A total cykelverden mourn the loss of one of the sport’s bigwigs, namely, Raymond Poulidor, who died early Wednesday a few weeks after being hospitalized, weak and frail on the hospital in his hometown, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat near Limoges.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, løbsarrangører, cycling teams, current and former riders, the media and countless fans are expressing on social media mourning the loss of the French captain.

Also, the greatest cyclist of all time, belgian Eddy Merckx, pays homage to his friend and rival, as he struck again and again in the battle for sport’s greatest trophy, the yellow jersey in the Tour de France.

For the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad says Merckx according to cyclingnews.com that the world has lost a monument, an icon, with Poulidor death.

– You can not imagine how popular, ‘Poupou’ was in France. I observed that every year during the Tour de France, says Merckx with the use of Poulidor’s nickname.

– We have Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault (fivefold Tour winners, red.) as unforgettable riders in France, but I don’t hesitate to bring Poulidor into the picture.

He is, perhaps, the sportsman, who enjoyed the greatest popularity in France. I have been hit hard, says Eddy Merckx to the newspaper.

Eddy Merckx have only good things to say about his deceased rival Raymond Poulidor. Photo: Claus Bonnerup/Ritzau Scanpix

‘Poulidor will always have the yellow jersey in that the French took during the hearts,’ writes the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, on Twitter:

Poulidor was known as ‘the eternal second’ because of his many secondary locations in the Tour de France, but he won more races in his long career than most riders could dream of. He won the Vuelta a España in 1964 and also struck Eddy Merckx in the big stage races.

– He gave nothing away. He could beat me, so he did it. Just look his victories over me in Paris-Nice, where he took the leader’s jersey from me in the time trial on the race’s final day, says the Merckx to Het Nieuwsblad with the tanks on the French stage race in 1972 and 1973.

Poulidor won seven stages at the Tour de France. The last he won in 1974, when he on the Pla d’Adet drove from Merckx and cut almost two minutes of Merckx’ overall lead. The belgian won anyway its fifth Tour of the year, while Poulidor was again number two.

After their retirement at the end of the 1970s developed the two rivals a friendship, which each year clearly came to terms with hearts, broad smiles and embraces, when they met during the Tour de France.

– I have rarely met such a charming person. He was my very good friend, says Eddy Merckx to the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, according to the cyclingnews.com.

Also Poulidor grandchildren, cykelrytterne David and Mathieu van der Poel, express on social media their sadness over the loss of their grandfather:

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Toujours si fier

A lookup divided by the MVDP (@mathieuvanderpoel) the

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