Magnus Bäckstedt on…

…his Roubaix-winning titanium Bianchi

‘As soon as I won in 2004, that Bianchi was lifted by stem and seatpost straight into the team bus and flown straight back to Italy and the Bianchi factory. I don’t have any of those bikes any more so if you see one outside of the Bianchi factory it’s going to be one of only three ever made.’

…being the heaviest ever winner of Roubaix

‘I was 96kg on the morning of Roubaix, which goes to show it’s all to do with how much power you can put through those pedals. It didn’t work out too well when the road went uphill, but Roubaix was flat. Plus, thanks to my size, I don’t think I ever missed a crosswind split during my career.’

…the perfect technique for racing on cobbles

‘If you just want to truck your way across the cobbles, then a lower cadence is probably better and likely more comfortable, but in terms of outright speed and racing, you can do more at 90 to 100rpm. I always told Elynor to treat each cobbled section as a 2km pursuit – high cadence, full gas.’