Born in Uccle, Axel Merckx became a professional cyclist in 1993, winning the Belgian national road race championship in 2000.

He vowed to make his mark by accomplishing feats that had eluded his father, such as winning a Tour de France stage at Alpe d'Huez and the Paris–Tours classic.

Merckx won the bronze medal in the road race at the 2004 Games in Athens, breaking free in the final kilometre.

[5] His name was on the list of doping tests published by the French Senate on 24 July 2013 that were collected during the 1998 Tour de France then retested in 2004.

[citation needed] Merckx married Canadian triathlete Jodi Cross in 1997, and they lived in Kelowna, British Columbia.