Merckx Crushes the 1969 Tour - Horton Collection - 1K TO GO Newsletter

Once before, an issue of the "1K To Go" newsletter from Shelly and Brett Horton, who maintain the Horton Collection, was so interesting that I wanted to share it, but couldn't, because the newsletter is email-only, so Shelly gave me permission to share it on my blog. They've produced another one, this time about young Eddy Merckx's first Tour de France, and it's again so good, and again, Shelly's given me permission to reproduce and share it, so here it is: Merckx Crushes the 1969 Tour Watching Tadej Pogačar dismantle the field at this year’s Tour de France, it is impossible not to think of Eddy Merckx. When Pogačar’s rivals look vulnerable, he attacks. When they look strong, he attacks anyway. By the time Pogačar powered away on Alpe d’Huez on Stage 19, winning his fifth stage and stretching his overall lead beyond seven minutes, we couldn’t take our eyes off the screen. Which brings us to the 1969 Tour de France. Merckx was only 24 years old and riding his first Tour, but he did not…