Chris Froome returns to the Tour de France this July for the first time since 2018, two years after the crash that nearly ended his career, in an attempt to regain his former level. The most successful Grand Tour rider of his generation graces the cover of the August 2021 issue of Procycling magazine (opens in new tab), discussing his recovery and new perspective on the sport.

The injuries suffered by Froome in a crash at the Criterium du Dauphiné in June 2019 were serious, and the seven-time Grand Tour winner has been a different rider since his return to the peloton last year, often finishing in the grupetto. But despite the increasingly unfavorable conditions, the 36-year-old remains motivated to return to his previous level in the future, with the goal of winning another Grand Tour.

"It was like being pulled in a straight line away from where I used to be, and it was a big adjustment for my life, my career," Froome told Procycling. 'But there are a lot of positives to take from it. I genuinely feel like I've been given a second chance." I've been given a second chance to get back to the highest levels of pro cycling.

One rider who is enjoying a contrasting fate this season is Demi Vollering. She won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, giving her her first major one-day race win. The Dutchwoman has been one of the outstanding riders in the peloton this year, and now with SD Worx, she is regularly touted as the successor to compatriot Anna van der Breggen, who will retire at the end of this season.

"I don't really think about being compared to Anna," Vollering told Adam Beckett. 'Of course, it's a big compliment to be told I look like her. I'd be really happy to accomplish everything she's accomplished in her career."

With only four men from the U.S. competing in this year's Tour de France and much of North America's road racing having shrunk over the past few seasons, the American road racing scene is in dire straits. In fact, road racing has always struggled to break out of the United States, even when the country has dominated the sport. In the latest installment of his "State of the Nation" series, Joe Lindsay examines the relationship between racing and the country that loves it but doesn't love it.

Meanwhile, cycling's popularity in South America will continue to grow this year after Egan Bernal's victory at the Giro d'Italia in May; since winning the yellow jersey at the 2019 Tour, Bernal has been plagued by injury and doubt. But a comeback win at the Giro has put him back on top of the sport. Barry Ryan has documented his triumphs, where his overwhelming climbing prowess was backed by a strong team.

Luxembourg may not have the same presence in the peloton as Colombia, but the country has an important past in cycling thanks to Elsie Jacobs, who won the world championship women's road race for the first time. The country's signature event, the Festival Elsie Jacobs, is a club-run, international-level stage race with a community atmosphere and great history. Owen Rogers visited the site this spring.

With the Tokyo Olympics just around the corner, the British team is expected to do well these days. However, that was not the case in the past. Nige Tassell looks back at Team GB's performance at the Atlanta Games in 1996. The team won two bronze medals at the Atlanta Games, setting the trajectory for success.

Elsewhere, Richard Abraham looks at the factors that have kept DeTuning Quickstep the most successful team in cycling in terms of wins every year since 2013, and Alison Jackson of Rib Cycling grew up on a bison farm in Alberta, Canada, She talks to Sophie Halcomb about her journey through cycling. And Ugo Uhl of Astana Premier Tech talks to Nick Busca about the biggest challenge of his cycling career and what it wasn't that he faced on the bike.

In this month's Retro feature, William Fotheringham looks at the careers of three leading French team managers, Marc Madiot, Vincent Laveneux, and Jean-Rene Bernadeau. Coincidentally, these "three musketeers" raced at the same time in the 1980s; don't forget Procycling diarists Kevin Reza, Brody Chapman, and Charlie Quarterman, as well as Dan Martin and columnist Lawrence ten Dam.

Procycling magazine (opens in new tab): the best writing and photos from inside the world's toughest sport. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or supermarket today, or subscribe to Procycling. (Open in new tab)