roubaix
    1st Tour of Flanders
    1st Gent–Wevelgem
    1st Textielprijs Vichte
    1st Memorial Fred De Bruyne
    1st Grand Prix du Parisien (TTT)
    Giro d'Italia
       1st Stages 9 & 11
    Paris–Nice
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 7a (TTT), 7b & 9b
    1st Stage 2b (TTT) Tour de France
    2nd Schelde-Dender-Leie
    3rd Rund um den Henninger Turm
    3rd Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
    4th Overall Tour of Belgium
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 3 & 4a (TTT)
    6th Critérium des As
    8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège

#### 1963

    1st Road race, National Championships
    1st Boucles de l'Aulne
    1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten
    Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
       1st Stages 2 & 5
    2nd Road race, UCI World Championships
    2nd Overall Giro di Sardegna
       1st Stage 4
    2nd Paris Roubaix
    3rd Overall Paris–Nice
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 1, 4 & 8
    3rd Critérium des As
    6th Tour of Flanders
    7th Brussels–Ingooigem
    8th Gent–Wevelgem
    10th Overall Tour de France
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 2a, 8, 13 & 21
       Combativity award

#### 1964

    1st Overall Paris–Luxembourg
       1st Stage 1
    1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
    1st Boucles de l'Aulne
    1st Bruxelles–Meulebeke
    1st Textielprijs Vichte
    Vuelta a España
       1st Stage 2
       Held after Stages 2–5
    1st Stage 4b Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    1st Stage 4 Tour of Belgium
    1st Stage 4 Giro di Sardegna
    2nd Paris–Tours
    2nd Paris–Brussels
    2nd Championship of Flanders
    2nd Ronde van Brabant
    3rd Gent–Wevelgem
    4th Milan–San Remo
    10th Tour of Flanders

#### 1965

    1st Overall Giro di Sardegna
       1st Stages 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6
    1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
    1st Paris–Roubaix
    1st Circuit des XI Villes
    1st Classica Sarda
    1st Bruxelles–Meulebeke
    1st Flèche Enghiennoise
    1st GP Ninove
    1st Heusden Koers
    Tour de France
       1st Stages 1a & 19
       Held after Stages 1a & 1b
    1st Stage 4b Circuit du Provençal
    1st Stage 2a Tour of Belgium
    3rd Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15 & 17
       Held after Stages 1–3
    6th Tour of Flanders
    10th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
       1st Stages 1, 2b & 4

#### 1966

    1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
    1st Omloop van de Fruitstreek
    1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice
    1st Stage 2 Tour of Belgium
    2nd Paris–Tours
    2nd Omloop van Midden-België
    3rd Paris–Brussels
    4th Flèche Enghiennoise
    5th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
       1st Stage 3
    9th Paris–Roubaix

#### 1967

    1st Paris–Tours
    1st Omloop van de Fruitstreek
    1st GP Briek Schotte
    1st Stage 5 Tour de France
    1st Stage 2 Giro di Sardegna
    2nd Paris–Roubaix
    2nd Omloop van het Houtland
    2nd Flèche Enghiennoise
    2nd Wezembeek-Oppem
    4th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
    6th Overall Paris–Nice
       1st Stage 4
    6th Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
    9th Schaal Sels-Merksem
    10th Overall Tour of Belgium
       1st Points classification

#### 1968

    1st La Flèche Wallonne
    1st Seraing–Aachen–Seraing
    2nd Flèche Enghiennoise
    3rd Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
    3rd Halle–Ingooigem
    4th Paris–Tours
    6th Tour du Condroz
    8th Gent–Wevelgem
    10th Overall Tour of Belgium
    10th Milan–San Remo
    10th Tour of Flanders

#### 1969

    1st Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
    1st Omloop van de Grensstreek
    1st Omloop der Zennevallei
    1st Heistse Pijl
    1st GP Briek Schotte
    1st Stage 4 Tour de France
    5th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens
    7th Road race, National Championships
    8th De Kustpijl
    9th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
    9th Flèche Enghiennoise
    10th Gent–Wevelgem
    10th Omloop van de Fruitstreek

#### 1970

    1st Kessel–Lier

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
| Vuelta a España | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | 3 | — | — | — | — | DNF | 3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | 4 | 11 | 7 | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — |
| Tour de France | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | 10 | DNF | 31 | DNF | DNF | — | DNF | — |

### Classics results timeline

| Monument | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
| Milan–San Remo | — | — | — | 52 | 74 | 1 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 71 | 4 | 41 | — | 12 | 10 | 82 | DNF |
| Tour of Flanders | — | — | — | 11 | 17 | — | 1 | 3 | — | 1 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 26 | 10 | — | DNF |
| Paris–Roubaix | — | 11 | — | 11 | — | 3 | 4 | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 2 | — | 22 | DNF |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | — | — | — | 5 | — | 10 | — | 4 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | — | — | DSQ | — | 27 | 1 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Classic | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
| Amstel Gold Race | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | — | 15 | 25 | — | — |
| Gent–Wevelgem | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | — | 61 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 22 | 34 | 8 | 10 | DNF |
| La Flèche Wallonne | — | 44 | 53 | — | — | 13 | — | 8 | 43 | 26 | — | — | — | 11 | 15 | 1 | 23 | — |
| Championship of Zürich | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Paris–Brussels | — | 20 | — | 1 | 42 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 7 | — | — | 2 | 34 | 3 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| Paris–Tours | 7 | — | — | 43 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 81 | — | — | — | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | 4 | 45 | — |

