- Freddy Maertens was born on February 13, 1952 in Lombardsijde, Flanders, Belgium.
- He is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist who was twice world road race champion.
- Maertens retired at the age of 35 in 1987 after deciding during a training ride that he no longer wanted to train in the wind and rain of Flanders.
- Despite his sprinting dominance, Maertens never won a one-day classic, coming closest with second places in the Tour of Flanders (1973) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1976).
- His life has been marked by debt and alcoholism. It took him more than two decades to pay a tax debt.
- At one point early in his career, between the 1976 Tour and 1977 Giro, Maertens won 28 out of 60 Grand Tour stages that he entered before abandoning the Giro due to injury on stage 8b. Eight Tour stage wins, thirteen Vuelta stage wins and seven Giro stage wins in less than one calendar year.
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