| |
Guide 2 Cycling
Accessories
Bells
Bottles
Computers
Lights
Locks
Pumps
Racks
Reflectors
Seat Covers
Tools
Bikes
How to Choose a Bike
Folding Bikes
Hybrid Bikes
Kids' Bikes
Mountain Bikes
Road Bikes
Books
Bike Repair
Excursion Guides
Mountain Biking
Tour de France
Calendars
Clothing
Gloves
Helmet
Jackets
Overshoes
Shoes
Shorts, Tights & Trousers
Thermals
Magazines
Posters
Safety Tips
Be Seen
Top Safety Tips
Links (Adverts)
50 Top Bike Racing Tips
Bike Buying
How To Master Mountain Biking
Learn to Ride a Bike
|
|
|
|
Books about the Tour de France
The Tour de France is the world's largest cycling race. It takes place
annually around France
(although some parts of the race sometimes take place in neighboring countries).
The race takes place over
22 days, covers approximately 3,000 kilometers (1,875 miles), and is divided
into 20 stages - the winner being decided by comparing the cumulative
times of each competitor across all the stages.
Here are some books about the Tour de France:
Related Web Sites:
Disclosure: Products details and descriptions provided by Amazon.com. Our company may receive a payment if you purchase products from them after following a link from this website.
By Bill McGann
Dog Ear Publishing, LLC
Paperback (404 pages)
 | List Price: $19.95*
Lowest New Price: $12.65*
Lowest Used Price: $14.07*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
Volume 1 of The Story of the Tour de France concluded with Jacques Anquetil s record setting fifth Tour win. Volume 2 opens with the greatest Italian racer of the modern age, Felice Gimondi and his effortless victory at the young age of 22. Despite his extraordinary talent, he never won the Tour again. Starting in 1969, Eddy Merckx began his run of 5 victories. Bernard Hinault, who also managed to win 5, followed him.
Unable to fulfill his destiny as a likely 5-time winner because of a hunting accident, LeMond won the Tour 3 times. LeMond s era was followed by the remarkable Spaniard Miguel Indurain, the first man to win the Tour 5 times in a row.
The late 1990s were a time of extreme crisis for the Tour as the culture of doping within the professional cycling community erupted into the scandal of 1998. The Story of the Tour de France deals with this episode at length.
Emerging from a near-fatal bout of cancer, Lance Armstrong went on to do what no other rider in the Tour s long history had ever been able to accomplish, win the Tour 7 times. Following Armstrong s retirement, the Tour was again seized by scandal, this time Floyd Landis disqualification for drugs after winning the 2006 Tour.
The book concludes with the story of the 2007 Tour, followed by a quest for the greatest ever Tour de France rider and an epilogue that explains the reasons for the extraordinary success of the Tour.
What they are saying about The Story of the Tour de France:
After forty years of study on the subject, I can with some confidence say Bill and Carol McGann s The Story of the Tour de France is the finest such work ever produced in the English language, and perhaps in any. Most of my preferred references are in French, one runs to over 800 pages, yet the McGanns opus revealed information new to me in almost every paragraph. Their research has been not only impeccable, but insightful.
Owen Mulholland, author of Uphill Battle/i> and Cycling s Golden Age
The Story of the Tour de France: How a Newspaper Promotion Became the Greatest Sporting Event in the World by Bill and Carol McGann is a must read.
Road Bike Action Magazine
For any historian of the sport the McGanns Tour de France history is essential reading. Details of the stages and the riders are not glossed over. For those who are new to the sport, the McGanns bring the glory days of the sport alive with the intrigue that still exists today. Epic stages that might have faded into oblivion are eloquently recounted so that future generation of cyclists will know the rich history of our beautiful sport.
Neil Browne, editor, Road Magazine
Besides towering over all bicycle races, the Tour de France endures for its unique Gaulic character, like Victor Hugo s Les Miserables. The McGanns passionate and insightful writing evokes the raucous cast of riders, promoters, and journalists thrusting through highs and lows worthy of opera. This volume stands out as a must-read book for anyone seeking to appreciate cycling s race of races.
Peter Joffre Nye, author of The Six-Day Bicycle Races: America's Jazz Age Sport and Hearts of Lion |
|
By Carol McGann Bill Mcgann
Dog Ear Publishing
Paperback (316 pages)
 | List Price: $15.95*
Lowest New Price: $12.92*
Lowest Used Price: $11.00*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
"After forty years of study on the subject, I can with some confidence say Bill and Carol McGann’s The Story of the Tour de France is the finest such work ever produced in the English language, and perhaps in any."
