PREFACE

Putting together this, our season preview edition, is always

GALLERY

THE WORLD’S BEST CYCLING PHOTOGRAPHY

Women’s cycling looks to the future

WOMEN’S WORLDTOUR 2021

COMMUNIQUÉ

NEWS • GOSSIP • CHATTER

DYLAN VAN BAARLE

The Dutch classics rider and super-domestique on the Ronde and life in Monaco

JOE LAVERICK

The goalkeeper-turned-cyclist who has joined Axel Merckx’s team for 2021

COACH’S CORNER

AXEL MERCKX MANAGER, HAGENS BERMAN AXEON J oe

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

THIS MONTH’S ESSENTIAL GEAR

MACIEJ BODNAR

Bora-Hansgrohe’s Polish rouleur on Peter Sagan and a strange 2020

BACK IN THE REAL WORLD

DOCTOR ADRIAN ROTUNNO  THE UAE EMIRATES TEAM DOCTOR ON THE COVID CHALLENGES IN SOUTH AFRICA

DAN MARTIN

ISRAEL START-UP NATION

DAN’S LIFE IN CYCLING

For the first year in a professional career,

PRO DIARIES

Meet Procycling’s new cast of diarists, who will share their highs and lows over the upcoming season

KÉVIN RÉZA

B&B HOTELS P/B KTM

BRODIE CHAPMAN

FDJ NOUVELLE - AQUITAINE FUTUROSCOPE

CHARLIE QUARTERMAN

TREK-SEGAFREDO

WISHLIST

THE WORLD’S BEST CYCLING KIT

The Guide

WHY I LOVE…

NOT TO MISS

‘Opening Weekend’ kicks off with Omloop, the first

Another all-star cast

UAE TOUR 21-27 February | UAE | 2.UWT

FLASHPOINT

TROFEO LAIGUEGLIA 3 March | Italy | 1.Pro

BEST FOR

BIG STARS, LOW-KEY RACE ÉTOILE DE BESSÈ GES

2020’S WINNER ON…

TOUR COLOMBIA Postponed | Colombia | 2.Pro Winning

THE FIRST OF MANY

Van der Breggen set up her superb 2020

L AURENS TEN DAM

THE LAST WORD

MILAN-SAN REMO

ESTABLISHED 1907 EDITIONS 111

TOUR OF FLANDERS

ESTABLISHED 1913 EDITIONS 105

PARIS-ROUBAIX

ESTABLISHED 1896 EDITIONS 119

LIÈGE-BASTOGNE-LIÈGE

ESTABLISHED 1892 EDITIONS 107

GIRO D’ITALIA

ESTABLISHED 1909 EDITIONS 104

TOUR DE FRANCE

ESTABLISHED 1903 EDITIONS 108

VUELTA A ESPAÑA

ESTABLISHED 1935 EDITIONS 76

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

ESTABLISHED 1927 EDITIONS 86

IL LOMBARDIA

ESTABLISHED 1905 EDITIONS 115

SEASON PREVIEW 2021

MEN’S WORLD TEAMS

AG2R-CITROËN TEAM

2020 World Ranking 15    Established  1992  Team Manager   Vincent Lavenu  Bike   BMC

ASTANA-PREMIER TECH

2020 World Ranking 7  Established 2006  Team Manager  Aleksandr   Vinokourov Bike Wilier

BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS

2020 World Ranking 13  Established   2017   Team Manager  Milan Erzen   Bike   Merida

TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE

2020 World Ranking 11  Established  2012 T eam Manager  Brent Copeland  Bike  Bianchi

BORA-HANSGROHE

2020 World Ranking 6  Established  2010  Team  Manager   Ralph Denk  Bike   Specialized

COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS

2020 World Ranking 19  Established  1996  Team  Manager   Cédric Vasseur    Bike   De Rosa  

DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP

2020 World Ranking 2  Established    2003  Team Manager   Patrick Lefevere   Bike  Specialized

TEAM DSM

2020 World Ranking 5  Established  2005    Team Manager   Iwan Spekenbrink    Bike   Scott  

EF EDUCATION-NIPPO

2020 World Ranking 10  Established    2005    Team Manager   Jonathan Vaughters    Bike  Cannondale  

GROUPAMA-FDJ

2020 World Ranking 9  Established  1997    Team Manager   Marc  Madiot  Bike   Lapierre  

INEOS GRENADIERS

2020 World Ranking 4   Established   2010   Team Manager   David Brailsford    Bike  Pinarello  

INTERMARCHÉ-WANTY GOBERT

2020 World Ranking 20   Established    2008   Team Manager    Hilaire van der Schueren   Bike Cube

ISRAEL START-UP NATION

2020 World Ranking 22    Established    2015  Team Manager  Ran Margaliot  Bike   Factor  

JUMBO–VISMA

2020 World Ranking 1    Established  1984 Team  Manager    Richard Plugge    Bike  Cervélo

MOVISTAR

2020 World Ranking 18  Established   1980   Team  Manager   Eusebio Unzué   Bike   Canyon

QHUBEKA-ASSOS

2020 World Ranking 21  Established  2007   Team Manager  Douglas Ryder Bike   BMC  

TREK-SEGAFREDO

2020 World Ranking 8  Established   2011   Team Manager  Luca Guercilena   Bike  Trek

UAE TEAM EMIRATES

2020 World Ranking 3  Established 1999    Team Manager  Carlo Saronni    Bike   Colnago

ALPECIN-FENIX

2020 World Ranking 12  Established  2009    Team Manager  Philip Roodhooft  Bike   Canyon

ANDRONI-GIOCATTOLI-SIDERMEC

2020 Would Ranking 29  Established  1996   Team Manager   Gianni Savio   Bike  Bottecchia

