The Great Bike Race: The Classic, Acclaimed Book That Introduced a Nation to the Tour De France - Softcover

To be quite blunt about the current situation even in the year 2016, this is unquestionably the finest book ever written on the subject of cycling, bar none. The combination of the late Geoffrey Nicholson's (he died in 1999) observations, coupled with an impeccable writing style, make the Great Bike Race almost a complete education in and of itself ... Nicholson has captured a moment in time, one that will remain so pretty much forever. But in the manner of a novel by dickens, hardy or austen, the Great Bike Race is a volume that can be solely appreciated for its own values, values that are distinct from the race it describes and entirely separate from the final yellow jersey worn by lucien van impe on the champs elysees in 1976. It has taken forty years for this book to find me. Don't, under any circumstances, let this happen to you. * The Washing-Machine Post * an acknowledged classic. * The Guardian * A reprint of one of the best-written and most thorough analyses of any edition of the world's greatest cycle race. * Road CC *

"If Alpe d'Huez was a rigorous climb, with its mathematical progression of tight corners and steep inclines, the Izoard is far more awesome, a rocky wilderness at 7,743 feet, which needs only a few bleached skulls at the roadside to complete its sense of desolation." Geoffrey Nicholson's The Great Bike Race is universally revered by modern cycling critics as the benchmark English-language volume of the sport and has risen to mythical status. It was the first book in English to tell the entire story of a full tour and truly captivates the reader from start to finish. Nicholson's classic, vivid descriptions of the racing, the personalities, tactics and intrigues of the 1976 race are rotated with insightful thematic chapters where he lifts the lid on the broader culture and lengthy traditions of cycling's most famous race and the greatest annual sports event in the world. The classic, acclaimed book that introduced the world to the Tour de France is now re-issued in a paperback edition.