Blazing Saddles: The Cruel & Unusual History of the Tour de France - Hardcover

Rendell, Matt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1934030252 ISBN 13: 9781934030257

Publisher: Velo Press, 2008

Synopsis

For more than a century, the Tour de France has captured the world’s imagination as the ultimate test of man’s strength and willpower. Blazing Saddles is a riotous tale of the inspiring and sometimes astonishing history of cycling’s most famous race and its whimsical mishaps and astounding feats.

Award-winning sports writer Matt Rendell plunges into “La Grande Boucle,” describing everything from the clothing of the first Tour winner (white blazer, black trousers, wool socks) to the earliest method of cheating (riding the train). Blazing Saddles recounts the famous rivalries and riders that contested the Tour, setting the score straight with complete records of every podium finisher. Rendell’s vivid storytelling is complemented with more than one hundred classic black and white photographs, portraying cycling’s heroes and martyrs from Jacques Anquetil to Lance Armstrong.

Fans young and old will marvel at this delightful compilation of cycling’s greatest capers and most amazing superstars.

About this title

About the Author:

Rendell survived Hodgkin's Disease and lecturing at British and Latvian universities before entering TV and print journalism.

Review:

"A concise and thrilling year-by-year history of the Tour de France. Blazing Saddles is great for road race buffs, but it's also perfect for anyone with even a passing interest in the Tour." --Out There Monthly

-- Out There Monthly, June, 2008

"This book earned Podium Cafe's first ever five-star rating! Blazing Saddles takes a brief look at each edition of the Tour and tries to ferret out a story or two that adds color to the sport. Call it 92 stories about the Tour de France, if you will. The book's essential value lies in bringing many of these lost stories back to life. Rendell carefully picks out those stories which lend both color and insight into the world's greatest race and the utterly abnormal people destined to ride it." --PodiumCafe.com -- PodiumCafe.com, June, 2008

About this edition

• Publisher: Velo Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1934030252
• ISBN 13: 9781934030257
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 303