John the Monkey
Frivolous Cyclist
- Location
- Crewe
If you'd like something a bit different, Jean Bobet's "Tomorrow We Ride" is a wonderful, lyrical book about professional cycling (his brother being Tour winner Louison Bobet) and cycling in general.
As an introduction to the tour and professional cycling tactics, Matt Rendell's "A Significant Other" is very good.
William Fotheringham's "Roule Britannia" covers the history of British participation in the tour, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Benjo Masso's "The Sweat of Gods" takes a look at the tour and the mythology created around the riders - it's a different take on conventional tour histories and how the legends of the tour were created.
On doping, I think Paul Kimmage's "Rough Ride" and Matt Rendell's "The Death of Marco Pantani" are the essentials - Kimmage for the pre-epo era, and Rendell for the epo era. More contentiously, David Walsh's "Lance to Landis" is either interesting or a one sided hatchet job, depending upon whose opinion you seek.
If you're tempted by either of the Armstrong books, "It's Not About the Bike" is ok - avoid "Every Second Counts".
As an introduction to the tour and professional cycling tactics, Matt Rendell's "A Significant Other" is very good.
William Fotheringham's "Roule Britannia" covers the history of British participation in the tour, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Benjo Masso's "The Sweat of Gods" takes a look at the tour and the mythology created around the riders - it's a different take on conventional tour histories and how the legends of the tour were created.
On doping, I think Paul Kimmage's "Rough Ride" and Matt Rendell's "The Death of Marco Pantani" are the essentials - Kimmage for the pre-epo era, and Rendell for the epo era. More contentiously, David Walsh's "Lance to Landis" is either interesting or a one sided hatchet job, depending upon whose opinion you seek.
If you're tempted by either of the Armstrong books, "It's Not About the Bike" is ok - avoid "Every Second Counts".
