Procycling is the monthly magazine that takes readers inside the world’s toughest sport – professional road racing. From the mud and rain of the spring Classics through to annual summer spectacular of the Tour de France, the magazine combines thoughtful, probing sports journalism and insightful interviews with incredible sports photography. The rich, often scandalous history of cycle sport and its high tech future also feature in a magazine that’s a must for every follower of the grand tours and the peloton.
PREFACE • ISSUE 276/REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2020
HIGHLIGHTS
GALLERY • THE WORLD’S BEST CYCLING PHOTOGRAPHY
PROLOGUE • PROCYCLING: AT THE HEART OF THE PELOTON
TOO MUCH TIME FOR THE CRIME
COMMUNIQUÉ • NEWS • GOSSIP • CHATTER
SCOTT DAVIES • Bahrain-McLaren’s Welsh stage racer on Italy, the Giro and his bike-measuring superpower
BEN HEALY • The 20-year-old Irish champion who is aiming for the top
COACH’S CORNER
OBJECTS OF DESIRE • THIS MONTH’S ESSENTIAL GEAR
SHARA MARCHE • The Australian on retiring, emulating her dad at the Olympics and the joy of baking
DAN MARTIN • ISRAEL START-UP NATION
DAN’S CYCLING HACKS
ROGER KLUGE • LOTTO SOUDAL
HEIDI FRANZ • RALLY CYCLING
JAMES KNOX • DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP
RACING IN THE TIME OF COVID • There will never be another season like it. All was normal until halfway through the UAE Tour, then things went mad. Procycling looks back at the year of covid, the compressed calendar and crazy, intense racing
EDWARD PICKERING
SOPHIE HURCOM
ADAM BECKET
RACING AWAY FROM A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
WOUT VAN AERT ALONE AT THE TOP • Belgian star Wout van Aert started winning on the season’s resumption in August and barely stopped, except to be Jumbo-Visma’s most effective super domestique at the Tour. Procycling catches up with the best cyclist in the world
WOUT VAN AERT’S BEST CAREER VICTORIES
THE RISE OF THE JUMBO SUPER TEAM
SUNWEB • Sunweb ended 2020 as one of the teams of the year, lighting up the Tour and Giro with their band of young stars and aggressive, varied tactics. Procycling finds out how the German team exceeded expectations
SUNWEB'S HIGHLIGHTS
WRITING her own HISTORY • Elisa Longo Borghini enjoyed her best season yet in 2020, winning her first Giro Rosa stage and playing a key part in some of her Trek-Segafredo team’s biggest victories. Procycling catches up with one of the most consistent riders of the year
THE INEVITABILITY OF MARIANNE VOS
GIRO D’ITALIA INTO THE UNKNOWN • Rescheduled from the spring to the autumn and with covid still casting a dark shadow, this year ’s Giro d’Italia was laced with uncertainty from the start, including on the road where an unexpected winner prevailed. Procycling was there to watch it unfold
HOW THE 2020 GIRO UNFOLDED • Stage-by-stage results from the Corsa Rosa
THE DEEPENING POOL • The 2020 Women’s WorldTour season produced consistently entertaining racing even if it was still dominated by a handful of riders and major teams. Procycling analyses how much the depth of the women’s peloton is changing
DEFENCE IS NOT ALWAYS THE BEST FORM OF ATTACK
BREAKING THROUGH • Arnaud Démare was the most successful rider of 2020 in terms of wins, with 14 in total, all taken since August. Procycling asks, has the Frenchman become the best sprinter in the world?
VUELTA AESPAÑA ON THE REBOUND • Two riders came to a truncated Vuelta with a point to prove. Defending champ Primož Roglič needed to exorcise the memory of his defeat in the Tour while 2019 Giro winner Richard Carapaz was out to prove that he was no flash in the pan. Their clash made the 2020...