Le Tour: A History of the Tour De France, 1903-2003 - Couverture souple

'One of the best books on the subject for non-aficionados' Graham Robb, TLS
Now updated to cover the end of the Armstrong years, the latest scandals and the Tour's historic visit to London in 2007, Geoffrey Wheatcroft's masterly and acclaimed history of the Tour de France is not just a hugely entertaining canter through some great sporting stories - focusing too on the race's changing role it provides a unique and fascinating insight into in French cultural life.
'A fascinating book' Spectator
'Admirable and beautifully written' Daily Mail
'Terrifically entertaining . . . A near-masterpiece' Independent
'The full, foreign strangeness of the Tour is mesmerisingly evoked . . . This is a charming, humorous, often moving book, bursting with joie de vivre' Daily Telegraph
'[Wheatcroft] brings a fresh eye to the Tour and a larger view of its cultural context. Well-read and genial, this self-confessed armchair athlete proves a surprisingly adept historian' Guardian
'Written with lordly panache, the book manages to retain its narrative drive while making frequent forays into other areas of French life . . . His research is impressive, he brings characters to life, and he understands the Tour's mythic qualities and why they matter so much . . . This is a great story, vividly told' Independent on Sunday
Pocket Books
SPORT £8.99
1847390862

'Wheatcroft documents cycling's blue riband within the mileu of world and European history and with the spirit and endeavour of an honest Johnny-come-lately cycling enthusiast' IRISH TIMES
'A canter through some great Tour stories, and also gives a fascinating insight into how the Tour pervaded the culture of a nation' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘Don’t pick on the Tour: this is a golden age for corruption in so many sports’
Comment piece
Guardian 9/7

‘Tour de Farce’
Article by Geoffrey
Observer Sport Monthly July issue

‘Le Tour camouflages Geoffrey Wheatcroft’s fine understanding of the intricacies and intrigue of the most obsessional sporting event known to mankind. He accompanies a century of rippling calves, multi-bike pile-ups, performance-enhancing drugs and untimely death, with sideways glances at what else is going on in the real world...this is a clever book; the narrative of the Tour is as remorseless, as unending, as up and down, and as accident prone as the grinding race itself’
Financial Times Magazine 7/7

‘First published in 2003 to celebrate the Tour de France’s centenary, Yo, Blair! Author Geoffrey Wheatcroft has updated Le Tour to include its 2007 London leg and the latter half of the Armstrong winning streak’
Observer 1/7