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Loading... Vive le Tour!: Amazing Tales of the Tour de Franceby Nick Brownlee
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Essential companion to the Tour de France the tour de France is one of the most revered, thrilling sporting events in the world, not to mention one of the most physically exhausting. Every year top cyclists from around the globe break speed records and push themselves harder and faster in pursuit of the legendary yellow jersey. Here is the ultimate guide to the competition's heroes, cheats, controversy, extreme terrain, triumphs, and tragedy-on and off the trail. Now fully revised and updated, this is the essential companion to this awe-inspiring event, with a wealth of tales and trivia drawn from the tour's century-long history. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)796.620944The arts Recreational and performing arts Athletic and outdoor sports and games Cycling Cycle racingRatingAverage:
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And so yes, drugs. He doesn't shy away from the issue, but in some ways they've become a bigger story than the racing over recent decades, and... well, a book like this isn't going to reflect that exactly, I suppose, it's a light-hearted romp, and he does tell us about cyclists having to exercise through the night so their EPO-stuffed blood doesn't clog their arteries, and he doesn't pretend that the pre-modern era was a wonderland of muesli-eating Corinthians, but he might've given a bit more space to Marco Pantani and... I don't know, I just want a different book, I guess, one that can address questions about what ought to constitute illegal performance enhancement anyway, one that tackles matters of morality and motivation, rather than this one, which is more wasn't Tom Simpson a lovely guy and hahaha Chris Boardman crashed into a wall and did I tell you about the time Eugène Christophe had to repair his own front forks in a smithy?
So, you know, it's a trashy stocking-filler sort of thing for dipping into (I, as a rebel, read through it in two sittings), and it's entertaining enough, so, okay, I'm being ridiculous, and, I dunno, two and a half stars or something, yeah? ( )