Master Jacques [Paperback]

Richard Yates (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2001

Of all the great cycling champions, Jacques Anquetil - the first man to win the Tour de France five times - remains the most mysterious. A prodigy, he burst upon the racing scene at the age of 18, defeating the world's best in the Grand Prix des Nations. From that moment on, insists Pierre Chany, 'he no longer belonged to himself'. Yet, perhaps more than any of cycling's legends, he managed to protect his private life from public gaze. Outwardly confident, and yet profoundly shy; rational and calculating, and yet superstitious and haunted by fear of death, Anquetil was an enigma. He defied the conventional picture of a racing cyclist: elegant on or off the bicycle, winning seemed to come too effortlessly; and he was too fond of the good life that his successes enabled him to enjoy. The French public did not really know what to make of him. 'His courage defied imagination, but nobody noticed because his style was so perfect,' said his manager, Raphael Geminiani. His domination of the 1961 Tour de France, which he led from first day to last, earned him the title 'Master Jacques', but was greeted by boos and whistles. It was only as he neared retirement that Anquetil finally received the acclaim his achievements deserved. In this, the first full-length English book about Jacques Anquetil, Richard Yates explores the enigma of this great French rider. Richard Yates is an English cycling historian who has lived for many years in France; he is the author of several books about French cycling.

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Cordee (July 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1874739188
• ISBN-13: 978-1874739180
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,445,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Was the writer in a hurry? We just blew past 1963!, December 9, 2007

By 

F. Quinlisk "Cycling Reader" (Spring City, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Master Jacques (Paperback)

If you're a big cycling history buff you'll love this book. Its hard to read and as Anquetil's life moves forward the books seems to blast through the years. You get incredible detail on Anquetil's attempts to win a World Championship, but you move past the Grand Tours he won in such a high speed you are left wondering where the detail went. 1962 through 1964 just are breezed over, and the early sixties seems to be each year copied and pasted over and over.
The beginning is solid, with lots of detail on his life growing up, and the info on his relationships with other riders is great too. The writer tip toes around Anquetil's questionble morals when addressing the child he had with his step-daughter, considering he touches on so many other personal subjects.
You will find so much more information here than you will in any other English written book. It seems the English found more appeal in Anquetil than the French did for a long time, considering is Time Trailing expertise and the British interest in that discipline.