Rouleur PPA double as editor’s book on Tom Simpson takes Book of the Year Award

Publisher Gruppo Media, the parent to Rouleur, is this week celebrating a trio of awards for the publisher and its staff.

Two of those came at the PPA Independent Publisher’s Awards, where the team picked up gongs for Digital Initiative of the Year and Media Brand of the Year (Business and consumer).

These were quickly followed by Editor Andy McGrath scoring the William Hill Sports Book of the Year for his title Tom Simpson, Bird on the wire. The title – which intimately documents Britain’s first cycling champion 50 years on from his death – is the fourth cycling book to claim the award.

McGrath’s book, published by Rouleur founder Guy Andrew’s Blue Train Publishing and published on behalf of Rapha Editions, looks beyond the sportsman’s complicated final years and digs deep into the character behind the 1965 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Gruppo Media recently also announced that it will take sole control of future Rouleur Classic events, telling CI.N that it is to quickly take the platform overseas, starting in Australia.