{"id":1925518,"date":"2026-05-07T09:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T06:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1925518"},"modified":"2026-05-07T09:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T06:36:11","slug":"someone-cut-the-head-off-of-an-eddy-merckx-statue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1925518","title":{"rendered":"Someone Cut the Head Off of an Eddy Merckx Statue"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Andrew Hood<\/span><\/div>\n

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Updated May 7, 2026 12:44PM<\/div>\n
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A monument honoring Eddy Merckx was vandalized in a Brussels suburb, triggering outrage across Belgium.<\/p>\n

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Residents discovered the sculpture\u2019s head had been torn off in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe overnight Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The work, created by Belgian artist Stefaan De Croock, honors Merckx near the square where he grew up.<\/p>\n

Mayor Beno\u00eet Cerexhe condemned the vandalism and said the municipality is reviewing surveillance footage to try to find the culprits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe news reached us in the course of the morning through several local residents,\u201d he told VRT<\/em>. \u201cI myself am shocked, what satisfaction does someone get from such an act? Who attacks a sportsman, a symbol of our country? Nothing can justify such an act.\u201d<\/p>\n

The monument was unveiled in March 2019 ahead of the grand d\u00e9part<\/em> of the Tour de France in Brussels.<\/p>\n

Merckx grew up in the Brussels suburb and became a national hero in the 1960s and 1970s. Generational star Tadej Poga\u010dar is often compared to Merckx, considered the greatest of all time.<\/p>\n

Authorities said restoration work will begin as police open an official investigation.<\/p>\n

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Merckx recovering from surgery<\/h2>\n

The incident comes as the 80-year-old continues to recover from complications with a hip replacement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cannibal\u201d recently underwent surgery to treat a bacterial infection following a fall in late 2024.<\/p>\n

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Merckx returned home last week after spending nearly a month in a Belgian hospital.<\/p>\n

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Woluwe-Saint-Pierre :\u00a0la st\u00e8le d’Eddy Merckx vandalis\u00e9e https:\/\/t.co\/8VjHFv3rb6<\/p>\n

\u2014 21News (@21NewsBE) May 6, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Andrew Hood<\/span><\/div>\n

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Updated May 7, 2026 12:44PM<\/div>\n
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[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/news\/eddy-merckx-statue-vandalized-head-torn-off\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-1499424134.jpg”] Andrew Hood Updated May 7, 2026 12:44PM A monument honoring Eddy Merckx was vandalized in a Brussels suburb, triggering outrage across Belgium. Residents discovered the sculpture\u2019s head had been torn off in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe overnight Wednesday. The work, created by Belgian artist Stefaan De Croock, honors Merckx near the square where he grew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1925518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1925518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1925518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1925518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1925518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1925518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1925518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}