Andréa Mifsud
– 24 years old
– Lives in Mouans–Sartoux, near Nice
– Born in Grasse
– Began riding near Cannes and first raced at the age of 12
– Professional cyclist
– Best results: King of the Mountains at the Giro dell’Appennino and also at the Baby Giro
What are your thoughts on the Café du Cycliste Gravel Team?
I’m really happy to be associated with Café du Cycliste. It’s a brand I’ve been a fan of really since the beginning. I met Rémi [Café du Cycliste founder] at the cycling grand prix in Monaco when I was a juvenile racer and we got on well. He even gave me some kit, I was 13 years old. Since then I’ve been very attached to the brand and very happy to wear Café colours in gravel races.
What’s your best racing memory?
The Baby Giro, back when I was starting out, and more recently the Tour des Alpes Maritimes in 2022, during my first year with Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur, with all my friends and family at the side of the road. It was truly amazing to have the chance to race as a pro on my home roads.
Gravel goals in 2024:
To have fun and win a race for the Café du Cycliste Gravel Team.
How do road and gravel combine?
I think it’ll be a busy calendar, but the job means we’ll be on the road a lot anyway, and the gravel races will be a breath of fresh air. It’ll also be good bike-handling training for road riding, because gravel races are long and technical. I did a few gravel races last year, and they went well together.
How is gravel evolving?
It’s the coming thing for sure – it’s been a few seasons now that we’ve seen the teams develop. With Café riding the wave, it’ll be really interesting, and what with the Gravel World Champs taking place in Nice [in 2025], it really makes sense. It’s an exciting discipline because it’s fresh: it brings a real freshness to cycling, with that relaxed feeling you get in mountain biking – it’s a good middle point, and I like it a lot.
What is gravel to you?
For me, gravel inspires a feeling of freedom – more than road riding in the end! There are no traffic lights, zebra crossings or stop signs. Riding tracks and even trails sometimes, you can really lose yourself in gravel, which rarely happens on the road, when you know the roads by heart. In gravel it’s still possible to surprise myself, and that’s super cool.
Favourite meal the night before a race?
Pasta with carbonara sauce.
