Cycling isn't an easy job. In many fields, we're accustomed to seeing parents who find their ideal career path in their children, leaving their jobs behind, and paving the way for their future. In cycling it's very difficult, even more so if your father was a great champion, one of those who marked an era. This is the case of Stefano Museum, Johan's son (pictured together in the opening photo during the retreat in Spain).
For the younger ones, Johan Museeuw was a pillar of Mapei, of that core of champions from which an uninterrupted history of successes arose which continues even today through the Soudal-Quick Step di evenepoel e Alaphilippe. So, the team wanted from patron Squinzi it already had a conformation like that of the very last years, that is, of a team dedicated to making a splash in every classic and Johan Museeuw was the perfect embodiment of that profileThree-time winner of the Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, world champion in 1996 and then a shower of other classics from 1988 to 2004. A champion capable of fascinating a people as Van Aert does todayBeing the son of such a father is not easy.
The son of art Stefano Museeuw is 25 years old. He turned professional in 2020, he has always raced in continental teams, this year he arrives at Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Metropole and it fascinates his father.
«I was really happy – says Johan – when I heard that he was moving to the French team. Roubaix is a place that always brings back fond memories, even when I was beaten. Stefano started to be a serious cyclist 3 years ago, but it was the time of Covid and it wasn't really easy to adapt.He raced for a German team, then a Belgian one, and now he's going to France. He needs his time."
The fact that it has an Italian name is intriguing…
His brother Gianni also has an Italian name. They were born when I was in Italy and Their names are linked to two of my great friends and people I respect like Stefano Zanini and Gianni Bugno, companions and adversaries at the same time. I have always been in love with Italy, I have remained friends with many Italian colleagues so much so that I prefer to speak Italian rather than FrenchBut I've never kissed an Italian girl...
What is Stefano like as a rider?
It's hard to be a cyclist if you have a famous father. I raced with Axel. Merckx, he was really good but that name crushed him, everyone was constantly making comparisons. It's the same for Stefano, but I know he's driven by a great passion. I'm happy with his beginnings; he's learning a lot.When he has to do rhythmic training we often go out together, but when he has more specific work, clearly not, I'm not in the right shape anymore.
Does he have any traits he inherited from you?
He's a very tactical rider, he reads the race well, and when he's in a group of 30-40 riders, he can make his mark because he's quite fast. On climbs, he holds his own even better than I used to. He knows how to handle himself well even if he doesn't have a great engine, he knows it himself, but he is very intelligent. I think he just lacks that bit of cunning that comes with experience, then he'll be able to get some satisfaction. Then, it's clear that to be a champion you have to have everything at the highest level, but I believe that he could find an important place in the world of cycling.
Stefano is racing in an era of great champions and where the average age of the peloton is very different from yours. How much has cycling changed since then?
A lot. We didn't have tools like a power meter, but we didn't even have radios on the run, so we had to constantly think about what to do. Everything changed: diet, training, the many high-altitude retreats, even money... Cycling is so sophisticated today that even the smallest thing, maybe a different item of clothing, makes a difference.
You were the benchmark for cycling and therefore for Belgian sport at the turn of the century. Today, Van Aert moves enormous masses when he competes in cyclocross. Was the same thing true in your day?
Every generation has its phenomena, today there are many and Van Aert is one of them. In Belgium, cyclocross is a real culture, I've done it too and I know that the importance of cyclocross in Belgium is unmatched by any other nation. Van Aert is a universal champion, but the various iserbyt o Vanthourenhout, beyond national borders, do not have great visibility. It is the path that gives everlasting glory, this will never change.
Do you like cycling these days?
It's very different from mine, but I like it, I always follow it with passion. Although, to be honest, with all these electronic devices that they carry around, with those cell phones with which they film everything and to which they are constantly glued, I find it a little less genuine than it was thenBut I'm from another generation…
