The 2026 edition of CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, will pay tribute to Belgian cycling legend “The Cannibal” Eddy Merckx, organizers unveiled on Thursday.
The Danish premiere of Christophe Hermans and Boris Tilquin’s doc Merckx – Race of a Champion will be part of the fest, which runs March 11-22. “The story of Merckx is the story of how a great talent pushed himself and his pain threshold to the limit to become the best in the world, reads a synopsis, calling it “a film about suffering and willpower.”
Together with the podcast “Cafe Eddy,” hosted by Bastian Emil Goldschmidt and Brian Holm, CPH:DOX will screen the brand new documentary about Merckx in the Danish capital and in a following discussion look back on his career and the influence he has had on the cycling sport to this day, asking the question: “Is Eddy Merckx really the greatest cyclist ever?”
DOX:Danmark, CPH:DOX’s nationwide festival, will then bring the doc to five cinemas across Denmark for screenings and discussions with the podcasters.
The doc uses archive material to tell the story of the star’s meteoric rise. “But behind all the success, are the bumps in the road: doping cases, exclusions, crashes. When he triumphed, he united Belgium. When he lost, the whole nation turned its back on him,” reads a synopsis. “Merckx had a taste for the sweetness of victory and was quickly nicknamed ‘The Cannibal.’ He devoured his competitors, and some thought he won too much. Behind the admiration and fascination, jealousy simmered.”
In 2025, the festival welcomed more than 150,000 guests, according to organizers. While the full CPH:DOX program will only be unveiled in February, the programming team on Thursday said: “True to tradition, the program will be packed with documentaries that shed light on the world we live in, seen from scientific, artistic, power-critical, human, young, experienced, unshakeable, fantastically funny, and completely absurd perspectives.”
