The Road to Glory

A History of the Tour de France and the Human Will to Endure

A century of sweat, courage, and obsession — the story of how the Tour de France became the world’s greatest test of endurance.

From the dusty roads of 1903 to the high-tech duels of today, The Road to Glory takes readers inside the soul of the Tour de France — where triumph and tragedy ride side by side.

Blending cinematic storytelling with documentary realism, this sweeping narrative follows the race’s evolution through war, scandal, and rebirth. You’ll meet the riders who became legends — Garin, Coppi, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Armstrong, Pogačar, and Vingegaard — each chasing immortality on the roads of France.

Across more than a century, the Tour has mirrored the world itself: nations rebuilding, heroes rising and falling, the human body pushed beyond reason. From Henri Desgrange’s mad dream to the global spectacle it is today, this is not just the history of a race — it’s the story of what it means to endure.

If you love the grit of The Boys in the Boat, the heart of Born to Run, or the grandeur of Seabiscuit, this book will carry you to the summit.

Inside you’ll discover:

• The secret origins of the first 1903 race — and the newspaper war that created a legend.

• The giants of the golden age: Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, LeMond — and the rivalries that defined eras.

• The dark years of doping, and the Tour’s fight to save its soul.

• The modern duel of Pogačar and Vingegaard — two men redefining what human endurance means.

• How France itself has been shaped — and mirrored — by its most beautiful and brutal event.

The Road to Glory isn’t just a book about cycling.

It’s about every road that tests the human spirit.