### Major championship results timeline

| | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
| World Championships | — | DNF | — | 2 | 4 | DNF | 38 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 2 | 32 | DNF | — | — | 15 | 24 | — |
| National Championships | — | — | 32 | — | — | 1 | 5 | 4 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 17 | — | 13 | 7 | DNF |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |

### Track
#### 1953

    1st Omnium of Antwerp
    1st Omnium of Antwerp
    1st Omnium of Antwerp

#### 1956

    1st Omnium of Rocourt
    1st Omnium of Brussels
    3rd Six Days of Brussels (with Lucien Acou)

#### 1957

    1st Six Days of Brussels (with Willy Vannitsen)
    1st Omnium of Antwerp
    1st Omnium of Brussels
    1st Omnium of Gent
    1st Omnium of Gent

#### 1958

    1st Six Days of Ghent (with Reginald Arnold)
    1st Omnium of Milan
    1st Omnium of Gent
    1st Omnium of Brussels
    1st Omnium of Zürich

#### 1959

    1st Omnium of Gent
    1st Omnium of Paris
    1st Omnium of Brussels
    1st Omnium of Gent
    1st Omnium of Rocourt
    1st Omnium of Brussels
    1st Omnium of Gent

#### 1960

    1st Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
    1st Six Days of Ghent (with Peter Post)
    1st Omnium of Brussels
    2nd Six Days of Brussels (with Peter Post)
    2nd Six Days of Frankfurt (with Peter Post)

#### 1961

    1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Willy Vannitsen & Peter Post)
    1st Six Days of Cologne (with Peter Post)
    1st Six Days of Brussels (with Peter Post)
    1st Six Days of Ghent (with Peter Post)
    1st Omnium of Brussels
    National Championships
       2nd Madison (with Edgard Sorgeloos)
       2nd Omnium
    2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
    2nd Six Days of Frankfurt (with Peter Post)
    3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Peter Post)

#### 1962

    1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Oscar Plattner & Peter Post)
    1st Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
    1st Six Days of Dortmund (with Peter Post)
    European Championships
       2nd Madison (with Peter Post)
       3rd Derny
    2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post)
    3rd Six Days of Milan (with Peter Post)

#### 1963

    2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Rik van Steenbergen)
    3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Rik van Steenbergen)

#### 1964

    1st Omnium of Rocourt
    1st Omnium of Ostend

#### 1965

    1st Omnium of Ostend
    1st Omnium of Ostend
    1st Omnium of Rocourt
    1st Omnium of Ostend
    1st Omnium of Valenciennes
    1st Omnium of Brussels

#### 1968

    1st Madison (with Patrick Sercu), National Championships
    1st Omnium of Gent (with Patrick Sercu)
    1st Omnium of Gent (with Julien Stevens)
    1st Omnium of Gent
    2nd Six Days of Ghent (with Patrick Sercu)
    2nd Six Days of Antwerp (with Fritz Pfenninger & Peter Post)

#### 1969

    1st Madison (with Patrick Sercu), National Championships
    1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Peter Post & Patrick Sercu)

#### 1970

    3rd Six Days of Antwerp (with Sigi Renz & Theo Verschueren)
Source

## Books

* Pedalare! The Emperor: The Rik Van Looy Story by David Armstrong in 1971, Kennedy Brothers, 34 p. (English) ASIN B0006C6X94
* The Beast, The Emperor and the Milkman by Harry Pearson in 2019, Bloomsbury Publishing, 289 p. (English) ISBN 9781472945068
* Rik Van Looy: De Temperamentvolle Wereldkampioen by Marcel Grosjean & Roger Meuleman in 1960. G.P.V., 40 p. (Dutch)
* Rik Van Looy by Fred De Bruyne in 1963. 42 p. (Dutch)
* Rik Van Looy: Heerser en Verdeler by Louis Clicteur & Lucien Berghmans in 1966, De Steenbok, 222 p. (Dutch)
* Ik, Rik! by Rik van Looy & Rob Jans in 1972, Brito, 95 p. (Dutch)
* Van Looy Story by André Blancke, Jan Cornand & Roger Quick in 1979, Het Volk, 69 p. (Dutch)
* Zonde van Nini by Stef Vancaenegem in 1987, Manteau, 120 p. (Dutch)
* Rik Van Looy: Monument Voor Een Keizer by Roger De Maertelaere, Guy Crasset & Modest Maertens in 2005. De Eecloonaar, 192 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789077562185
* Flandria: de 20 Wondere Jaren van een Wielerploeg by Mark van Hamme in 2007, De Eecloonaar, 392 p. ISBN 9789077562338
* Groene Leeuw: de Wielerploeg die de Keizer Uitdaagde by Jan De Smet and Patrick Feyaerts in 2008, De Eecloonaar, 360 p. ISBN 9789077562512
* Rik Van Looy 80 by Mark Vanlombeek & Robert Janssens in 2013. Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, 272 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789089313997
* Van Looy / Les Héros! by Robert Janssens in 2018. Kannibaal Books, 120 p. (Dutch, French) ISBN 9789492677402
* Rik Van Looy - De Val van een (Wieler)Keizer. 1963 & 1964 Anni Horribiles by Jan De Smet and Patrick Feyaerts, De Eecloonaar, 210 p. (Dutch)
* ’t Is Rik – Hommage aan de Keizer by Bart Lamers en Thijs Delrue in 2021 (Dutch, French) ISBN 9798201045227