Cycling France

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 ...

As hotel manager Tom Eastham’s retirement approaches, his best friend tries to persuade him to get back into the sport which he gave up over thirty years earlier. Initially unwilling to brave the roads after so long off the bike, he gradually comes around to the idea of having another bash at cycling and takes to the Lancashire lanes once more. This light-hearted but incisive account traces his first six months back in the saddle, during which time the life-enhancing possibilities of cycling gradually dawn on him as he samples various facets of the sport, complemented by some rather ...

The complete cross-country “Cycling Reflections” set (Pilgrim Wheels AND Pilgrim Spokes.) Both books were award winning stories when they were published individually, and are available in this complete set. A cross-country bicycle adventure is the canvas for this tale of discovery along the winding backroads of America’s heartland. More than just a journal of a bike ride across the country, Hanson’s delightful and beautifully written story takes the reader on an engaging pilgrimage of observation and reflection. Often hilarious, sometimes poignant, and always inspiring, it’s a ...

This historical romance, perhaps the greatest cloak-and-sword story ever, relates the adventures of four fictional swashbuckling heroes who served the French kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV. When the dashing young D'Artagnon arrives in Paris from Gascony, he becomes embroiled in three duels with the Three Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. But when he proves himself by fighting not against, but with, the Three Musketeers, they form a quick and lasting friendship.

In the second part of Tom Eastham’s cycling memoir, the approach of winter does nothing to diminish his desire to become fitter. After commencing some serious language study, he begins to explore the wonderful world of turbo training, while also lending his friend Sue a hand at her charity. Although the projected Great Norwegian Tour is often on his mind, the advent of a promising young rider makes Tom dream of becoming a top-class cycling coach. With his competitive spirit awakened, he begins to ponder on doing some racing himself in order to enhance his cycling life, while Sarah and Sue...

It's not good to live in the past; even worse to die in it Paranormal investigator Wyatt Thomas awakens from a vivid dream in his French Quarter apartment. He finds an antique double-moonstone pendant placed in his hand by the ghost of a voodoo mambo. One of the two moonstones is missing, and both gemstones are needed to make the pendant magical. The rightful owner of the pendant is a supernatural fairy named Maurelle. Someone chopped off Maurelle’s wings and buried her alive in the ruins of a French Quarter Creole townhouse. A mystical beast still haunts the grounds of the estate. Now, ...

The Secret Race is a definitive look at the world of professional cycling—and the doping issue surrounding this sport and its most iconic rider, Lance Armstrong—by former Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle. Over the course of two years...

The first in-depth look at Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal, the phenomenal business success built on the back of fraud, and the greatest conspiracy in the history of sports Lance Armstrong won a record-smashing seven Tours de France after staring down cancer, and in the process became an...

Peter Sagan, at just 28 years of age, is already one of cycling's greatest riders of all time. With four Tour de France points jersey victories, three road-race world championships, the 2018 Paris-Roubaix, and multiple spring classics among Sagan's palmares, the world of cycling agrees that this intense, yet fun-loving rider is among the most dominant and fun-to-watch riders of his generation. In My World, for the very first time, bike racing fans will have the opportunity to glimpse behind the scenes of Sagan's cycling life.

Award-winning author Steven Herrick journeys from the Highlands of Scotland to the Islands of the Mediterranean on a bicycle - a stirring 4,000 kilometre adventure along dedicated bike lanes and on rural back roads. Accompanied by his wife, Cathie and their two hardy bicycles christened Bruce and Aiwa, this is an absorbing meander from the craggy peaks of Scotland to the sun-baked landscape of Sardinia. The only past time more important than cycling is sampling the culinary delights of Scottish cafes, English pubs, French restaurants, Spanish tapas bars and the pizzerias of Sardinia. '...

Secondary school teacher and inveterate would-be adventurer Andrew P. Sykes is back in the saddle. This time, however, it doesn’t belong to his long-term sidekick Reggie. There’s a fresh-faced kid on the block and she’s a bike called Wanda. (Nothing fishy about that!) The new double act set off on a grand tour of Europe to explore some of the continent’s most iconic cycling routes and locations: the Vélomaritime, the Avenue Verte to Paris, the Véloscénie to Mont-Saint-Michel, the Vélodyssée, the Canal de la Garonne, the Canal du Midi, the ViaRhôna, the Furka Pass and the Rhine...

