Copenhagen CPH:DOX 2026 is preparing a film about Belgian cycling star Eddy Merckx
The 2026 edition of CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, will pay tribute to Belgian cycling legend “The Cannibal” Eddy Merckx, organizers revealed on Thursday.
The Danish premiere of the documentary by Christophe Hermans and Boris Tilquin Merckx – Race of a champion will be part of the festival, which will take place from March 11 to 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.”
In collaboration with the podcast “Cafe Eddy”, hosted by Bastian Emil Goldschmidt and Brian Holm, CPH:DOX will screen the brand new documentary on Merckx in the Danish capital and, in a subsequent discussion, will look back on his career and the influence he has had on the sport of cycling to date, asking the question: “Is Eddy Merckx really the greatest cyclist of all time?”
DOX:Danmark, the national festival of CPH:DOX, will then present the documentary in five cinemas across Denmark for screenings and discussions with the podcasters.
The documentary uses archival material to tell the story of the star’s meteoric rise. “But behind all these successes, there are obstacles: doping cases, exclusions, accidents. When he triumphed, he unified Belgium. When he lost, the entire nation turned its back on him,” we can read in a synopsis. “Merckx tasted the sweetness of victory and was quickly nicknamed “The Cannibal”. He devoured his competitors, and some thought he earned too much. Behind the admiration and fascination lurked jealousy.
In 2025, the festival welcomed more than 150,000 guests, according to organizers. While the full CPH:DOX schedule won’t be revealed until February, the programming team said Thursday, “True to tradition, the schedule will be filled with documentaries that will shine a light on the world we live in, seen from scientific, artistic, power-critical, humane, young, experienced, unflinching, fantastically funny and completely absurd perspectives.” »
