«The mass of men lead lives to silent desperation».

– Henry David Thoreau, Walden; or Life in the Woods (1854)

Can you smell Africa?
It’s impossible not to be enthralled, even from where we are, even from afar. We chose to celebrate on the cover not so much the world champion (you already know who he is…), but rather the embrace of a new people on the roads of great cycling. Roads that intersect with life, races that intercept protests, as happened in Madrid, at the Vuelta.

‘Cycling cannot isolate itself from the world, because its playing field is the world itself: roads travelled every day by those who go to work, those who protest, those who celebrate. There are no barriers, because the race has no roofs or gates. This is what makes it fascinating and, at the same time, vulnerable: riders live in a bubble, with their own rules and rhythms, but sooner or later that bubble touches reality and has to deal with it.”

And from all this can only arise an uncontrollable desire to set off, to test oneself, to take a moment of break and do something just for oneself.

Some contents:

• Sunspots, or rather the 2025 World Championships in Kigali.
  I have time. Giulio Pellizzari opens his heart.
  Our account of London-Edinburgh-London.
  What makes an event like Badlands, in the Gorafe desert, unique over the years.
  Omar Di Felice reflects on the fragility of the cyclist.
  VIA Race, on the trail of Germanico.
  Live steel: we had a stainless steel frame welded by the guys at Barco Cicli….

  … and much more!

[alvento is a state of mind]