News Flash: Eddy Merckx to sell his bike brand and retire

October 25th, 2008 by Ron Callahan View Comments

This came across from Bike Biz this afternoon. Looks like Eddy’s hanging up the cleats. Axel’s too busy working with Lance to take over his Dad’s company.

Merckx is sell his majority shares to Sobradis, a Belgian holding company.

Belgian sportspaper Sportwereld.be has reported that Eddy Merckx will sell the shares of his bicycle company and retire, a story picked up by Cyclingnews.com.

Merckx started his brand in 1980.

The Cannibal said: “If you’ve built something yourself, it’s always painful to say goodbye to it. But I had no other choice because I do not have a successor who can take over the plant.

“I’ve been working since I was 17 – first as a cyclist, then in 1980 in the bicycle factory. The daily management gradually began to weigh on me.”

Merckx will a minority share and stay on as a consultant to Sobradis CEO, Pieter Vansynghel.