EDITOR’ S LETTER

hank you for

Putting this one-of-a-kind coffee-table publication together each year always motivates me to ride my bike and pick races for the season ahead. Le Tour is simply the most exciting race on earth, which is why more people watch it than any other annual cycling event.

That said, I won’ t lie in saying that this year I’ m buoyed with a renewed energy that has been worryingly absent recently. Why so? Because road cycling took the biggest knock of all sports industries during the covid lockdowns. The supply chain became a mess, and it’ s taken the industry all of five years to crawl back out. Mountain-biking took a knock too, but less so due to it being on a far steeper growth curve as a younger sport. The boom in e-bike sales saved most brands and, more recently, the explosion of gravel biking

has added much-needed growth. This dip in bike supply was matched by a drop in race participation, particularly in road racing, with many of our iconic big-city races near halving in numbers.

So why am I pumped in winter 2025? For three reasons. Firstly, technology that was pretty much stagnant for well over a decade has seen a major ramp up of late, with wider tyres, disc brakes, minimalist components, aero frames with storage, tubeless tyres, power meters, and now 1x13-speed wireless drivetrains. The modern road bike( and TT bike even more so) has become a lightweight artwork that is faster and prettier than ever – an absolute pleasure to ride, fast.

Secondly, the resurgence of local racing borne out of the new gravel bike industry has proven that the pure comfort of mountain bikes doesn’ t satisfy our sheer need for speed. We recognise the thrill of the transfer of every watt of

energy into racy performance, where marginal gains are meaningful. Watching offroad racing doesn’ t deliver the excitement that road racing does, and the audience numbers confirm this.

Which brings me to the third reason I’ m so psyched about road cycling again: the rockstar riders that have emerged simultaneously. For many years big-budget teams could win the race by strangling smaller teams. They could dominate a stage and then defend that lead with their sheer depth of riders, who had slowly emerged through the ranks to earn a place in their high-paying ranks. It was more about teams than star riders. But now we have a pack of exceptionally talented young riders who have become sporting celebrities for good reason. They are multifaceted, capable of climbing, attacking and time trialling, and taking bold risks on fast descents. This is how they are able to win both one-day Classics

Riding my bike fast and for fun at the Old Mutual Wealth Double Century( top) and the Cape Town Cycle Tour( above)

and Grand Tours, something that riders haven’ t done for decades. Riders like Pogačar, seemingly the greatest ever, and his great rival Vingegaard, who is healthy and ready to even the score with Pogi at 3 – 3, not to mention Van der Poel, Van Aert, Evenepoel, Roglič and Pidcock. And that’ s just the men. When last could you name four or more women’ s favourites for major titles? Now we’ re looking at Vollering, Kopecky, Vos, Niewiadoma, Ferrand-Prévot, Van der Breggen, and more. Mauritian-Saffa Kim le Court is an example of a rider who has flourished in this era, winning Liège – Bastogne – Liège Femmes this year. We had a quick chat about her second Tour Femmes and I could sense her excitement about hunting stage wins. If the first stages which suit her riding go well, she could be in the GC jersey. Good luck meisie!

Cycling once again has riveting rivalries to match those of Hinault-Merckx, LeMond-Fignon, Armstrong-Ullrich and the like. Much like when Tiger Woods was battling Mickelson and Els, or Federer was up against Djokovic and Nadal, we’ re in a truly golden era for the sport.

You probably have a mix of bikes hanging in your garage, but my guess is that your thoughts of riding gravel bikes or mountain bikes only have recently been shelved, and you’ re contemplating a new road bike and some road races in the season ahead.

Ultimately it’ s about health and enjoying time in the saddle with the wind in your hair, just like you did as a kid when you first discovered freedom. The long coffee ride with friends or racing with your club … what better way to kick off a weekend?

Book the remote and get out the popcorn and biltong for when you’ re back from that ride. Let’ s enjoy cycling’ s greatest show.

PAUL INGPEN

Road Bike Magazine roadbikemagazine paulingpen BikeRunTri. co. za

PHOTOGRAPHS: WOUTER ROOSENBOOM, ACTION PHOTO

16 | TOUR DE FRANCE 2025