Cycling is inseparable from its landscapes. The main challenges of the sport – the hills and the wind – are functions of the fact that races happen in the real world. And we all know that this also means that we are on firm ground when we say that cycling is the most beautiful sport there is. How could it not be, when it takes place on the Col du Galibier, or the Col du Tourmalet, or in the Dolomites, or Jura, or on the wide open plains of northern Europe?

Rouleur 130 is a celebration not only of cycling’s landscapes, but our relationship with them as cyclists. We’ve got features from places as diverse as Sweden, Alicante, Flanders and North Africa, as well as some explorations of landscape in a more abstract sense. Maybe we have missed out most of your own favourite landscapes, but that doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you read this magazine and work out how it translates to your own experience of cycling and landscape. Don’t forget to look up when you are next out on your bike, and remind yourself that cycling is the most beautiful sport in the world.