Former cycling champion Eddy Merckx poses with Belgium's King Philippe and former teammates, at the Royal Palace in Laeken, Belgium July 5, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian cycling great Eddy Merckx got the 106th Tour de France under way on Saturday as thousands of fans flooded to the first Grand Depart in Brussels for 61 years.
To chants of "Eddy Eddy" from the massed ranks at the city's majestic Grand Place, the 74-year-old sent the 176 riders on their way for the first of 21 stages, a 194km trek around the Flanders countryside.
