Squinzi was, and remains, a huge cycling fan (‘Cycling is my great passion,’ he has said in company literature, ‘a metaphor of life and my motto: never stop pedalling,’) and so when he was approached in 1993 to come to the aid of the cash-strapped Eldor-Viner team before the start of the Giro d’Italia, it didn’t take long for him to agree. Mapei’s dominance of Paris-Roubaix in 1996 came just three years after the Italian company had entered cycling.įounded by Rodolofo Squinzi in 1937 to supply paints and masonry repair products to the construction industry, by the 1990s Mapei was a multinational organisation, having passed into the hands of Rodolofo’s son, Dr Giorgio Squinzi. It was to be the first of three Paris-Roubaix titles for Museeuw and the first of three 1-2-3 finishes for Mapei in the race. There was outrage in some quarters, with Italian journalist Gianni Ranieri writing that the finale did not honour Museeuw’s class, likening the finish to a comedy, or a farce ‘staged on the track of the old velodrome’. It later emerged that the result of the ‘sprint’ had been decided with 15km still to race, when the head of Mapei, Giorgio Squinzi, had talked to team director Patrick Lefevre and instructed that Museeuw should cross the line first. Seconds later Museeuw rolled over the line in first place, punching the air, with Bortolami and Tafi following in that order. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this in this race or in a Classic of this stature before.’ ‘This is a complete lap of honour,’ shouted David Duffield on Eurosport. With around 200m to go, all three riders suddenly raised their hands in the air. There was no stubborn sitting on the wheel. Which of the Mapei three would prevail? TV commentators talked excitedly of sprint tactics.īut there was no ramping up of speed, no game of cat and mouse. The cycling world held its breath, waiting for the dramatic finale. They powered over the cobbles and entered the famous Roubaix Velodrome together.
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