It’s here – The Road Book 2024 is currently up for pre-order on our webstore, and we thought we’d break down this fantastic tome for you. This year’s edition of our massive Red Book is the same as always, but with a few subtle differences.
As always, our dedicated team of cycling nerds (and Ned Boulting) have compiled the results of every single UCI World Tour and Women’s World Tour race, alongside a selection of other professional races, the European and World Championships and the Olympics. It is a total of 215 races, covered in detail with all the statistics you could ever want, alongside: 4 ‘In the Winner’s Words’ pieces from some of the peloton’s biggest stars, 7 fascinating essays from some of cycling’s best journalists and authors, infographics with all the info you could ever want in a graphic format, brilliant illustrations by Road Book stalwart Matthew Green and a 23-picture strong full-colour plate section chosen by talented photographer Russ Ellis which tells the story of 2024.
And what a story it is. This year will be one of those “where were you when...” moments in cycling folklore, as we witnessed the apotheosis of the next Greatest Of All Time rider and his historic Triple Crown, a closest ever Grand Tour result, and the toppling of the Merckx record.
Here are a few of the year’s salient events covered in this mammoth edition of The Road Book:
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) beat pre-race favourite Demi Vollering (SD-Worx Protime) to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift title in one of the most exciting days of racing in recent times. On the slopes of Alpe d’Huez, the Polish rider rode with grit and determination to somehow claw back a race which looked lost. She won by just 4 seconds...
Lotte Kopecky (SD-Worx Protime) reaffirmed her status as one of the greatest modern riders, winning Paris-Roubaix in the rainbow bands, then securing those very same bands for another year on a wet and horrid day in Zurich.
Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) bowed out of the sport in style, winning Olympic Gold and the World Championship Time Trial to finish her stellar career. Whilst Kristen Faulkner (EF-Oatly-Cannondale) became the first American woman to take Olympic Gold in two different disciplines – the team pursuit and the road race –with a tactically astute victory.
For the men, Mathieu van der Poel dominated the cobbled classics, launching powerful long-ranged attacks to win both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix as well as helping Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen to take Milan-Sanremo. Belgian superstar Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) continued his rise to prominence with a strong 3rd place at the Tour de France, and the small matter of a first ever men’s Olympic Road Race and Time Trial double gold. In a feat which carries import beyond the realm of sports, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) took three stages and the points jersey at the Tour de France, becoming the first black African to win a stage of the green jersey, a monumental event in the sport's history.
Mark Cavendish took his 35th Stage win at the Tour de France to take Eddy Merckx’s record of the most stage wins at the Tour, securing his place as a legend of the sport. A feat that was only surpassed by a certain Tadej Pogačar doing Tadej Pogačar things. The Slovenian had the best individual season in memory winning, amongst other things: Strade-Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Il Lombardia (for the fourth time in a row) and a total of 12 Grand Tour stages on his way to winning the first Giro-Tour double since 1998 and the World Championships. Most importantly though, he was voted The Road Book Society’s Rider of the Year by you, our loyal readers, and we all know which of those titles he is most proud of.
We can’t sum it all up in this short article (you need an almost 900-page mega-tome for that...) so we will let Ned’s opening paragraph from his unique introduction whet your appetite before we break down the contents of The Road Book 2024:
‘Sometimes events occur which only appear momentous in hindsight. At the time, they seem to be part of the normal flow of things. It is possible that this is what happened in 2024. These are not normal times.’
“It’s my fucking everything, that race” - Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish - The Manx Missile, in exhaustive, excruciating and exclusive detail breaks down his victory on Stage 5 of the Tour de France. This first-person account is literally a piece of cycling history as the sport’s greatest stage winner discusses his love for the Tour, and what it means to him to have won 35 stages.
Kasia Niewiadoma – Discusses her first GC victory since 2019, what it took to break her streak of second places, and how she found that extra spurt of power to claw back pre-race favourite Demi Vollering’s advantage on the slopes of Alpe d’Huez to win the Tour de Frances Femmes avec Zwift by just 4 seconds...
