EDWARD PICKERING

Happy 20th birthday to... us! It’s two decades since the first edition of Procycling rolled off the presses, which makes us the same age as the Tour Down Under and older than Remco Evenepoel. It’s also 20 years since Lance Armstrong ‘won’ his first Tour, and this last anniversary has been far more relevant than we’d have wanted it to be after the recent revelations of a blood-doping ring in Germany, involving two Austrian cyclists and maybe more. The reactions have been predictable - the usual mix of condemnation, cynicism, anger, weary acceptance and a bit of sympathy. It also takes us back a few years - just when the sport assured us it had cleaned up its act, it has suddenly become quite legitimate to question everything again. We’ve been burned so many times, how can we not?

Is cycling cleaner than it was in the bad old days of 1999? Of course. Is it clean? No. The question is, how do we get as close to clean as is realistically possible ? What’s clear is that it is possible to get around the tests. This doesn’t mean that many riders are doing so, but it’s generally police investigations rather than testing which nabs athletes. The important thing is that education and cultural change need to be stepped up so that riders understand and have ownership of the ethical issues.

Lastly, on a more positive note, we have another anniversary of sorts. Procycling wouldn’t be possible without our talented contributors. The writers and snappers we use are the best in the world. But Procycling is more than just words and pictures, we also rely heavily on the unsung heroes of our design staff to make the magazine what it is, and this is our art editor Simon Barnes’s 100th issue. It’s thanks to Simon that

Procycling is such a beautiful product, so thanks to Simon and all our contributors for 20 years of excellence and here’s to the next decade.