The Tour de France. It's probably the world's greatest and certainly toughest professional sporting event. There is much more to the Tour than the daily stage victories and dope charges. This book takes a close look behind the scenes of the Tour and brings up many fascinating stories from the race's 100-year history, as well as the events that preceded the Tour itself. The Unknown Tour de France makes fascinating reading for everyone interested in bicycle racing and professional sports in general. You'll hear about the great champions of the early days, and some of later years, who molded the public image of the Tour the way it has become known. You'll read about the beginnings of road racing and the men who started and promoted this great venture. Find out about the 'foreign legion', the early English-speaking riders, and the way some of them later placed their mark on the Tour. This edition replaces the previous edition ISBN 97818924266, which is no longer available.
Why would a man publish a picture of himself in the shower? Because this isn't an ordinary shower. It's one of the showers in which riders wash away the blood, grime and exhaustion at the end of Paris-Roubaix.
I've been a writer ever since my mother told me it was no fit job for a grown man. That, of course, was all the incentive I needed and I joined the staff of Cycling in its greatest days. And I've carried on writing ever since, a job I recommend because it rarely demands going out in the rain for hours. Unlike cycling, where it seems to happen an awful lot.
I've spent all my life unearthing strange stories and personalities behind the world's greatest and oddest sport. It's been a huge pleasure.
People seem to expect this sort of thing, so... I'm French, I live near Toulouse, I never much troubled judges at the end of road races beyond making them stand around in the cold when they wanted to go home, and I have thinning hair.
