According to the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Eddy Merckx is hospitalized with a head injury after crashing while riding his motorcycle on Sunday.

Merckx, a five-time Tour de France winner, suffered a "serious head injury" and was "rushed" to a hospital in Dendermonde, near Ghent.

According to the paper, the 74-year-old, who uses a pacemaker, was carefully treated but was transferred to a regular ward on Monday after further tests.

Merckx was riding with friends on Sunday when the accident occurred.

Paul van Himst, a friend of Merckx's, told Belgian broadcaster Sporza, "I got in touch with his wife Claudine last night. 'According to her, everything is fine. A new examination is scheduled for today.

Merckx is widely regarded as the most successful cyclist of all time, winning the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia five times and 19 monumental victories during 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.