Detailing a tumultuous season of racing, one which made headlines as much for a lack of competition, the third edition of cycling almanack – The Road Book – is now available.
The book, which seemed so unlikely earlier this year, covers over 700 pages of pro cycling insight, punctuated by essays and stories from some of the star names of the past year. The third edition of The Road Book features:
- Recent Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart;
- The winner of the elite women’s UCI World Championships Anna van der Breggen, and
- Belgian pro cyclist Wout van Aert of Team Jumbo-Visma.
Further essays cover a personal account of Nic Dlamini’s experience at the hands of aggressive park rangers in South Africa, Eurosport commentator Rob Hatch’s perspective on calling home the most unusual edition of the Giro for generations, and more.
As with every edition, the book details reports and statistics from both the men’s and women’s WorldTour races amongst many others. From the stage results and meteorological conditions of the season opener, La Tropicale Amissa Bongo right through to the stage profiles and race trivia at La Vuelta in November as the curtain fell on a year that will be remembered by all.
Words are supported by a library of imagery from one of cycling’s leading photographers, Russ Ellis, who encapsulates the stark contrasts witnessed over the course of the season. This saw monuments Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Tour of Flanders fall at the season’s close, following a late summer Tour de France which kicked off back-to-back Grand Tours.
The book’s Editor, Ned Boulting, said “Each year so far this book has pinpointed for posterity the key moments that went to make a full year of racing across the world. But this year is somewhat different.
“Following four months in which a wheel was not turned in anger, a compressed and re-shuffled calendar burst back into life just as the world briefly opened up again. Race after race produced almost unimaginable outcomes.
“Lest they should ever be forgotten, each and every one of these events is captured in the beautiful fashion for which The Road Book has already become the international standard bearer. We might have spent the year apart, but the races all come together in this exceptional volume.”
The events of the year have influenced The Road Book Awards, which once again saw 12 judges from across cycling cast votes over six categories. Detailed in the pages of The Road Book, 2020’s awards and winners are:
- Road Book Society Reader’s Rider of the Year: Tao Geoghegan Hart
Female Rider of the Year: Anna van der Breggen - Male Rider of the Year: Wout van Aert
- Young Female Rider of the Year: Chloé Dygert
- Young Male Rider of the Year: Tadej Pogaćar
- Combative Female Rider of the Year: Annemiek van Vleuten
- Combative Male Rider of the Year: Marc Hirschi
Judges: Orla Chennaoui, David Millar, Phil Liggett, Christian Prudhomme, Georgia Bronzini, Mark Cavendish, Robbie McEwen, Sean Kelly, Renaat Schotte, Ryder Hesjedal, Daniel Mangeas, Rolf Sorensen.
The book is available from theroadbook.co.uk/shop, priced at £50, with previous years’ editions also available for those looking to complete the collection so far.
