HIGHLIGHTS

Images: Steele(mvdP), Catuffe (Pogacar), Graythen (Cavendish)/Getty Images. HOW

PREFACE

ISSUE 285 / SEPTEMBER 2021

GALLERY

THE WORLD’S BEST CYCLING PHOTOGRAPHY

PROLOGUE

PROCYCLING : AT THE HEART OF THE PELOTON

NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 3.9.21

“I’m glad I don’t have to do Mont

COMMUNIQUÉ

NEWS • GOSSIP • CHATTER

ETHAN HAYTER

Ineos’s young British track and road talent on his Playstation habit and winning a toy donkey

EUGENIA BUJAK

The Slovenian road and TT champion on growing up in Poland and finding a home at Alé

PRO DIARIES

DAN MARTIN ISRAEL START-UP NATION I had a

QUIET ACHIEVER

Charly Mottet, one of France’s greatest ever cyclists, was born in Valence, which hosted stage 10 of the 2021 Tour. Procycling looks back at his career of a rider whose reputation never quite caught up with his palmarès

THE RETURN OF THEKING

Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar picked up where he left off at the end of the 2020 race, dominating his rivals, showing little weakness and avoiding the bad luck that put several key riders out of the running. Procycling contemplates the beginning of the Pogačar era

THE YOUTH OF TADEJ

Tadej Pogačar crushed the opposition to win his second Tour de France at the age of 22. Procycling looks at the inexorable rise of the young Slovenian and the likelihood of a long period of domination

THE LONG WAIT

With crowds back at the Tour, Kate Wagner joined those on the roadside

ON THE EDGE

The Tour de France’s grand départ took place in Brittany and saw the return of large-scale crowds to the race, for better and for worse. Procycling looks back at a chaotic four days in France’s cycling heartland

CHANGING COURSE

With the Tour Femmes coming in 2022, La Course 2021 may have been the last. Procycling speaks to Leah Kirchmann and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, the two riders who raced every edition, about how the race changed over the years

BREAKING WITH TRADITION

How a breathless stage 7 showcased the Tour’s more chaotic new style

ALWAYS CRASHING IN THE SAME RACE

This year’s Tour de France started with a bang, literally, as many riders were involved in multiple crashes over the opening days. Procycling takes a look back at what happened, and asks why so many crashes occured during the first week

DESTINY’S CHILD

Mathieu van der Poel won a stage and wore the yellow jersey on his Tour debut. Procycling looks at his huge impact on the race, and what sets him apart

WHEN THE TOUR STOPS

Daniel Friebe was present as Nicholas Dlamini toiled up to Tignes on stage 9

THE BOLD MOUNTAIN

The biggest innovation of the 2021 Tour was a double ascent of Mont Ventoux on stage 11. Procycling was there to witness a day where Jumbo-Visma tamed the Giant of Provence

DANNY BOY

Brothers Danny and Boy van Poppel come from a cycling family through and through, with their father, Jean-Paul van Poppel, a former Tour green jersey winner

EQUAL AMONG FIRSTS 34

Mark Cavendish’s incredible comeback at the 2021 Tour de France, in which he won four stages and equalled Eddy winning record was the biggest story of the race. Procycling looks at the Manx sprinter’s achievement

FIGHTING FATIGUE

As the Tour enters the third week, much of the peloton is engaged in a battle of survival, fighting exhaustion. Procycling finds out how it feels to push through the final stages

DIG DEEPER

Ben O’Connor was one of the standout successes of the Tour de France, finishing fourth at his first attempt. He tells Procycling how he achieved it with grit, attacking elan, and with the help of his team

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

For the second year, Ineos Grenadiers came up short in the battle for the yellow jersey. Procyclingspeaks to the team’s lead DS, Gabriel Rasch, to find out what happened and what they’ve learned

FROM PARIS, WITH LOVE

Kate Wagner watches the sun set on the 2021 Tour de France one final time

LAUR ENS TEN DAM

Laurens recognises something different in the new generation of young riders