"It just felt like there was a different vibe in the air that morning," says Magnus Bäckstedt. He's talking about 11 April 2004. It's a day the Swede has spoken about countless times since – one that came to define his career. Now, two decades later, he has no trouble recalling it.
"I remember all of it, to be honest with you," he tells Cycling Weekly, and begins at the top. "Rolling to the start, I could feel that I was on a special day. As soon as we started riding, I didn't touch the pedals for the first 150km. Even getting through the Forest [of Arenberg] and out the other side, it was relatively easy. I just felt like I was really on top of it."
