Tour de France/Tour de Force: A Visual History of the Worlds Greatest Bicycle Race [Hardcover]

James Startt (Author), Samuel Abt (Preface), Greg Lemond (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2000

For three weeks each July, millions of fans from around the world descend upon the French countryside to cheer on the "forcats de la route," or slaves of the road—the riders competing in the Tour de France. The event has captivated people for nearly a century who gather to witness the strength of the human spirit in its struggle to endure and overcome incredible obstacles to rise to the ranks of heroism. Covering over 2000 miles in 21 days, the cyclists make a grand circuit of the country, crossing over both the Alps and the Pyrenees mountains before racing to the finish line along the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Now almost one hundred years old, the legendary bicycle race has a rich and colorful past. Tour de France/Tour de Force offers a one-of-a-kind look back at the Tours history and its heroes. Arranged chronologically and illustrated with hundreds of wonderfully evocative photographs dating back to the Tours beginning in 1903, it documents the great victories and the harrowing disasters, the glory and the agony of this amazing competition. From the astounding stories of early cyclists who looped around France on rudimentary two-wheelers to contemporary chapters emphasizing the tactics and winning moves employed in recent races, the drama of the Tour comes to life in these pages. Featuring race results from 1903 all the way through to 1999, plus an introduction by three-time Tour winner Greg Lemond, and special sections on the evolution of the Tour de France bike and the controversial issue of performance-enhancing drugs, Tour de France/Tour de Force is the consummate guide to this truly extraordinary event in the world of sport.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When the Tour de France was first held, it was only six stages long. Each of those stages, however, was a grueling ultramarathon averaging 400 kilometers for a total Tour length of 2,400 kilometers. The largest margin of victory in the history of the Tour--2 hours, 48 minutes--comes from this race. From 1903 to 1999, Tour de France/Tour de Force covers the history of the world's greatest cycling race in words and pictures. All the great riders are profiled: Lucien Petit-Breton, "King" Rene Vietto (who never won), Eddy "the Cannibal" Merckx, Bernard "the Badger" Hinault, Greg LeMond, Miguel Indurain, and of course, Lance Armstrong. Tour de Force also traces the event's evolution; for example, Pyrenees climbs were added in 1910, ensuring that versatile riders would come to dominate.

Author James Startt shares stories of ingenuity (when Francois Faber's chain broke in the last kilometer of the 1909 Tour, he simply ran his bike across the finish line), tragedy (Tom Simpson collapsing and dying on the climb up Mont Ventoux in 1967), and triumph (Lance Armstrong's 1999 Tour victory). Lavishly illustrated, Tour de France/Tour de Force is essential reading for cyclists and cycling fans alike. --M. Stein

From Library Journal

Lance Armstrong captured the imagination of people around the globe by winning the Tour de France in 1999. Armstrong's strength of human spirit is precisely why millions of fans watch the race each July. Considering that the riders cover 2000 miles in 21 days, traveling through all kinds of terrain and weather, the Tour is arguably the toughest, most demanding bicycle road race in the world. In The Unknown Tour de France, veteran cycling reporter Woodland describes the event from a behind-the-scenes perspective. Woodland's book is a credible history, making good use of anecdote to detail how the Tour has changed since 1903. Moreover, the author chronicles the many colorful people involved and the drug scandals that continue to tarnish the competition. In contrast to Woodland's study, former competitive cyclist Startt's Tour de France/Tour de Force is a nostalgic look at the legendary challenge of endurance and skill, featuring hundreds of photographs and a list of results from 1903 to 1999. A special feature is an introduction by three-time winner Greg LeMond. What makes this title so captivating is the stunning collection of color photos. Although both publications are highly recommended and sure to be enjoyed by bicycling enthusiasts of all ages, public libraries may prefer to purchase Startt's pictorial history.DLarry R. Little Penticton P.L., BC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First edition. edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811824926
• ISBN-13: 978-0811824927
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,412,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Can't Go To France To See The Tour Live ...., July 25, 2000

By 

"lescaret" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tour de France/Tour de Force: A Visual History of the Worlds Greatest Bicycle Race (Hardcover)

Then get this book, it's great. Great because it takes the reader through the history of the Tour, offering fun anecdotes, excellent vintage & contemporary photographs, interesting illustrations of Tour adverts & posters through time, etc. Plus, it lists all the Tour winners from the race's inception, including the 2nd & 3rd place finishers with their times. If you're into the Tour, if you always wondered what it looked like in the old days, riding through the Alps on dirt roads, shooing cows out of the way, then you won't be disappointed with this book. There's only one Tour de France per year, but you can peruse this book every day. Allez!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A matter of context, March 6, 2004

By 

Eric J. Lyman (Roma, Lazio Italy) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tour de France/Tour de Force Updated and Revised 100-Year Anniversary Edition (Paperback)

The 100th anniversary edition of the Tour de France/Tour de Force is a little hard to characterize. The volume's size and emphasis on photography make it seem like coffee table book, and yet the ambitious if not comprehensive text examining 100 years of history of the world's greatest bicycle race make it appear to be something of a reference resource.

That's not necessarily a good thing, because when something tries to do too much, it often ends up doing what it does badly. In the case of this book, "badly" may be too strong -- but it does leave something to be desired.

Much of the period between the wars are glossed over, for example, and the quality of the photography is uneven. The characterization of some riders (most notably, five-time champion Jacques Anquetil) can be a little patronizing, and the introduction by three-time winner Greg LeMond seems way off the mark (evidently, Mr. LeMond thought the assignment was to subjectively recount his victories rather than record his view of the Tour as a whole -- the second introduction by gifted cycling journalist Samuel Abt is much better, and the discussion of Mr. LeMond's career in the main part of the book is a fairer treatment of it).

But despite those faults, I find I still enjoy this book a great deal. Maybe it's a soft spot in my heart for this kind of history: to read that riders for many years sipped on champagne and puffed on cigarettes for energy, that the first Tour's riders rode more than 250 miles a day (albeit for one week rather than three), that they had to dismount their bikes to change gears by hand, and that the winning riders were once on their bikes for nearly 250 hours during the span of the race (compared to less than 100 hours in most modern editions). And while I was puzzled by the selection of some photos (several just show groups of unidentified riders from different points in the race's history), the best shots are very, very good.

In the end, the strong point of the book is the context it provides. For die-hard cycling fans, any book of this scope holds a certain attraction. But the case is more compelling when it comes to more recent cycling fans, many of whom came to the sport only after Lance Armstrong started his amazing string of Tour de France victories in 1999. For them, a book like this provides an invaluable way to understand the sport better and to meet the ghosts of the past champions Mr. Armstrong will ultimately be measured against.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book, April 5, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tour de France/Tour de Force: A Visual History of the Worlds Greatest Bicycle Race (Hardcover)

This book has wonderful old pictures of the tour plus a year by year history of the event. A "must have" for bicycle fans.