Tafi, the Gladiator on the cobblestones: "Cycling today is missing the World Cup."

On the verge of 60—he'll turn 60 on May 7 next year—Andrea Tafi happily lives a paradox: on his bike, especially on the cobblestones, he was a gladiator; now, however, he's found peace in the countryside, having opened a farmhouse in Lamporecchio, in the province of Pistoia, where each of the six rooms is named after his greatest triumphs. And what triumphs: Tafone is still the only Italian ever to have won both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix (among the women, Elisa Longo Borghini achieved the feat). With him, we travel back in time, and the bicycle can only be the common thread, because "cycling has been the best life lesson I could wish for."

Andrea, your most important triumphs have all come with the Mapei jersey: a coincidence?

"No, on the contrary. I'm proud to have been part of the history of a legendary team, which also led the Italian colors to great achievements. There was only one flaw, personally."

"I've never been able to express myself at my best in the Grand Tour stages, but never mind. I'm still proud of what I've accomplished."

What made that group special?

The main strength of Giorgio Squinzi, who was Mapei's CEO, and of his wife Adriana Spazzoli, of that family, was their understanding of how to build a team, starting by focusing on young people and creating a sense of unity, of family, even among the riders and staff. Mapei was thirty years ahead of its time. A true forerunner of the elite teams that came after, like Ineos in the last decade or UAE and Visma today. Some thought we were crazy, but instead..."

Has everything really been said about the famous 1996 Roubaix, the parade finish at the velodrome with the Museeuw-Bortolami-Tafi hat-trick? He smiles.

"No matter what happens," Giorgio Squinzi used to say, "the important thing is that you arrive at the velodrome together. But I can swear he didn't pre-decide the winner; he was counting on the team to triumph. For my part, from that day onwards I gained great trust from my teammates. Some would have wanted a sprint, but I don't think the finishing order would have changed..."

She won three out of five Monuments. Let's choose a snapshot from each of the three, perhaps starting with the last, Flanders 2002...

"I punctured after 80 kilometers, on the cobblestones. Our team car was the last, and I immediately thought, 'This is it for me.' Instead, I don't know where, almost by inertia, I found the strength to get back. And then, Rolf Sorensen: we were in the breakaway together and at a certain point he said to me, 'But I told you to go slowly on this climb.' 'Rolf, I'm going slowly...'. That's when I realized it was my day."

"A few weeks earlier, Roberto Benigni had won the Oscar for Life is Beautiful , and after my success at Roubaix I said that on the bike it was as if I had won an Oscar too, that it was the Tuscans' moment... I wore number 17, which has never brought me bad luck, to the point that I met my wife Gloria on April 17, 1985. She was waiting for me in the velodrome with our son Tommaso...".

"I was angry that day."

"At the World Championships in Lugano, I was unfairly accused. If someone—I'm referring to Michele Bartoli—had joined me in the breakaway, maybe Museeuw wouldn't have won. For me, it was the right moment, but not for him... In the end, Michele took bronze, and I finished sixth. At the Lombardy race, I wanted to make amends; I was bitter. That day, I felt like no one could beat me."

In his day, there was the World Cup, which crowned the strongest in the most important one-day races. Many are nostalgic for it...

"Me too. It would be fantastic if it were repeated: the five Monuments, the Strade Bianche, four or five other stages. Even the leader's jersey was very nice, and at the end of the year there would be no doubt about the best in the one-day races."

To celebrate 20 years of his success in Roubaix, he wanted to return to the start in 2019, then he got injured and nothing came of it: do you have another crazy idea in store for his 60th birthday, in 2026?

"Now that you mention it, I'll come up with something. But I can tell you right away that I won't even think about that kind of thing again!"

Now he continues to pedal and has a farmhouse: is it true that it wasn't easy to find the owner of the land he wanted to buy?

"Yes, yes. He was a retired marshal, but he no longer lived there but in Pavia. My wife helped me a lot in realizing this project, which I'm very happy about. The renovations took over two years; only the walls remained of the building, but we started in 2005. In life, it's very important to have a purpose. Always."

Is it true that it hosted future champions?

"If I tell you Van der Poel and Sagan...".

Well, then give us some details…

"Mathieu came with his father, Adrie, and his mother, Corinne. He was still a boy, but you could see he had a special look in his eyes. He loved to listen, he was clever in the best sense of the word, his father was convinced he would become a champion, and he was right. Sagan was our guest, along with his brother Jurai, in 2013, before the World Championships in Florence, to reconnoitre the route. That year he finished sixth, and then he won three World Championships in a row. And not just those..."