Starting from pre-tour times at the turn of the 20th century, Wheatcroft analysing the invention of the bicycle and its effect on society not just in France but across the world.
The author proceeds to detail the events that led to the inauguration of the first tour and the importance of Henri Desgrange, the editor of the French paper Auto, who went on to run the race until he took ill in the mid 1930's.
The impact of the Tour on competitive bike racing is thoroughly examined as it transformed the sport from a day event to a gruelling spectacle which lasted weeks.
Wheatcroft makes a point of mentioning each staging of the race, which could have made the book repetitive. However the book is set nicely into the context of events in the wider world. From world wars to political upheaval in France itself, the book truly feels like a history of the last 110 years.
There are also literary aspects to the book, aswell as additional chapters that focus on individual regions of France which the race runs through, notable Brittany and Savoy. The book is therefore clearly designed to appeal to the wider public as well as to cyclists. However the frequent use of the French language without, in most cases, a translation into English does become slightly irritating.
The evolution of the tour is the main theme of the book, from Desgrange (below) and his leadership of the race, where stages would often take over 30 hours to complete, to the post world two era where teams became the norm and the various jerseys took their modern form up to the present running of the event where every small detail is analysed in finite detail, a far cry from the cavalier approach of the early tour.
Great rivalries of the Tour are explored from Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali to Greg Le Mond and Bernard Hinault aswell as the great champions from the legendary Eddy Merckx to the understated Miguel Indurain.
As the book reaches the mid 1990's the book loses its edge. The last three chapters deal with the biggest scandal of the Tour's history- doping.
Doping is mentioned throughout the book, imparticular when exploring the tragic death of British cyclist Tom Simpson (below) on the ascent on the Mont Ventoux while he was taking performance enhancing drugs. Yet at this stage in the Tour's history doping control were non-existent.
When the book was first released in 2003 to make the 100th anniversary of the first staging of the Tour, Lance Armstrong was the true legend of the sport. Yet since then it has emerged that it was all a big lie, this leaves the author in a incredibly difficult position.
The latest edition of the book is updated for the 2013 tour and the chapter on Armstrong's (below) seven "victories" is heavily re-edited. The chapter does not flow as those that proceed it do but this can be said for the Tour de France itself.
However in the final chapter Wheatcroft reignites the book, with the triumph of the British. From London hosting the opening stage in 2007 to the victories of Mark Cavendish (below) in the green Jersey and Bradley Wiggins in the famous maillot jaune (yellow jersey), the book finds its joie de vivre back at the last.
Wheatcroft, in this history of the tour, has brilliantly paid homage to each edition of the race without the result being a long and tedious account of the world biggest annually sporting event. For this I say bravo!
Hinman rating 84/100
Author- Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Publisher- Simon & Schuster UK
ISBN- 978141128943
Price- Very cheap, (no more than £7/8)
Availability- fairly wide (major bookshops and websites plus specialist retailers)
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