Overview
The 2007 Tour de France started triumphantly in London but ended with yet another drugs furore, leading to four riders (including two race favourites) being excluded, a morass of accusation and suspicion, and the intrusion of lawyers more interested in legal wrangling than sport. It was nearly a disaster. Graeme Fife examines the complex interplay of officialdom at loggerheads, a few riders in denial, and most riders advancing goodwill and intent against doping in what might seem, at first, to be an unholy mess at the heart of what remains one of the greatest and most awe-inspiring free sporting spectacles on earth.In this updated edition of the highly acclaimed ""Tour de France"", Fife sets this year's scandal in the context of the event's remarkable history, which began in July 1903. Combining meticulous research with a pacey narrative style, Fife penetrates the mystique of the race and paints a colourful picture of the men whose exploits have given the Tour an enduring universal appeal. With tales of great solo rides, amazing fortitude, terrible misfortune and triumph, it is the definitive account of this extraordinary competition and has been named one of the top-five sports books of the year by both ""The Independent"" and ""The Times"".
Full Product Details
Author: Graeme Fife
Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
Imprint: Mainstream Publishing
Dimensions:
Width: 15.30cm
, Height: 3.20cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.585kg
ISBN: 9781845962562
ISBN 10: 1845962567
Pages: 432
Publication Date: 01 November 2007
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print
Availability: In Print
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.
Reviews
"""This is a beast of a book which teems with energy"" The Herald ""Fife ... has an infectious enthusiasm for the Tour and it shows in every sentence. This is a difficult book to put down"" -- Phil Liggett Cycle Sport ""Fife has a keen eye for detail"" Sunday Times ""A complex picture of what one of the world's great sporting events feels like from the inside"" The Independent"
This is a beast of a book which teems with energy The Herald Fife ... has an infectious enthusiasm for the Tour and it shows in every sentence. This is a difficult book to put down -- Phil Liggett Cycle Sport Fife has a keen eye for detail Sunday Times A complex picture of what one of the world's great sporting events feels like from the inside The Independent
Author Information
Graeme Fife is a full-time writer who has worked much in radio and written a number of books, including Inside the Peloton and The Beautiful Machine. A keen cyclist, he has ridden all the celebrated cols of Tour legend.
