Rouleur – Issue 27

If there is a theme to this issue, then it is one of transformation.

Fritz Gallati was the first professional to be stripped of his licence and banned from racing for doping offences in a scandal that rocked Switzerland in 1961. Herbie Sykes unravels the plot behind the former Six-Day rider’s story while Fritz applies the greasepaint. Ben Ingham captures the tears of a clown on camera.

Ray Eden’s conversion from overweight, smoking and drinking cycle courier to GB international was a remarkable feat by any standards. Ian Cleverly remembers a big man with a rouleur’s mindset, a troubled past and a tragic end.

China’s acceptance as a major player in cycle sport continues with the Tour of Beijing’s inclusion as a UCI World Tour event. Mike Chick breathes in the thin air at the Tour of Qinghai Lake and writes of altitude and attitude a long way from home.

Tiziano Zullo takes tubes of steel and turns them into frames of quality and beauty. Paolo Ciaberta’s photos do justice to the man and his work, while Herbie Sykes grapples with the concept of Italian artisanry. And Marmite…

Our dynamic duo of writer Graeme Fife and photographer Gerard Brown make two excursions to France: Mavic open the factory gates to Rouleur, and Fife and Brown pass the rigorous testing procedure; then it’s to Brittany and the 25 sectors of ribinoù at Tro-Bro Léon – a farm track-studded, single-day race of distinction.

A year that should have seen rising star Matti Breschel challenging for the world champion’s jersey saw the Dane sidelined by injury. Morton Okbo and Jakob Kristian Sørensen spend a season with Breschel in Annus Horribilus.