I love cycling because of the rich storytelling this sport offers. Of course, we all want to hear about Tour de France winners, or Olympic and world champions, but if you join us at Rouleur in opening your mind and digging a little deeper, you’ll find there’s so much more to delve into. Like many of us, I’ll be front row at Rouleur Live this year listening to Greg Lemond’s famous, legendary stories and I can’t wait to interview Pauline Ferrand-Prévot myself about her historic yellow jersey success this season, but it’s not just these headliners who will are unmissable at the Truman Brewery this year.
Africa’s moment
The World Championships in Rwanda served as a seismic moment for professional bike racing – it was the first time the competition was held on the African continent and felt like a turning point for our sport. Like everyone, I watched it on television and pored over the pictures afterwards, wishing I could have been there myself. One person who was, though – and who can explain better than anyone the gravity of the event – is Xaverine Nirere. Representing the Championships’ home nation, Xaverine will be at Rouleur Live to tell us about what the event meant for Rwanda, and about her plans for the future alongside Team Amani. I’ve also heard rumours of a special, exciting announcement alongside current professional rider Asheligh Moolman-Pasio, who will also be on stage on Thursday.
Safety, tech and tactics: how is pro racing changing?
I’m a bike racing fanatic who follows developments at the top level of this sport with interest. Professional cycling never stops evolving – I feel like every time I open social media I see a new aero invention, or fuelling technique, or development in the UCI rules. Predicting what will happen next is a tough job, but Adam Blythe, Dan Bigham and Niamh Fisher-Black are in the know, and will be sharing their thoughts about the future of racing on Thursday. Blythe has an inside ear in the professional peloton, while Bigham works on the latest technology for pioneering WorldTour team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Fisher-Black is one of the most exciting talents in the women’s peloton and she’s seen her sport grow first-hand over the last few years – this is a talk which will help you stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the latest developments at cycling’s top table.
Balancing business and passion
Canyon and Zwift are two of the biggest companies in…