Rouleur at the Classics

Rouleur consistently draws our attention to the most dramatic and brutal road riding in the world. If the term classicism could be applied to cycling journalism then Rouleur has pioneered the artform. Not that the magazine has anything to do with Ancient Greece or Rome (well, apart from the work of Graeme Fife, an expert in Classics of the Greek variety as well as the Belgian kind).

It is no surprise, especially to the road connoisseur, that Rouleur dishes up plenty of coverage on the classics, the springtime Monuments that perfectly capture the glory and suffering that make this sport so painfully beautiful. The first ever issue of Rouleur paid homage to the Redoubtable Rouleurs such as Roger De Vlaeminck, Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle and Andrei Tchmil, all Roubaix winners. The second installment of the magazine opened with an article entitled Flahute, which discussed cobblestones in detail. Rouleur no.2 also included an interview with Sean Kelly. Classic.

Jump ahead to the latest Rouleur Annual and there is a wealth of stunning imagery from the classics in 2009. Olaf Unverzart treats us to more desolate arenas of road racing, photographing cobbled climbs in Flanders. Camille J McMillan uses smoke (cigarettes mostly) and mirrors to capture close ups of the pros clattering along the pavé. Taz Darling finds moody low country atmosphere by the bucket load and Rein van de Wouw shows us the humorous and absurd, using postcards sent to the Netherlands from his travels in neighbouring Belgium. I know where I want to go this coming spring and I know Rouleur will be there too.

All images © Rouleur