We used to hate each other so much. Duels, duelists, dualisms. One against the other, armed here with handlebars and frames, pedals and cranks. Rivalries have written the history of cycling: born from skin, grown by eye, a physical and mental chemistry, antagonism more than antipathy, sometimes a family legacy, sometimes an aesthetic choice, sometimes a taken stance, sometimes a racing style, sometimes a media construction. And then alignments, either here or there, not with him or against him, but with him and against the other. Thus, after "Pedals in the Legend" by Mauro Parrini (2020, Mursia) and "Almost Enemies" by Dario Ceccarelli (2021, Minerva), and even "The Duel - Moser vs Fignon" by Lorenzo Fabiano (2017, Absolutely Free), here is Hating Each Other a Little by Luca Gregorio and Pietro Pisaneschi (Hoepli, 232 pages, 24.90 euros, foreword by Riccardo Magrini).

The rivalries of heroic and romantic cycling, up to the 1960s, from Gerbi-Cuniolo to Girardengo-Binda and Bartali-Coppi, only briefly mentioned in the first chapter by Pisaneschi. Then the authors divide the tasks: Pisaneschi dedicates himself to Anquetil-Poulidor, Merckx-Gimondi, Merckx-Ocana, Moser-Saronni, Fignon-LeMond (and Hinault) and Bugno-Chiappucci, Gregorio covers Pantani-Tonkov (and Armstrong), Simoni-Basso, Cipollini-Petacchi, Boonen-Cancellara, up to the current rivalries Van der Poel-Van Aert and Pogacar-Vingegaard, even in 2025, the first two in the classics, the others two at the Tour de France. Twelve chapters, twelve oppositions, twenty-four (or better, twenty-six) stories that intersect, confront, clash, careers that measure, mirror, and complete each other. Because both contenders are aware that without the other, neither would have been so great.

No rivalry is balanced, none ends in equality and draw. Anquetil made Poulidor the "eternal second" in results, but not in popularity and affection, in these rankings Poulidor would have overwhelmingly won. And if Van der Poel is "the predestined one", "beautiful, strong, elegant, aesthetically perfect on the bike, lucky and loved", "he looks like a Greek god", "he is the sun", "he is quicksilver", for Van Aert remains "greatness", "when he wins", "when he lets win", even "when he loses". Some rivalries fade over time, today Bugno and Chiappucci are an inseparable pair telling stories of racing together but against each other, reminiscences that still warm the hearts of fans. Some rivalries have revealed themselves more as a passing of the crown, that between Cipollini and Petacchi in sprints, but Super Mario was at sunset and Ale Jet at dawn. There are others where embers still burn under the ashes, Moser and Saronni - it's clear - will never become friends, perhaps this remains the most felt, most authentic, most genuine rivalry. There is one, between Cancellara and Boonen, based only on a couple of appointments, Flanders and Roubaix, and another, between Merckx and Gimondi (but one could say between Merckx and all the others), which started at the first race and didn't end even at the last race on the calendar.

Gregorio and Pisaneschi cite dates, set races, explain circumstances, host testimonies. No dualism, theirs, if anything a beautiful tandem.