EDITOR’S LETTER
A celebration of life!
Riding a bike is These excerpts from
fundamentally Velominati’s The Hardmen:
an incredible Legends of the Cycling Gods
experience. – a book full of humorous
The wind in and inspiring descriptions
your face, of the riders, many of them
the sensation of generating blue-collar workers and
speed under your own power, farm hands, who created the
the balance of forces that indomitable culture of our
almost magically hold the sport over the past 120-plus
bike suspended upright. For years – reminds us of the
most of us as children this pure essence of cycling.
mythical experience was
Le Tour, the grandest of all
coupled with a profound events, is a celebration of
sense of liberation as
what makes us feel truly alive.
our mobility expanded
Whether we have ridden
exponentially. Our radius of a bike in Europe or dream
travel, previously limited by to one day, we can’t resist
how far we could walk, grew the fairytale. The honesty
by an order of magnitude. of climbing to 2 000m on a
With this growth came
our first sense of
autonomy. We no longer
needed to persuade
our parents to take us
where we wanted to
go, we could decide
to make the journey
ourselves. The bicycle
meant freedom, and
not just for the children.
The development of
the bicycle during the
late 1800s and early
1900s meant freedom
for women at large,
emerging as it did
just as the women’s
rights movement was
gathering momentum.
Suddenly women could
take control of their own
transport and achieve a
measure of autonomy. With
that came a challenge to the
accepted codes of social
etiquette and even clothing.”
“Life is a complicated mess
of interdependencies in
which we are more likely to
be passengers than drivers:
politicians, corporations,
friends, family, morals, laws
and physics routinely get in
the way of us achieving our
dreams. To ride our bikes and
suffer by our own choice is to
take control, if only for a short
while, and escape into a more
simple world.”
“THE BICYCLE
MEANT FREEDOM”
switchback pass with a 10%
gradient, leaving the heat in
the vineyards and sunflowerlined
valleys below to go
beyond the clouds to snowcapped
peaks is irresistible.
Similarly, a 1 600-yearold
cobbled road, built by
paupers and convicts and
traversed by kings in ornate
horse-drawn carriages, is
something we South Africans
find richly compelling. As
the 176 most talented and
finely tuned gladiators fight
for their lives over three
wonderfully entertaining
weeks, we are inspired by the
image of ourselves spinning
effortlessly past medieval
castles and farms that seem
as old as time. This is the
magic of Le Tour.
In 11 years of producing
this official Tour guide, we
have never experienced
anything like this postlockdown
hunger for
battle – nor has the sport’s
greatest showcase been
as fiercely combated. The
deepest field in a long time
includes a host of candidates
who could podium in any
category. This will not be the
Ineos procession that has
somewhat dulled our sense
of excitement in recent years.
There are a plethora of riders
who can win stages and
more GC contenders
than we can ever
remember. Young bulls
and experienced elder
statesmen abound. We
hope you have a secret
beer or wine stash
and earned some TV
remote-control points
because, as you will read
over the next 160 largeformat
pages, you won’t
want to miss a single
moment of any stage.
Enjoy the show. If this
stressful lockdown has
dampened your spirits,
may this be the catalyst
to your motivation to
ride and start planning
your next journey, be
it a gravel tour through the
Karoo, an international
sportive or a road race in your
backyard. Be like Eddy and
embrace the pain – it’s what
makes you happy.
Be safe, wear a mask and
support your local bike shop.
Paul Ingpen
FOLLOW US
Road Bike Magazine
roadbikemagazine
@RoadBikeMag
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
& PUBLISHER
Paul Ingpen
[email protected]
021 438 5972 / 082 990 8408
MANAGING EDITOR
Anne Duncan
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Elinore de Lisle
COMMERCIAL MANAGER
Abré Roux
[email protected]
021 438 5972 / 078 099 5473
OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE
Deirdre Devine
DIGITAL MANAGER
Matthew du Toit
To advertise in these publications
please call Abré on 078 099 5473
or email [email protected]
The Tour de France Official Guide is published
by Electric Ink Media under licence from Tour
de France organisers ASO in Paris, France.
Copyright: Electric Ink Media. No portion of
this publication may be reproduced without
prior written consent from Electric Ink
Media or the authors. The publishers are not
responsible for any unsolicited material. The
opinions expressed are not necessarily those
of Electric Ink Media, the editors or the Tour
de France Official Guide office.
Editorial & advertising enquiries:
[email protected]
7 Pitlochry Road, Bakoven, Camps Bay 8005
Printed by Novus Print Solutions
Distribution: Mia 083 445 5097
PHOTOGRAPH: OAKPICS.COM
10 | TOUR DE FRANCE 2020