-From the preface by Owen Mulholland, author of Uphill Battle
"Besides towering over all bicycle races, the Tour de France endures for its unique Gaulic character, like Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. The McGann's passionate and insightful writing evokes the raucous cast of riders, promoters, and journalists thrusting through highs and lows worthy of opera. This volume stands out as a must-read book for anyone seeking to appreciate cycling's race of races."
-Peter Joffre Nye, author of The Six-Day Bicycle Races: America's Jazz Age Sport and Hearts of Lions
"There are LOTS of books on the Tour de France. An increasing number of them are actually written in English. However, of those, none educates Americans about this grand spectacle’s rich past. The Tour de France has a history as fascinating and sordid as Rome’s and it is high time someone undertook to explain this to our American sensibility. Our guide for the trip is a man with a ravenous appetite for both world history and bicycle racing, just the sort of person to paint a Tour champion with the dramatic grandiosity befitting Hannibal himself."
-Pat Brady, Editor, Asphalt Magazine
At the dawn of the 20th Century, French newspapers used bicycle races as promotions to build readership. Until 1903 these were one-day events. Looking to deliver a coup de grace in a vicious circulation war, Henri Desgrange—editor of the Parisian sports magazine L’Auto—took the suggestion of one of his writers to organize a race that would last several days longer than anything else, like the 6-day races on the track, but on the road.
That’s exactly what happened. For almost 3 weeks the riders in the first Tour de France rode over dirt roads and cobblestones in a grand circumnavigation of France. The race was an electrifying success. Held annually (suspended only during the 2 World Wars), the Tour grew longer and more complex with an ever-changing set of rules, as Desgrange kept tinkering with the Tour, looking for the perfect formula for his race.
Each year a new cast of riders would assemble to contest what has now become the greatest sporting event in the world. |
|
By Eric Delanzy
Rodale Books
Released: 2006-05-30
Hardcover (240 pages)
 | List Price: $29.95*
Lowest New Price: $18.70*
Lowest Used Price: $15.29*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
With rare access to the remarkable photo archive of the Tour de France, this volume captures through stunning images and moving vignettes the breathtaking drama, heartbreak, and joy of the world’s most captivating cycling event.
Few sporting events can match the splendor and spectacle of the Tour de France—as teams of cyclists gather each July in quest of the coveted yellow jersey, ready to take on the 23-day chase through the French countryside lined with millions of spectators, and the winding and steep climbs and harrowing descents of the mountainous peaks of the Pyrennees and Alps.
Created with the endorsement of the Tour organization and carrying the official TDF logo, this rich anecdotal and photographic history depicts, both the classic, almost mythic tales that have defined the event over the years, and the rare, untold glimpses from behind the scenes. Offering coverage through 2005, it will be the first historical overview to include coverage of Lance Armstrong’s record-shattering seventh consecutive win. Each full-page spread stands on its own, allowing the reader to pick the book up anywhere and instantly absorb the magic moments that have enthralled fans for over 100 years. This is a beautiful, coffee table book, one that any cyclist or Tour fan will proudly display and eagerly peruse.
|
|
By Graham Watson
VELO
Paperback (340 pages)
 | List Price: $24.95*
Lowest New Price: $16.23*
Lowest Used Price: $18.78*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
Graham Watson’s Tour de France Travel Guide lets cycling fans experience all the excitement of the Tour while negotiating its many daily obstacles with the confidence of a local. As cycling’s leading photographer, Graham Watson has been in the right place at the right time during every stage of every Tour de France since 1977. No one knows how to get around the Tour like Graham. Graham shares his 31 years of Tour de France experience in this beautifully illustrated guidebook. Featuring over 200 of his award-winning photographs along with full-color maps, travel tips, checklists, and travel resources, this book presents a fresh and unique strategy for getting around the Tour’s many opportunities for frustration to find a front-row seat for all the action. Learn where to eat, where to sleep, how to get around, how to see and photograph the race, and how to enjoy the greatest show on two wheels. |
|
By Phil Liggett & Sammarye Lewis
For Dummies
Paperback (287 pages)
 | List Price: $16.99*
Lowest New Price: $8.55*
Lowest Used Price: $6.99*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
A plain-English guide to the world's most famous-and grueling-bicycle race Featuring eight-pages of full-color photos from recent Tour de France races, this easy-to-follow, entertaining guide demystifies the history, strategy, rules, techniques, equipment, and competitors in what is arguably the most grueling and intriguing multiday, multistage sporting event in the world. Cowritten by the most popular English-speaking cycling commentator on the planet, this book is great reading for both experienced and the new bicycle racing fans alike. |