Greg LeMond stunned the sporting world by becoming the first American to win the Tour de France in 1986, defeating French cycling legend Bernard Hinault. Nine months later, LeMond lay in a hospital bed, his career as a bicycle racer seemingly over. And yet, barely two years after this crisis, LeMond mounted a comeback. In 1989, he once again won the Tour - by a narrow margin of eight seconds. It remains the closest Tour de France in history. The Comeback chronicles the life of this great American athlete, from his roots in Nevada and California to the heights of global fame.

'Back in 2012, everyone knew who Bradley Wiggins was. Everyone, that is, but me. Thirteen years after the summer that defined me, I have finally defined myself. The disguises have gone. I've made peace with myself.' A WATERSTONES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 A DAILY TELEGRAPH BEST BOOK OF 2025...

Bernard Hinault is "Le Blaireau", the Badger. Tough as old boots, he is the old warrior of the French peloton, as revered as he is feared for his ferocious attacks. He has won five Tours de France, marking his name into the history books as a member of cycling's most exclusive club. Yet as the 1986 Tour de France ascends into the mountains, a boyish and friendly young American named Greg LeMond threatens the Badger - and France's entire cycling heritage.

Award-winning author Steven Herrick journeys from Marseille on the French Mediterranean to the fjords of Norway on a bicycle - an epic 4,000 kilometre adventure through seven countries. Accompanied by his wife, Cathie and their two hardy bicycles christened Bruce and Aiwa, this is an entertaining odyssey through the heart of Western Europe. The author cycles up mountains, along atmospheric back roads and through major cities, sampling the delights of French food, Belgian and German beer, Dutch and Danish hospitality and the awe-inspiring landscape of Norway. 'Cycling North' is a bicycle ...

Award-winning author Steven Herrick journeys from the wild coastline of Brittany in Northern France to the Bohemian splendour of Prague in Eastern Europe on a bicycle - an epic 2,500 kilometre adventure along rural back roads and beside the great rivers of Europe. Accompanied by his wife, Cathie and their two hardy bikes christened Jenny and Craig, this is an absorbing adventure across the heartland of the continent. The only pastime more important than cycling is sampling the culinary delights of French restaurants, German beer halls and the bars and cafes of Belgium, The Netherlands and ...

It started with a cash drop by an English spy in occupied Paris in 1944. Reserved for Resistance groups during the war, the money reached Émilien Amaury, an advertising executive, who was tasked to help France return to a free press once liberated. He soon launched a newspaper empire that—unbeknown to him—would own the rights to run what would become one of the greatest sporting events in history.

In the autumn of 2020 Ned Boulting (ITV head cycling commentator and Tour de France obsessive) bought a length of Pathé news film from a London auction house. All he knew was it was film from the Tour de France, a long time ago. Once restored it became clear it was a short sequence of shots from stage 4 of the 1923 Tour de France. No longer than 2.5 minutes long, it featured half a dozen sequences, including a lone rider crossing a bridge. Ned set about learning everything he could about the sequence – studying each frame, face and building – until he had squeezed the meaning from it.

A true cycling nut would be hard pushed to name all 36 races in just a ‘normal’ UCI World Tour. But there are so many more: 375 on the European Tour alone and many more on the America Tour (80), the Asia Tour (65), and the Africa Tour (45). It’s a year-long schedule, most of it unfamiliar. They may be amazing, they may be odd, but all have their place in the Sticky Bottle calendar. Big races and small ones find a place in Sticky Bottle as well as the relatively unknown. Here are personal and historical tales of cycling wonder and woe, plus a healthy smattering of the bizarre.

2019 had a stunning surprise winner in 22-year-old Egan Bernal, the youngest rider to wear the race-leader’s Yellow Jersey in Paris since that jersey was first awarded in 1919, and the third-youngest rider ever to have won the Tour de France.