The emergence of a new style of cycling ‘magazine’ has caused waves of excitement around the community.  Not just for its content and format, but for the writers behind it. 

2r is a new multi-media magazine about cycling available to download monthly and looks to feature some very interesting and inspiring writers as well as beautiful photo essays and in-depth written articles.

2r is a monthly “magazine” about the hidden side of pro cycling; the untold stories, riders before they were stars, the politics that shape this sport. – 2r

It seems Gerard Vroomen has had quite a bit to play in this ‘magazine’ coming to fruition and recently posted basic details of the release on his blog. So too has the superb blogger @inrng who highlighted the inaugural edition on his page, which sparked a very interesting debate between people with two main issues.

The first being the inclusion of legendary cycling commentator and all round wind-up merchant, Paul Kimmage who is set to dig deeper into the endless drama of cycling every month. I’ve long been a fan of Kimmage and think his knowledge of cycling and the inner workings of teams and of course doping is superb and fully support him sharing this knowledge with the public in order to broaden their minds.

The second major talking point is one I do certainly have a problem with and that’s that currently 2r is only available on iPad running iOS 6. I don’t have an iPad… which meant it was going to make writing this review particularly difficult! I contacted some of the writers and to be honest they seemed as bemused as I did as to why the current target audience was so small. All current reviews of 2r state that they will soon be releasing it for other platforms, but this is still no good for you reading this review! It seems like a wonderful concept for a magazine and I’m really looking forward to reading it and in truth I was seriously annoyed when I realised I couldn’t view it.

However, Mr Vroomen tells us that “In issue 1, Paul interviews LeMond about his relationships with Hinault, Fignon and Armstrong. In the 44(!) page interview, they also cover races being sold, cocaine, and awkward dinners (with the chef of Renault and Lance). Boonen revisits his worst loss, Gesink draws his first bike and Nuyens contemplates retirement. To top it off, Cavendish thinks about what he would do as the UCI president. Plus the most beautiful photos from l’Équipe and Sirotti.”

So if you have already read the new 2r, or have been inspired to go and check it out following this completely flawed review (let’s not sugar coat this!) then please do comment below and let us know what you think.  How do you feel about the concept, the writers, it’s availability etc….and maybe you could write the next review after I get fired!

Stevie