This morning, Belgian news agency Sudpresse reported that Eddy Merckx has left the intensive care unit but will remain hospitalized for several days to undergo a series of medical tests.

The 74-year-old Merckx, a five-time Tour de France winner, suffered serious head injuries after crashing while riding with friends in Belgium on Sunday.

He was taken to a hospital in Dendermonde, near Ghent, where doctors are being extra cautious because Merckx uses a pacemaker.

According to Sudpresse, Merckx suffered a hemorrhage and was kept in intensive care overnight. On Monday afternoon, he was cleared for discharge and transferred to a regular ward.

According to the news agency, Merckx will still have to stay in the hospital "for a few days" to "undergo a series of tests."

Merckx is widely regarded as the most successful cyclist of all time, having won the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia five times and 19 monuments in his career from 1965 to 1977.

He worked for ASO, the organizer of the Tour de France, until 2017, and his legacy was celebrated at this year's Tour de France Grand Depart in Brussels, marking the 50th anniversary of his first yellow jersey.

Merckx was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat in 2013 and fitted with a pacemaker.

Merckx is not the only prominent former rider to be hospitalized. Eight-time Tour podium finisher Raymond Poulidor, 83, has been hospitalized for the past few weeks, but according to the French press, he has improved slightly in recent days.

Meanwhile, Roger de Vlaminck, a four-time Paris-Roubaix winner in the 1970s, was hospitalized Saturday for a fever but is now feeling much better, according to the Belgian press.