Here is the Tour of Flanders, the University of Cycling. The duel between Pogacar and Van Der Poel returns

Before we get caught up in history (and rogue nostalgia), we must focus on the present. And on the favourites who, for a change, are still Mathieu Van Der Poel, splendid triumphant at the last Milano-Sanremo, and the very formidable Tadej Pogacar, third right on the Via Roma finish line behind the Dutchman and our Pippo Ganna.

What can I say? Watch out for those two, or rather those three, since Ganna, although less of a specialist, has shown that he has also found his new dimension in the classics. The spotlights, however, are on Van Der Poel and Pogacar, who have never been such rivals, even if relations, at least formally, between the two remain relaxed and cordial.

"Mathieu did me no harm, so there is no feeling of revenge on my part," Pogacar points out with suspicious far play. "Of course I'm here to win. Flanders is tougher than San Remo and maybe he will be a little more tired than me. However, since he's going full throttle, beating him won't be easy at all...'.

It will be quite a duel. The Dutchman, winner in 2020, 2022 and 2024, is looking for another success to be the first to make it a poker at Flanders. The Slovenian, first in 2023, will do everything to confirm his now established reputation as cycling's new cannibal.

It is a tough prediction, although Tadej, driven by revenge, is a slight favourite. As for Ganna, hope is permissible, but a good placing would already be a good result. Then, of course, there are also the others who in the temple of cycling will not stand idly by. The big Belgians, who haven't won in eight years (Gilbert), seem to be cut off. Van Aert is not at the top, while Evenepoel will not be there because of his accident last December. Dane Matt Pedersen, who came first in the recent Ghent Wevelgem, does have a chance of breaking the Dutch-Slovenian duopoly.

In short, the anticipation is enormous. Even if Flanders is not the oldest race (the record being held by Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the doyenne, created in 1892), winning it is a prestigious achievement that gives meaning to a season. Our last success dates back to 2019 with Alberto Bettiol, who was stopped this year by a lung infection.

But the first Italian to register his name in Flanders was the legendary Fiorenzo Magni. It was 10 April 1949, almost 76 years ago. Magni won three times in a row, like nobody else, and became the Lion of Flanders, a hero for our emigrants who seven years later would experience the tragedy in the Marcinelle mine in Wallonia.

"Fiorenzo was an exceptional champion,' the unforgettable Italian coach Alfredo Martini reminded us, 'because in addition to talent he had the strength and will of steel and the courage of a lion, and it was no coincidence that he was given that nickname. When he first went to Flanders, he told me that he had come up with something better than the Belgians. They on the walls, which were so steep, went down on their bikes. There were no gears. So Fiorenzo had a special gearbox built, a 25 or 26-tooth crown, by a craftsman from Monza called Alliprandi. And so, while the others on the climbs went on foot, Magni on the bike took them off. Fiorenzo's exploits were a source of powerful pride for the Italians who worked as miners in the depths of the earth. A great revenge after the bitterness of the war that forced them to go abroad to find work that would save them from misery'.

As always, history and cycling are intertwined. Returning to the other Azzurri victories, Dino Zandegù's victory in 1967 should be remembered when he managed to surprise the terrible Eddy Merckx. It was an unexpected success that sent all the Italians into raptures as they were lashed to the finish by rain and wind. Zandegù was so moved that he sang 'O sole mio' from the stage to thank them.

"It was the best day of my life," recalls the rider from Veneto, a formidable sprinter in those years. Another triumph to be framed, in addition to the successes of Argentin, Bartoli, Bortolami, Tafi and Ballan, is that of Gianni Bugno on 3 April 1994 when, by now certain of victory, he raised his hands before crossing the finish line, risking being mocked in extremis by Johan Museeuw.

They were years like that. Truly formidable. We could even afford these distractions. The Italians were the most feared riders even in the North. Now we can only hope for Ganna.