Tour De France: The History, The Legend, The Riders

Description

In this updated edition of the highly acclaimed "Tour de France", Graeme Fife sets the 2012 race in the context of the event's remarkable history, stretching back to July 1903. Combining meticulous research with a pacy narrative style, he penetrates the mystique of the race and paints a colourful picture of the men whose exploits have given the Tour an enduring universal appeal. Moreover, the book now celebrates a truly historic event: the 99th edition of the race was won, for the first time, by a Briton. Bradley Wiggins pedalled into the record books, in company with his teammates Christopher Froome, who came second, and Mark Cavendish, the current world road race champion, whose 23 stage wins make him the Tour's most prolific sprinter. Laced with tales of great solo rides, amazing fortitude, terrible misfortune and triumph, "Tour de France" is the definitive account of this extraordinary competition. Named one of the top-five sports books of the year by both "The Independent" and "The Times", it is the essential guide to the Tour.

Promotion info

An all-encompassing history of the Tour de France that brings the story right up to date with all the action from the 2012 race

Reviews

This is a beast of a book which teems with energy The Herald Fife ... has an infectious enthusiasm for the Tour and it shows in every sentence. This is a difficult book to put down Cycle Sport A complex picture of what one of the world's great sporting events feels like from the inside The Independent Fife has a keen eye for detail Sunday Times

Author description

Graeme Fife is a full-time writer who has worked much in radio and written a number of books, including Inside the Peloton and The Beautiful Machine. A keen cyclist, he has ridden all the celebrated cols of Tour legend.