ARKÉA-SAMSIC

2020 World Ranking 14   Established  2005    Team Manager   Emmanue l Hubert    Bike  Canyon

B&B HOTELS P/B KTM

2020 World Ranking 26   Established  2018    Team Manager  Jérome Pineau    Bike   KTM

TOTAL DIRECT ENERGIE

2020 World Ranking 24   Established   2000    Team Manager   Jean-René Bernaudeau    Bike   Wilier

BARDIANI-CSF-FAIZANÈ

2020 World Ranking 57   Established  1982   Team Manager  Bruno  Reverberi  Bike  Cipollini

CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA

2020 World Ranking 35  Established  2010   Team Manager  José Manuel Hernández  Bike   Guerciotti

TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE

2020 World Ranking 3    Established  2013   Team Manager  Shayne Bannan   Bike   Bianchi

TEAM DSM

2020 World Ranking 4    Established   2011   Team Manage r  Iwan Spekenbrink   Bike   Scott

MOVISTAR

2020 World Ranking 16    Established  2008   Team Manager   Eusebio Unzué   Bike   Canyon

SD WORX

2020 World Ranking 2  Established   2010   Team Manager   Danny Stam    Bike  Specialized

TREK-SEGAFREDO

2020 World Ranking 1   Established   2019    Team Manager   Luca Guercilena   Bike   Trek

ALÉ BTC LJUBLJANA

Established 2011  Team Manager  Alessio Piccolo   Bike  Cipollini

CANYON-SRAM

Established 2016 Team Manager   Ronny Lauke   Bike   Canyon

FDJ NOUVELLE AQUITAINE FUTUROSCOPE

Established 2008    Team Manager  Stephen Delcourt   Bike  Lapierre

LIV RACING

Established 2006  Team Manager   Eric van den Boom    Bike   Liv

TWO ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION RIDERS

CYCLING’S BIG ISSUES

UAE EMIRATES JOINS THE SUPERTEAMS

Nice win: Kristoff celebrates taking the first yellow

POGAČAR HAS NO PLACE TO HIDE

EXPERT OPINION  

ROGLIČ IS THE TOUR FAVOURITE

EXPERT OPINION 

TREK AND THE DUTCH HEGEMONY

EXPERT OPINION 

NEW BEGINNING FOR THE INEOS GRENADIERS

Ineos’s mountain train in the 2020 Giro only

THE CHANGING OF THE GENERATIONS

Froome and Nibali were at their peak in

IT’S UCI ELECTION YEAR

The election for UCI president will take place

THE BIGGER PICTURE

TAO GEOGHEGAN HART 

TAO GEOGHEGAN HART’S CAREER

YEAR BY YEAR

COUNTERPOINT

THE STRONGEST TEAM EVER

WIEBES

AT WARP SPEED

FALL OF AN EMPIRE

The final week of the 2020 Giro d’Italia was dramatic and exciting but it underscored the painful truth about Italian cycling in general. As Vincenzo Nibali prepares to leave the stage, we ask what – or who – next for the Bel Paese, in the second of our special features looking at cycling nations

ITALIAN HEROES

Italian cycling may be going through comparatively lean times as we enter the 2020s, but some of its biggest champions have been among the very g reatest riders in the sport’s history

BEST RESULTS IN THE BIG NINE

Italy has a proud history in the world’s biggest races, especially its home monuments -San Remo and Lombardia -and the Giro.  Riders from Italy have won the Giro 69 times in total

ITALY’S BEST-RAN KED RIDERS

Images:Offside Sports Photography (BArtali, Moser), Velofocus 9Cavalli. Consonni),

WINS BY YEAR

International wins ranked .1 and above by Italian riders, WorldTour era. (Women: .2 and above)

A MODERN CLASSIC

STRADE BIANCHE HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE WORLD. PROCYCLING LOOKS AT WHAT MAKES THE RACE SO SPECIAL

GIANT LEAP

SMALL STEPS

IN THE DRIVING SEAT

For over a decade, former racer Cherie Pridham directed and owned one of Britain’s most successful Continental teams. But for 2021 she takes on a new role, as a DS with Israel-Start Up Nation, making her the first woman full time in the team car in the WorldTour. Procycling hears her story

HOW FAR CAN JOÃO GO ?

JOÃO ALMEIDA, A FIRST-YEAR PROFESSIONAL RIDING FOR DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP, HELD THE MAGLIA ROSA FOR 15 DAYS AT THE GIRO D’ITALIA. HE TELLS PROCYCLING ABOUT HIS STUNNING DEBUT SEASON

ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT

The past two seasons have seen a youthful revolution in cycling. But why? We delve deep into the anatomy, training and mindset of Tadej Pogačar and co to see if it’s more than just coincidence

PRETTY DAMNED MARVELLOUS

The Dutch PDM team were trendsetters in the 1980s, and came close to winning the Tour on several occasions, but always just came up short. Procycling looks at their short but influential time in the sport