1998 Eddy Merckx track Columbus EGO

A rather special one.
After i recieved a tip from Gerard Boogerd, a fellow collector and fanatic of the vintage steel. Thanks again Gerard.
I made contact with the seller and made an appointment.
The seller told me that only 5 of these were made.
A day after i picked up the frame i posted a couple of photos on a Dutch-Belgian forum.
An Belgian guy said that it could be possible that this frame was made for Belgian road and track cyclist Etienne de Wilde.
Since this frame dates back to 1998 it is most likely that this frame was made then for the summer Olympics in Sydney 2000.
But he never got to use the frame, Etienne said that the frame was to much "flexing" .
.
.
This same Belgian guy used to race on this frame and he actually won a national 1km pursuit race.
.
.
In the meantime i tried to get in contact with Etienne de Wilde, and im awaiting his reply to confirm if this frame was made for him.
He competed at the summer Olympic games in Sydney 2000.
Where he got a silver medal at the madison race.
.
.
.
Frame came with the original headset, bottom bracket and seatpost.
.
52cm center center
56cm center top
56cm top tube
.
Frame: Columbus EGO
Fork: Columbus MAX
Headset: Campagnolo C record pista
Crankset: Miche
Bottom Bracket: Campagnolo C record pista
Pedals: Look
.
Drivetrain/Cog/Chainring/Chain:
50-15 / 15T / 50T / DID
Handlebars: 3TTT pista
Stem: 3TTT Eddy Merckx panto 120mm
.
Saddle: Arius Special
Seatpost: PMP titanium
.
Front Wheel/Hub/Tire:
Mavic / Campagnolo / Vittoria
Rear Wheel/Hub/Tire:
Mavic / Campagnolo / Vittoria
.
.
More Info:
Made out of Columbus EGO tubing. teardrop-shape/aero cross-section a very rare high end version of the Max tubing.
90's baby :)
I have never seen and Eddy Merckx like this and im pretty sure there are not many out there.
Painted in the team Vlaanderen colours.
.
.
Framenumber : G 1387
To be continued....

4 Attachments

What an awesome find, congrats! Is the seatpost proprietary or the same as columbus air?

Awesome

Thanks man 🙂

The seatpost is differnt compared to the Columbus air seatpost.
Here's another photo of the seatpost.

1 Attachment

Thanks man
Really happy with this one 🙂

Going full c record in the future.

Nice frame but I have some doubts about some parts of the story. I can be wrong but as far as I remember Etienne (he used to live 15 km away from where I live so in his late pro years I saw him racing/training some times) he didn't ride frames that big. He wasn't that tall as far as I remember. But again: I could be wrong.

Second: a guy I know offered me 4 or 5 of Etiennes bikes (including a fantastic Telekom Merckx) and none of these were 56, believe it were 54. That's why I didn't buy one of them as I ride 56 frames. :-)

Third: this bike has the Vlaanderen colours. Etienne never rode for that team. When he was in the National team (e.g. for Olympics) he did ride Merckx but these had "neutral" colours, not the team ones.

Here's Etienne in 1994. Can't image him riding a 56 cm according to this pic. ;-)

And this is his Olympic race bike:

But please, correct me when you get an answer from Etienne.

Wim

Hello @WimVDD
I also dont know
And I wrote what has been told to me....
im not assuming aything

The previous owner of the frame... Luc de Damen: "If I am not mistaken, this was made especially for Etienne de Wilde for the Olympic Games but has not taken a stance because of too limp." Was Perfect for time trial. Still with so 1 my games drove on the slopes, the chase. Was perfect for that. Have to look in my photo archive if I have it yet.

The geometry of this frame is very special
52CC with a 56ct seat tube
As soon as I hear then let me know what...

i will await quietly on a reaction of Etienne;)

the frame used at the 94 olympics is a 54cc

cheers Kobe.

Wow his frame is super cool! The seat tube doesn't look like other EGO frames though, maybe they used a top or down tube as a seat tube and made a custom seatpost for it? Would me interesting to know who exactly built it too

If the post is custom made by PMP then maybe they would know who built it and who rode it

Thanks man :)

Ive been told that Pegoretti was maybe involved...
He was also involved when Pinarello made a similair frame

I also contacted PMP and hoping to get a reply :)

Very nice find and great frame as well

Thank you 🙂