What’s better than a Tour de France? Two Tours de France! Rouleur celebrates the 109th edition of the Tour de France Hommes and the inaugural Tour de France Femmes with a unique double issue. We’ve put together two magazines in one, with two front covers and two sets of brilliant features going deep into the culture of the world’s biggest bike races. July 2022 is going to be a historic month for cycling, and Rouleur is your essential companion.

 

TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES

The Things They Carried

Some of the pioneering British riders who took part in the original Tour de France Féminin during the 1980s talk about their memories of the event, from the dizzying highs to the terrifying lows to the plain weird. 

Annemiek van Vleuten: A Crazy Girl with a Crazy Plan

The Dutch rider has won everything there is to win in cycling, except, of course, the Tour Femmes. A yellow jersey in the inaugural event is her big target for the year, and she will start the race as the outright favourite. She tells Rouleur how she has kept her motivation and strength up, even as she approaches her 40th birthday

Interview: Marion Rousse

We catch up with the energetic force behind the Tour de France Femmes, who has switched from being a successful pro cyclist to a successful career as a television commentator and now to race organising.

Lovely Bubbly

Rouleur visits the Avenue de Champagne, location of the finish of stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes and reputedly the most expensive street in the world. The only thing steeper than the finish of this stage is the price of the grands crus sold lower down the road.

Total Cycling: Heleen Hage interview

The Dutch did everything except win the inaugural 1984 Tour de France Féminin, taking 15 out of the 18 stages in the race. We catch up with Heleen Hage, one of an all-conquering set of cycling siblings, who was the runner-up that year behind American Marianne Martin and hear how a simple strategic miscalculation cost her the race.

Stage management: Brodie Chapman’s Itzulia diary

Brodie Chapman is as good a writer as she is talented at cycling. Which is great news for us and especially Rouleur’s readers as we asked her to write us a daily diary from Itzulia Women. She takes us right inside the race.

 

TOUR DE FRANCE HOMMES

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig’s Guide to Copenhagen

Who better to show us around Copenhagen’s coolest places than Copenhagen’s coolest cyclist? Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig takes Rouleur on a guided tour of her home city, where stage 1 of the Tour de France Hommes will take place this summer.

Controlled Chaos: Primož Roglič interview

An exclusive chat with the Tour favourite and winner of the recent Critérium du Dauphiné. The Slovenian tells Rouleur about his ability to manage chaos, and even embrace it.

Go Fourth and Prosper: Ben O’Connor interview

Former Rouleur editor Andy McGrath visits the revelation of the 2021 Tour at home in Andorra to talk about his courageous fight to finish fourth in last year’s race and how he hopes to go even better this time around.

Between a Rock and a Hard Race: the Geology of the Tours de France

Professor Douwe van Hinsbergen of the University of Utrecht explains the intimate link between the geology of France and how bike races are affected by it, and why the Tour de France Femmes is a journey back through time.

Eternal student: Matej Mohorič interview

Kate Wagner visits the Milan-San Remo champion at home in Slovenia to talk about lifelong learning, continuous self-improvement and how he finally found his place in the WorldTour.

Subscribe and get this issue free

A subscription to Rouleur is 8 classic, timeless and collectable issues per year and a wealth of subscriber benefits. It's also the most cost-effective way to receive the magazine Learn more