Romain Bardet – After 11 years of riding the Tour, the iconic French rider finally took the yellow jersey for the first time on Stage 1 in a special team performance.
Valentin Paret-Peintre – Took his first professional win at the Giro, a year and four days after his brother had done the same. A touching piece, and a nod to the power of brotherly love.
'The Tortured Essayist’s Department’
'A Monumental Challenge’ - by Andy McGrath
Renowned journalist, and editor of The Road Book 2011, returns to the pages of the Road Book with a bang with this eloquent ode to those most prestigious of one-day races: The Monuments. With typical humour and flair, Andy breaks down the brutality of these races, the stories they create, and their history in a beautiful piece which outlines exactly why these races are such a prestigious fixture of the calendar, and why they remain loved by riders and fans alike.
‘Blackmore!! Blackmore!! Blackmore!!’ - by Marlon Lee Moncrieffe
With his academic background and unflinching eye for the clear and enduring racial injustices within the peloton, Marlon uses the backdrop of the Tour du Rwanda to reflect on the progress or otherwise towards greater equality of opportunity for black African cyclists, in a year in which Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay would make a giant leap in his personal status at the Tour de France.
‘Giro d’Italia: Are you not entertained?’ - by Ian Cleverly
Veteran (and yet still dashingly handsome) journalist Ian Cleverly, recounts his experience visiting the Giro d’Italia for the first time this year. A beautiful tale which convincingly argues that the Giro might well be the best of the three Grand Tours. With some Hemingway slander, some bonkers Danes and some gorgeous Italian bike racing Cleverly expounds the beauty of a Grand Tour’s little details, those manifold nuances which weave together to form the vibrant multilayered tapestry of a Grand Tour. Ian has written a touching and convincing piece, which firmly asserts that this era of unprecedented Grand Tour dominance from a few hyper-elite riders, is anything but boring. Those details make it beautiful, but ‘it’s up to us to unearth them’.
‘The Hills Belong to Everyone’ - by Maria David
Maria David pens a love letter to the Tour de France, the South of France, the mountains of the Mercantour National Park and amateur cycling all in equal measure. The beauty of the Alpes-Martimes is vividly depicted, as is the considerable effort of climbing them. Maria lays bare just how tough these climbs are, for professional and amateur cyclists alike resulting in a fascinating piece.
‘La France Profonde’ - by Gareth Cartman
Cartman pens a touching piece on the complex and uniquely French ecosystem of races, unmatched and even overlooked by the rest of the world, but full of heart and steeped in low-key, decades-old meaning for ‘a country smitten with road cycling, even though it hardly ever wins’.
‘Paris, C’est Le Monde’ - by Philippe Auclair
Well known Parisian journalist and former contributor Philippe’s piece is a hymn of praise to both Olympic road races and their respective racers. It is a fitting tribute to a very special edition of the Olympic road race programme.
‘The Hand at the Back’ – by Sadhbh O’Shea
A view from the inside – her experience making the jump from veteran journalist with Velo, to press officer for Team Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco. A fascinating look at the journey from outsider to insider, from respectful distance to intimate friendships with riders. Full of amusing little vignettes of life on a World Tour team, including some slightly ridiculous moments involving shorts and Luke Plapp, Sadhbh has written a wonderful behind-the-scenes piece which taps into those little details which make cycling, cycling.
You’ll get all of this in the pages of The Road Book 2024 alongside the touching and sadly necessary obituary section penned by Peter Cossins, Rebecca Bland’s fascinating infographics, Matthew Green’s beautiful illustrations and Russ Ellis’ unbeatable photography. The book is up for pre-order over on our website right now, with a special discount for members of our Road Book Society. So what are you waiting for? Go get a copy before they sell out!
Written by Henrik Bassett
Photographs courtesy of Russ Ellis and Joris Knapen
Illustration courtesy of Matthew Green
