 It was during this period that one of the greatest stars of cycling was rising - Eddy Merckx.DeRosa built some frames for Merckx around this time, but it was not until 1973 that their relationship was formalized and De Rosa became the official frame builder and mechanic for the Molteni team which Merckx captained.Merckx and his teammates won nearly all the major European races including the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia, Milan–San Remo and the World Championship.