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Usually July is filled with the jubilation of the Tour de France, but now that a global pandemic has forced the postponement of cycling's biggest race, this month's new issue of Pro Cycling celebrates all things Tour with 21 stories, one for each stage of the race.

There are interviews with current and former cycling stars and champions, analysis on who can win the Tour, and in-depth features on various aspects of La Grande Boucle.

Romain Bardet, one of France's biggest contenders in the Tour, talks to Edward Pickering, who has competed in the Tour every year since 2013 and has finished second and third in the past, about his relationship with the race. He also explains how he approaches the race, which begins again this year in Nice.

"Every year in the Tour, there is a story to tell. I'm always involved," Bardet said. I'm always involved. I've been on the podium five times in Paris, and last year I took the climber's jersey in a difficult Tour. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's the other way around, but it's never neutral in the Tour."

Bardet has been in the Tour before.

Another Frenchman who has previously impressed at the Tour, Warren Barguil, spoke to Alasdair Fotheringham about how he fits in with Alcare Samsic now that Nairo Quintana has joined the team. Barguil won the Tour's polka-dot jersey in 2017 and finished 10th in last year's race.

"When I know someone is better than me, I give them 100 percent," Barguil said. 'But if I'm better than them, it's hard to do that. If the team leader is at 60 percent and I know I'm going to be three minutes slower and I know I can win the leader's jersey in the race, I think the team needs to have an open mind. I think teams need to have an open mind.

Robbie McEwen, a now retired Australian who has won three green jerseys, looks at today's elite sprinters and points out the strengths and weaknesses of Caleb Yuan, Sam Bennett, Dylan Groenewegen, and others.

McEwen told Procycling: "To beat these guys, you have to be at your best. Who has the best day to beat them? It's who runs close to 100% and who runs their best.

Team Sunweb duo Nicolas Roche and Michael Matthews are not only teammates, but friends, neighbors, and training partners. Sophie Halcombe spoke with the pair about their training competition, their different identities when they first met, and their relationship with the Tour.

Matthews said: "Nico is definitely better at climbing than me, but I'm probably faster. So we can race on different surfaces that push each other's abilities.

EF-Education First's Tejay Van Garderen talked about his expectations at the Tour de France and winning the white jersey for best young rider in his first year. Sophie Halcombe reflected on Nicole Cooke's 2007 Grande Boucle Féminine International victory in the yellow jersey of Mont Ventoux, and David Millar reflected on his first-day Tour victory 20 years later.

Elsewhere, Melhawi Kudus talks about being one of the first two black African riders to compete in the Tour, Andy Schleck looks back 10 years after his Tour victory, and there is a tribute to late Team Ineos director Nicolas Portal.

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