|
By Christopher S. Thompson
University of California Press
Paperback (406 pages)
 | List Price: $18.95*
Lowest New Price: $11.80*
Lowest Used Price: $8.85*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
In this highly original history of the world's most famous bicycle race, Christopher S. Thompson, mining previously neglected sources and writing with infectious enthusiasm for his subject, tells the compelling story of the Tour de France from its creation in 1903 to the present. Weaving the words of racers, politicians, Tour organizers, and a host of other commentators together with a wide-ranging analysis of the culture surrounding the event--including posters, songs, novels, films, and media coverage--Thompson links the history of the Tour to key moments and themes in French history. Examining the enduring popularity of Tour racers, Thompson explores how their public images have changed over the past century. A new preface explores the long-standing problem of doping in light of recent scandals. |
|
By Serge Laget
Carlton Books
Hardcover (64 pages)
 | List Price: $45.00*
Lowest New Price: $24.95*
Lowest Used Price: $34.33*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | - ISBN13: 9781847325501
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Product Description:
This volume in Carlton’s highly successful Treasures series lovingly celebrates the greatest test of endurance in the sporting world: the Tour de France. With a foreword by Tour legend Bernard Hinault and more than 275 archival photographs, The Official Treasures: Le Tour de France presents an authoritative account of each major era in the sport (including the 2009 Tour), as well as features on the superstars and 40 facsimile items of rare of memorabilia from the past 105 years. |
|
By Pamela Pease
Paintbox Press, LLC
Hardcover (20 pages; 1)
 | List Price: $36.00*
Lowest New Price: $21.25*
Lowest Used Price: $21.00*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
The story of one of sport’s most amazing events—the Tour de France—is told in both words and images in this impressively vibrant pop-up history. Invoking the sense of freedom and adventure that cycling brings to people of all ages, this visual chronicle uses eight intricate, colorful 3-D scenes to illustrate the unique traditions, strategies, and heroism of the annual quest for the yellow jersey. Pop-up scenes tracing the development of the bicycle through history, a revolving wheel explaining the roles of various team members and racing officials, and a map of France that tracks the Tour’s progress all encourage readers to embark on a journey of discovery. |
|
By Dave Shields
Three Story Press
Paperback (214 pages)
 | List Price: $14.95*
Lowest New Price: $1.99*
Lowest Used Price: $0.01*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
The white-knuckle pace of a bicycle race drives this novel about a young American's opportunity to compete in the Tour de France. Complex relationships with teammates, personal and professional obstacles, and a terrible disaster cause the young cyclist to redefine his limits. An insider's perspective on the world of professional bicycle racing reveals that the required tactics and skills create a culture in which pain is the ultimate currency and endurance is the most powerful force. The intense pressure the competitors experience offers an instructive look at personal formation beyond the sports world. |
|
By Bill Strickland
Crown
Released: 2010-06-15
Hardcover (320 pages)
 | List Price: $25.99*
Lowest New Price: $13.99*
Lowest Used Price: $10.90*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:02 Pacific 1 Aug 2010 More Info)
Click Here | - ISBN13: 9780307589842
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Product Description:
Lance Armstrong is a worldwide icon, indisputably one of the greatest cyclists who has ever lived. After battling cancer and becoming an inspiration to millions, Armstrong won the Tour de France a record-breaking seven consecutive years before retiring from competition in 2005.
Four years later, at thirty-seven, Armstrong decided to come out of retirement and go for the win yet again. He was racing for no salary, in a season when his greatest rival--Tour de France, Tour of Italy, and Tour of Spain champion Alberto Contador--was on his own team. The twenty-five-year-old Spaniard had been handpicked by Armstrong's own mentor, Johan Bruyneel, to be his successor. Now he would be his fiercest competition. Armstrong was about to suffer like never before--and, for the first time in recent memory, appear to be human on a bicycle.
After seven Tour victories--and beating cancer--did Lance Armstrong really need to prove anything? Beyond the thrill of another possible victory, what drove him to race again? What was he seeking--and would he find it?
Cycling insider Bill Strickland had unprecedented access to Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel, and the team. He takes readers behind the scenes during the 2009 racing season and along for the ride on the Tour de France with a dramatic mile-by-mile account. Offering a penetrating and candid glimpse into the man behind the myth, Tour de Lance goes beyond a single season or a single race to reveal the heart of the sport and the soul of the cyclist. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|