NED BOULTING WITNESSING HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Eddy Merckx won the Tour de France for the first time in his career a week or so after I was born. And although my parents tell me I was hoisted out of my cot to watch the lunar landing on TV (it was the exact same day), I am pretty sure my nine-day-old self was unaware of the significance of Merckx's ascent to the throne; a first of five race wins sealed with victory on stage 22b, an individual time trial in Paris, which he won by 53 seconds ahead of Raymond Poulidor. It was his seventh win of the Tour (if you include the team time trial). Three of those other wins were in time trials.

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Famously, Merckx would go on to win 34 stages in total. He also picked up three green jerseys and two King of the Mountains; collateral success to accompany his five Tour wins.

All of this success predates almost all of our collective memories. And even if you were of a sentient age during the Merckxian Age of Terrors, you were unlikely to have watched it on TV, especially in the UK. Merckx might as well have been racing on the moon.