Issue 20-7

Two sensations of this year’s delayed Tour de France lead the way for this issue - Wout van Aert and Caleb Ewan.

Fully recovered from his horrific 2019 crash, Wout van Aert is the most exciting bike racer in the world. Domestique, sprinter, climber, time-trials, cyclo-cross, and now stage wins on the biggest stage of all, Le Tour - this young man can do the lot. What next for the Belgian wonderboy? We call it The Wout Factor.

It’s been a rather circuitous route to Tour stardom for Caleb Ewan, via the Giro, La Vuelta and finally, a change of team. Now the Australian is firmly established in the top tier of sprinting royalty, and hungry for more success. 

We have some fabulous written contributions to highlight in 20.7. Regular columnists Orla Chennaoui and Ned Boulting are first stop go-to reads for many, with their intelligent insights into the world of cycling, whether inside or out of the racing bubble. Guest columnist and former US road champion Larry Warbasse explains how it feels to be a pro cyclist and not race the Tour de France every year. The man is on a mission to be on the line in 2021. Watch this space.

Chris Jones from Baltimore pitched us a first-person piece on the experience of being a black bike rider on the streets of America, and we are so glad he did. It is both an education and an eye-opening account, beautifully written and all too familiar in these times of Black Lives Matter. 

Another commission that knocked us out came from Paralympic trike racer Hannah Dines, in conversation with Team GB pursuit and madison riders Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker. Fascinating, funny and informative stuff from all three. 

Plus Eugene Kim’s wonderful Vuelta España imagery, a Paris-Roubaix obsessive’s collection to die for and a south London Desire shoot with a difference.