Tour De France: The History, the Legend, the Riders (Mainstream sport)

by Fife Graeme (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2001

  $3.27

  In July 1903 a group of cyclists left Paris at the start of an epic country-wide race. The first Tour de France took the riders across the high mountains of the Alps and Pyrenees, over roads little better than cart tracks. Travelling vast distances over day and night, the riders had to carry their own repairs, find their own food and drink and ride without support. Today's riders are pampered by comparison - the modern Tour organization supplies their every need; yet the Tour de France continues to be the toughest ordeal of sporting endurance yet devised, and the ultimate test for professional cyclists: man and bicycle pitted against all kinds of terrain and weather, in unremitting competition for three weeks with their rivals. Tales of great solo rides, amazing fortitude and gallantry, misfortune and triumph over the odds emerge from the race's remarkable history; and the riders who have ridden the Tour, lost and won it to take the yellow jersey, the most coveted prize in cycling, are a breed apart. In Tour de France , Graeme Fife offers a compelling insight into the mystique of the race, the unique allure it has always exercised on devoted bike fans and occasional enthusiasts alike. Combining meticulous research with a pacey, fluent narrative style, Fife, a professional writer and a keen cyclist paints a colourful, human, memorable picture of the men - champions and team men - whose exploits have made the Tour a durable fascination.

• Used

  Paperback
  2000

  $3.27

  In July 1903 a group of cyclists left Paris at the start of an epic country-wide race. The first Tour de France took the riders across the high mountains of the Alps and Pyrenees, over roads little better than cart tracks. Travelling vast distances over day and night, the riders had to carry out their own repairs and find their own food and water. In the 1990s, by comparison, riders are pampered; the Tour de France organization caters to their every need. Yet the Tour continues to be the toughest of cycling competitions, with man and bike pitted against all kinds of terrain and weather, in unremitting competition for three weeks with their rivals. In this volume, tales of great solo rides, amazing fortitude and gallantry, misfortune and triumph over the odds emerge from the Tour de France's remarkable history. The riders who have ridden, lost and won the Tour are shown here to be a breed apart. This edition covers the 1999 race.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1999

  $3.27

  It is one of sport's toughest ordeals and the ultimate test for professional cyclists. The Tour de France sees riders pitted against all kinds of terrain and weather, in unrelenting competition with their rivals for three weeks. This entertaining and highly-acclaimed book gives a compelling insight into the mystique of the race and the unique fascination it has always exercised on devoted bike fans and occasional enthusiasts alike. Graeme Fife's Tour de France tells tales of great solo rides, amazing fortitude, terrible misfortune and triumph over the odds from the race's remarkable history. Combining meticulous research with a pacy narrative style, Fife paints a colourful and memorable picture of the men whose exploits have give the Tour an enduring universal appeal.