This beautifully designed and illustrated essential guide to the Tour
de France from Motorbooks' Speed Read series will make you an instant
expert on its history, its winners and rivalries, the tactics necessary
to win it, and the technology of its bicycles.
Le Tour has sometimes been called "chess on wheels" because of the
complicated strategies used by the race's 22 teams and 176 riders. This
book--written by award-winning cycling journalist John Wilcockson, who
has covered the Tour 45 times--will help you understand those
tactics, along with informing you about the race's century-plus
history, its famed winners and rivalries, and the technology
that has gone into creating the modern racing bicycle and determining
how today's athletes train.
Among the questions answered are:
- Who owns the Tour?
- How are the course's 21 stages selected?
- What are the most famous mountain climbs?
- How is the overall winner determined?
- What is a peloton, a soigneur, or an echelon?
- How big are the prizes?
- What are time bonuses?
- Who was the first American to compete in the Tour, and who was the
first one to win it?
- How fast do the racers go down mountain descents?
- What speeds can the riders reach in sprint finishes?
- Why are the teams known by the names of their sponsors and not their
countries?
- What do the riders eat, and where do they sleep every night?
- What are all those motorcycles doing among the cyclists?
- How do the organizers deal with doping scandals?
- And is it true that, one year, the top four finishers were all
disqualified?
You will find the answers to all these questions, and many more, in this
informative, beautifully illustrated, fun-to-read book: Speed Read Tour
de France.
With Motorbooks' Speed Read series, become an instant expert in a
range of fast-moving subjects, from Formula 1 racing to car design.
Accessible language, compartmentalized sections, fact-filled sidebars,
glossaries of key terms, and event timelines deliver quick access to
insider knowledge. Their brightly colored covers, modern design, pop
art-inspired illustrations, and handy size make them perfect on-the-go
reads.
