By Herbie Sykes • 26th May 2011 • Posted in Rouleur
PHOTO: Guy Andrews
Extract from Maglia Rosa by Herbie Sykes, available here »
Many would have us believe that everyone deserves a second chance, and of course in principal they are quite correct. However, in giving them that second chance, the people responsible for the wellbeing of the professional sport in Italy play Russian Roulette with the livelihoods of those employed within it, and close to it. The likelihood is that the majority of cyclists are now competing without recourse to doping products. If this is the case then they, and the hundreds employed behind the scenes, their sponsors and those building the bikes on which they ride, deserve better than the Giro’s current largesse. Modern doping techniques are not only deeply injurious to the credibility of the sport but, much more importantly, to the cyclists themselves. That Italian riders, those operating within an expensively sponsored team structure at the top end of the sport here, continue to be caught cheating whilst racing abroad is the most damning of all the sport’s truths. The Giro, the great standard bearer, is well beyond the point at which it can afford to keep handing out second chances; what it needs, and what the public demands, is that it starts making examples. The future wellbeing of the sport here depends on it.
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By Guest Author • 24th May 2011 • Posted in Rouleur
WORDS: Guy Andrews
“That Belgian, he doesn’t even leave you the crumbs, he’s a cannibal!”
– Christian Raymond
In cycle racing there have been some amazing feats; stories of comeback and of daring-do, of great victories and of great tragedy, of personal sacrifice and bad luck – and then there is the story of the greatest cyclist ever: Eddy Merckx.
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By Guest Author • 6th April 2011 • Posted in Rouleur
Sunday 3rd April saw the 2011 Rouleur Hell of the East, a.k.a. the Dengie Marshes Tour. Rapha Condor Sharp turned out to dominate this unique, Classic-style race. Big Zak Dempster sprinted away to 1st place with Graham Briggs holding off the looming Magnus Bäckstedt to bag second spot. Kristian House led the second group across the line for 7th. Here is an extract from David Arthur's article on the race which featured in Rouleur issue 17.
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By Guest Author • 24th March 2011 • Posted in Rouleur
BettiniPhoto©2011
WORDS: Guy Andrews
Issue 23 is at the printers. Which is where I sit and type this, surrounded by thrilling titles to browse such as Offshore Support Journal and Transport Review. It’s going to be a long night. But not as long a night as it will be for many hundreds of thousands of Japanese, made homeless by the recent earthquake and tsunami that washed away their lives.
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By Herbie Sykes • 21st March 2011 • Posted in Rouleur
It had seemed a good idea at the time.
Actually it didn’t, not at all. It seemed an indescribably stupid thing to do, which I guess made it all the more appealing. I was to collect 140 books from the printers in Vicenza (that’s on the other side of the country), and do a five day Giro d’Italia in the hope of getting them signed by as many Giro greats as possible. I’d rung them all beforehand, and so they were sort of primed, but the reality is that most of them have much better things to do, and that signing 140 books is not a little dull. I was, to say the least, somewhat fearful that my big idea may have been just a little… misguided. If, I assured myself, I managed to pull it off, I’d treat myself to a week off. I’d ride my bike in the sunshine and forget about the Giro d’Italia for a few blessed days. If only I’d known…
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By Guest Author • 27th February 2011 • Posted in Rouleur
WORDS: Ian Cleverly | PHOTOS: Geoff Waugh ©
Azizulhasni Awang, the diminutive Malaysian sprinter renowned for pulling wheelies as he crosses the finish line, is now a household name. Not for reasons of sporting excellence, which the showboater fully deserves, but for leaving the Manchester velodrome with a 20cm shard of the track surface bisecting his calf.
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By Guest Author • 17th February 2011 • Posted in Rouleur
Taz Darling - Crucifix, Giro d'Italia | All images © Rouleur Limited
In case you have yet to see our latest Rouleur Photography Annual, here's a taster of what's inside - 320 pages of wondrous images and words.
“The best photographic record of 2010 in all of cycling” - Bill Strickland, Bicycling Magazine
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