Book description
The first book to cover in detail every major climb ever used in the
Tour de France, including detail on the actual route (with maps and
profile), length, height, list of winners and route descriptions of how
to emulate the King of the Mountains and get from the bottom to the top.
Every year the Tour de France is said to only really start when it
reaches the first mountain stages: the drama of the race only really
begins as the climbers take over in the Pyrenees, Vosges or Alps. The
Tour is also the most famous classic in cycling and draws huge audiences
to the TV and internet coverage (the official web site holds the world
record for number of hits excluding search engines).
But the route of the Tour is not just for professionals. A growing
number of people now take their bikes and actually do a stage of the
Tour (the Etap - for amateurs, which this year attracted 8,000 people to
climb one of the hardest mountain stages in the Tour) or spend a week
doing some of the more notorious climbs (Ventoux - where Tommy Simpson
died in the 50s).
This book is for everyone who watches the Tour and has even the
slightest of an inkling that they'd like to do at least one of the
climbs. Packed with information on each climb, this is the ultimate
guide to the Tour climbs, which will remain important for many years to
come (the Tour only uses a set number of climbs, which they return to
every couple of years).
Contents - Eastern Pyrenees, Central Pyrenees, Western Pyrenees, Vosges
& Jura, Massif & Cevennes, Northern Alps, Central Alps and
Southern Alps Chris Sidwells is a bestselling author, journalist,
photographer and broadcaster; a writer of books, magazine and newspaper
features on every aspect of cycling and fitness.
