Le Tour: A History of the Tour de France

When Henri Desgrange began a new bicycle road race in 1903, he saw it as little more than a temporary publicity stunt to promote his newspaper. The sixty cyclists who left Paris to ride through the night to Lyons that first July had little idea they were pioneers of the most famous of all bike races, which would reach its centenary as one of the greatest sporting events on earth. Geoffrey Wheatcroft's masterly history of the Tour de France is not just a hugely entertaining canter through some great Tour stories; nor is it merely a homage to the riders whose names -- Coppi, Simpson, Mercx, Armstrong -- are synonymous with the event's folly and glory; focusing too on the race's role in French cultural life it provides a unique and fascinating insight into Europe's twentieth century.

Title - Le Tour: A History of the Tour de France

Edition -

Author - Geoffrey Wheatcroft

ISBN 13 - 9781847390868

Imprint - Simon & Schuster Ltd

Publisher - Simon & Schuster Ltd

Date Published - 18/06/2007

Prize -

No. of pages - 416

Binding Type - Paperback

Dimensions - 129 x 198 x 1mm

Weight - 313 g

Languages - English