Francis rides two or three times a week, 140 to 150 km each time, plus one week a year with friends. For his new bike, he was set on Campagnolo components. In his eyes, no other manufacturer embodies the history of cycling quite as well. By extension, he wanted to avoid parts made in Asia as far as possible, an approach close to that of Nicolas on the pearl Cento n°498. Aesthetically, he wanted to be able to admire a bike with no visible cables along the tubes, painted to his own taste.

For a traditional Italian road machine, the Columbus Cento tubeset was the obvious choice. Created by the Italian manufacturer to celebrate its hundredth anniversary, it is no longer produced. We thought we had delivered the last Victoire Cento with Kevin's n°571, but our fellow builders at Cyfac still had an unused tubeset: it became Francis' frame. It has everything that gives these tubes their character, already described on Sébastien's Cento n°6: a tapered head tube that takes the bearings directly, a 44 mm diameter down tube and a ball-shaped BSA bottom bracket shell. Grégoire built the frame in our Beaumont workshop, to the geometry defined during Francis' bike fit.

As Francis wished, cables and housings run inside the frame. Thin stainless steel strips protect the head tube paint from housing rub, and the seatpost clamp is brazed directly onto the frame.

At the front, the Columbus Futura Caliper carbon fork, the natural companion to the Cento tubeset, was painted along with the frame. It turns in a red Chris King DropSet 2 headset. The Columbus Trittico stem, already fitted to Denis' stainless classic, pairs a carbon body, painted to match the frame, with a forged aluminium faceplate, finished in gold like the logos. A patented tuning sleeve allows its length (by up to 5 mm) and angle to be adjusted, so the position can be fine-tuned without changing stems. Its hidden bolts preserve the clean lines Francis was after. It holds a Teravail Feldspar carbon handlebar with a flattened top section. Originally designed for gravel, it makes the drops easier to reach here. The bottle cages are by Columbus, and Francis chose a Reform saddle.

For the drivetrain, Francis chose the mechanical 12-speed Campagnolo Super Record groupset, the Italian manufacturer's top of the range and one of the last still available in a rim brake version. The 50/34 double chainring crankset is paired with an 11-32 cassette, a range that keeps something in reserve for the climbs at the end of a long ride. We have already fitted this configuration to Patrick's anachronistic, another road bike that has stayed loyal to rim brakes.

Francis already owned a pair of Corima 32 WS+ carbon wheels, made in France, which we fitted to his Victoire with Vittoria Corsa tubulars. Braking is handled by Super Record calipers. For a long-standing road cyclist like Francis, rim brakes remain a simple, light and easy-to-maintain solution, as on Cédric's Italian racer.

The paintwork, signed by Max, starts from a pearl white at the rear of the bike and shifts to a metallic blue at the front, streaked with patterns in lighter blues, from the frame to the fork and on to the stem. The Victoire and Columbus logos, the laurel on the head tube and Francis' name on the top tube are painted in gold. Francis wanted a few references to Italy: a thin stripe in the colours of the Italian flag runs down the back of the seat tube, and the inside of the dropouts and the derailleur hanger carry the same colours.

The seat tube bears, painted, the bike's number and the names of those who brought it to life: Grégoire for the frame, Max for the paint, Antoine for the assembly, along with the Columbus Cento tubing.

After his first rides, Francis shared his impressions with our team. The position was right from the start: he feels at ease on the flat as well as on descents, and settles into the drops with comfort and ease. That is what made-to-measure is all about.