Ce récit raconte les aventures de deux cyclistes quinquagénaires, Francis et Gilbert, surnommé l'Aveugle et le Paralytique par autodérision, survenues en 1997 lors d'un tour complet de la France, en toute autonomie et en (presque) parfaite complicité.Ce grand voyage de vingt-trois jours est le premier volet de la saga de ces deux aventuriers, qui se poursuivra par une Grande Diagonale d'Europe de Vienne à Lisbonne en 2000, par une autre de Copenhague à Malaga en 2002 et par une Diagonale européenne de Brest à Inverness (et retour à bicyclette) en 2003.
Collection of papers and essays concerning the development of Canadian society. Includes a chapter on the gold rush society of British Columbia and the Yukon.
REVIEWS This is unquestionably the finest book ever written on the subject of cycling, bar none. the combination of the late Geoffrey Nicholson's (he died in 1999) observations, coupled with an impeccable writing style, make “the great bike race” almost a complete education in and of itself " — The Washing-Machine Post
“This is sports fiction at its very best. Mr. Hurne has a cool, downbeat style descended from Lardner and Hemingway, and a fine hand with the hairpin turns of suspense.” —The New York Times Book Review “The greatest cycling novel ever written. . . . An underground classic. . . . A cycling book that follows a different course—one with drama and characters you can relate to, whose actions raise questions about life on and off the bicycle. . . . The heart of The Yellow Jersey is the Tour de France itself, which Hurne views as a metaphor for life. . . . Thoroughly entertaining.” —Bicycling “Full of wit, charm, excitement, and intelligence.” —Publishers Weekly Terry Davenport is nearly washed up. After a career of good but never great bicycle racing in Europe, he is past his prime, and given lately to chasing women rather than leading the pack through the Alps. He contemplates how he might find a comfortable retirement, and is wallowing in an existential crisis. But his final Tour de France—which he rides only as a favor to his young protegé, to pace him through the early stages—develops by a series of accidents into the chance of a lifetime. And though Davenport is old, he is wily and tough and fearless. His arduous, painful, heroic performance in the face of impossible odds is unforgettable. A sports thriller—with stunning descriptions of competitive cycling—and a keen meditation on mortality, The Yellow Jersey is an extraordinary novel.
“Greg LeMond was Lance Armstrong before Lance Armstrong . . . the story of a true hero . . . This is a must read if you believe in miracles.”―John Feinstein, New York Times–bestselling author In July 1986, Greg LeMond stunned the sporting world by becoming the first American to win the Tour de France, the world’s pre-eminent bicycle race, defeating French cycling legend Bernard Hinault. Nine months later, LeMond lay in a hospital bed, his life in peril after a hunting accident, his career as a bicycle racer seemingly over. And yet, barely two years after this crisis, LeMond mounted a comeback almost without parallel in professional sports. In summer 1989, he again won the Tour—arguably the world’s most grueling athletic contest—by the almost impossibly narrow margin of 8 seconds over another French legend, Laurent Fignon. It remains the closest Tour de France in history. “[A] blend of chaos, kindness and cruelty typifies the scenes that journalist de Visé brings to life in this sympathetic-verging-on-reverential retelling of LeMond’s trailblazing career (first American to enter the tour, first to win it) . . . As an author in quest of his protagonist’s motivation, [de Visé] subjects it to extreme torque.”—The Washington Post “A great book . . . Well written and thoroughly researched . . . Engrossing and hard to put down. If you’re a Greg LeMond fan, The Comeback is a must read because it’s a detailed accounting of his career and―more importantly―his life and person off the bike. It’s also an important reminder that American cycling did not begin and end with Lance Armstrong.”—PEZ
"Shows that sport has been for us moderns the ultimate tabula rasa into which we pour our hopes, fears, prejudices and self-interest."—Robert A. Nye, author of Crime, Madness, & Politics in Modern France and Masculinity and Male Codes of Honor in Modern France "A true gem of a book. A terrific scholar and an engaging writer."—Dean MacCannell, author of The Tourist and Empty Meeting Grounds "A major new interpretation of France's most famous sporting event. For the first time the Tour de France has been fully and carefully placed within the wider context of French history."—Richard Holt, author of Sport and Society in Modern France and Sport and the British "Chris Thompson has written an engaging, nicely-paced account of France's world-famous cycle race: his writing is lively and full of detail and excitement. But he has done much more than simply narrate the story of the Tour. His book sets the race—its history, its participants and its meaning—firmly in its shifting national and cultural contexts. The sections dealing with professional cycling as a form of labor and with the Tour's place in France's troubled twentieth century are absolutely first-rate: insightful and original. This is the best history of the Tour that we have and are likely to have for many years, a work of scholarship that deserves to find a broad general readership."—Tony Judt, author of Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945
The Tour de France is one of the most prestigious and physically challenging sporting events in the world and is the jewel in professional cycling's crown. This pocket-sized miscellany is packed with the Tour's most memorable moments, with curious facts, amazing anecdotes and intriguing statistics from over a century of unforgettable racing.
