Tour de france mountains book

A guide to the famous mountains of the giro ditalia and beyond 30. A tour that starts from the south of france is rare enough to allow the riders to immediately take off ovn an adventure in selective mountains. In the middle of the book is a fun 6 page section the spectators guide to a day in the mountains. The result is a little different to the other books. While the summit is rarely used for stage finishes, the 6,500foot ascent is as brutal as any on the tour. Indeed the menu of the opening week distinguishes itself by its diversity and a large part of mountain climbing without however just focusing on the usual great passes. This little books gives the reader a good idea of the nature of the climbs. The most famous mountains are those in the horscategorie hc, which are peaks where the. This book takes a look at the long history of mountain stages in the tour and the important role theyve played in the careers of the eventual tour winners.

This is all illustrated with a mixture of photos and new technology satellite images. They have witnessed triumph and despair, courage and. The title is a pun bike wheels go round, revolutions, in france. Ventoux, galibier, tourmalet names to strike fear into the pelotons heart. Well ride from the hotel and head along a beautiful rolling road through the foothills of the bauges mountains to albertville. A cyclists guide to riding the mountains of the tour. If the surface is very poor, like some of the more obscure climbs in the pyrenees, then the rating may be bumped up. Over the course of 21 days, usually in july, cyclists cover a race course extending 3,500 kilometers. The book is divided into three chapters, covering the classic climbs of the alps, the pyrenees and the rest of france respectively. Of the climbs that ive ridden, i found the route descriptions to be accurate, including the allimportant gradients at each stage of the climb. He doesnt really stick to stories about rides up or down that mountain, or even to stories involving the tour. The book is illustrated with historic photographs printed in duotone.

The history, the legend,the riders by graeme fife is a comprehensive tour history from one of britains leading cycling writers. Ballon dalsace, vosges mountains the ascent of the ballon dalsace was one of the most. Eddy merckx, bernhard hinault, miguel indurain and jacques anquetil. The route took in everything that makes cycling such an exciting sport cobbles, sprint stages, summit finish in alpe dhuez, dust road, explosive 65 kilometres stage in the pyrenees, hilly time trial, and the queen stage over the aspin, tourmalet and aubisque. Jacques, about the life of frances cycling legend jacques anquetil, was published in 2001. Pater sagan holds the record for green jersey wins with seven.

The leader of the classification is named the king of the mountains, and since 1975 wears the polka dot jersey french. Anquetil pulled off the unthinkable in 1961 when he held the yellow jersey from the first day of the race right up until the end. By 1910 the organizers who were rather sadistic had decided to make the racers drag themselves across the pyrenees and the rest is history. This illustrated book looks at the scenic beauty of the mountain stages and at the men who have competed on them throughout the history of the tour. Technology may advance, training and diet may evolve, but these mountains are constant. Bike tours, cycling tours, bicycling tours from thomson. Besides, the mountains make the most dramatic backdrops for those battles. Richard yates is a bicycle sports writer who has reported on the sport for many years for various english and frenchlanguage publications. From the col du tourmalet to alpe dhuez, from mont ventoux to luz ardiden, these climbs. He intersperses some of his own touring experiences with passionate, breathless descriptions of heroic performances.