In Pursuit of the Yellow Jersey: Bicycle Racing in the Year of the Tortured Tour (Cycling Resources) (Cycling Resources Book) [Paperback]

Samuel Abt (Author), James Startt (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cycling Resources Book | Publication Date: April 1, 1999

Covering the 1998 Tour de France, the world's most important bicycle race, including the American victories and doping scandals.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"The Tortured Tour," that's how the 1998 edition of the Tour de France, the world's most important bicycle race, has been described.

It began with a bang: Even before the race had started in Dublin, Ireland, a doping scandal involving the number-one-rated team, Festina, upstaged the sporting aspect. And it never calmed down after that, as daily stage results and the fortunes of the race's favorites were pushed off newspaper front pages by reports of police raids, rider expulsions, arrests, and strikes.

Yet by the time the Tour had wound its way through much of France and ended in Paris, we saw some great racing. While Marco Pantani, the Italian star, was clearly the man of the moment, he shared the limelight with Bobby Julich, a rising American racer, and Jan Ullrich, who was the defending champion in the Tour.

In and around the Tour, we also find such new faces as George Hincapie, the American national champion, his teammate Tyler Hamilton, and Australian champion Stuart O'Grady. And we meet old friends, like three-time Tour winner Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong, first struggling and then succeeding in his comeback from cancer.

This personal account by Samuel Abt and James Startt illuminates the Tour de France and the sport of bicycle racing itself.

About the Author

Samuel Abt is associate editor for the International Herald Tribune, based in Paris, and has written about bicycle racing for that paper and the New York Times for over two decades. He has written seven previous books about the sport and is the only American awarded the Medal of the Tour de France for distinguished service to the sport.

James Startt is a photographer and writer based in Paris. He has been following European bicycle racing for many years and regularly reports on the sport for U.S. cycling publications. He is the editor of the English-language version of the Tour de France Internet site. His photos have been prominently exhibited at major photo galleries in Paris.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Cycle Publishing; 1 edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892495163
• ISBN-13: 978-1892495167
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,735,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book About a Bad Tour, March 13, 2010

By 

James L. Witherell, Author, Bicycle History - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Pursuit of the Yellow Jersey: Bicycle Racing in the Year of the Tortured Tour (Cycling Resources) (Cycling Resources Book) (Paperback)

Covering the European peloton for decades, Sam Abt has seen it all and brought it all to life for those of us who can only dream, someday, of going and watching the Tour in person. The 1998 edition of the race is one we all remember, and most of us would like to forget. Since the only way to learn from the past is to revisit it, we have to go back there from time to time, and the best way to do this is by reading In Pursuit of the Yellow Jersey.

As he often does, instead of jumping right in to the Tour de France, Abt takes us through the season's early tests -- the classics -- setting the scene for what's to come in July; a scene for which none of us were ready.

Once the stuff hits the fan, he's there with all the detail and all the opinions you'll need to know exactly what's going on and just exactly how the riders feel about it. But there's more to this book than just the drug scandals; there are the day to day events that make up the very heart of the race, described in vivid detail. And let's not forget the American who ended up on the podium that year.