Andre Malherbe was world MX champ

Here's a photo of 500cc World Champion MXer Andre Malherbe, taken at his home in south Belgium sometime in the early '80's.

I think this photo and associated shoot racks up as one of my best MX stories ever. I was hanging around in Brussels with long-time Cycle News contributor Henny Ray Abrams. Somehow, I got Malherbe's phone number and called him, asking if he would do an interview.  He agreed, so I got on a train and went down to the city where he lived.

Was able to spend most of the day there, hanging out with him and his (at that time) wife Sabine.  Made a bunch of shots and the story ran in an early issue of Cycle News the following year.

After we concluded the interview and photos, Malherbe asked me how I was getting back to Brussels...I told him the train, he said no worries I'll drive you back in my car! I'm a kid from nowhere Wisconsin and now the world MX champ is driving me around in Belgium.  Dreams can come true.

Tragically, Malherbe was paralyzed in a Paris-Dakar crash several years later. I recently saw a short news report on his state of affairs today.  He is making the best of it and still resides in Belgium.