Have dinner one evening talking about cycling with two “living monuments” of world sport: the “sheriff” Francesco Moser and the “badger” Bernard Hinault. It happened on Sunday evening at the Dory hotel in Riccione, a historic bike-hotel on the Romagna Riviera founded by Stefano Giuliodori, one of the Italian pioneers of this tourist genre. In front of around a hundred guests, many of whom came from the United States and Canada, Moser and Hinault retraced the most beautiful pages of their extraordinary career, sharing truly exciting stories and anecdotes.
After all, they were – palmares in hand – the great protagonists of cycling in the 80s, the most iconic characters of a cycling that produced legendary pages, such as Moser’s hour record or Hinault’s five Tours de France. Theirs has always been a great sporting rivalry but, in private life and especially on Sunday evening, in the elegant setting of the Dory hotel, they exchanged above all affection and smiles. In memory of the good times and of a duel that – from Milan to Paris – thrilled the world. Also present at the evening was Mara Mosole, Francesco’s current partner and former professional cyclist, winner of an Italian title in the youth categories.
