Riding in the Zone Rouge (Paperback)

Tom Isitt

ISBN 10: 1409171159 / ISBN 13: 9781409171157

Published by Orion Publishing Co, London, 2020

About this Item

Paperback. 'An evocatively thoughtful wider history of the race, the war and the peace' GUARDIAN'Occasionally funny and regularly poignant, brilliantly focused in its research . . . His drive, wit and curiosity inform Zone Rouge . . . gently profound and genuinely moving' HERALDThe Circuit des Champs de Bataille (the Tour of the Battlefields) was held in 1919, less than six months after the end of the First World War. It covered 2,000 kilometres and was raced in appalling conditions across the battlefields of the Western Front, otherwise known as the Zone Rouge. The race was so tough that only 21 riders finished, and it was never staged again. With one of the most demanding routes ever to feature in a bicycle race, and plagued by appalling weather conditions, the Circuit des Champs de Bataille was beyond gruelling, but today its extraordinary story is largely forgotten. Many of the riders came to the event straight from the army and had to ride 18-hour stages through sleet and snow across the battlefields on which they had fought, and lost friends and family, only a few months before. But in addition to the hellish conditions there were moments of high comedy, even farce. The rediscovered story of the Circuit des Champs de Bataille is an epic tale of human endurance, suffering and triumph over extreme adversity. The true story of the toughest bicycle race ever staged, the Circuit des Champs de Bataille (the Tour of the Battlefields)'An evocatively thoughtful wider history of the race, the war and the peace' GUARDIAN Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781409171157

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Riding in the Zone Rouge (Paperback)
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Co, London
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1409171159
• ISBN 13: 9781409171157
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

'An evocatively thoughtful wider history of the race, the war and the peace' GUARDIAN

'Occasionally funny and regularly poignant, brilliantly focused in its research . . . His drive, wit and curiosity inform Zone Rouge . . . gently profound and genuinely moving' HERALD

The Circuit des Champs de Bataille (the Tour of the Battlefields) was held in 1919, less than six months after the end of the First World War. It covered 2,000 kilometres and was raced in appalling conditions across the battlefields of the Western Front, otherwise known as the Zone Rouge. The race was so tough that only 21 riders finished, and it was never staged again.

With one of the most demanding routes ever to feature in a bicycle race, and plagued by appalling weather conditions, the Circuit des Champs de Bataille was beyond gruelling, but today its extraordinary story is largely forgotten. Many of the riders came to the event straight from the army and had to ride 18-hour stages through sleet and snow across the battlefields on which they had fought, and lost friends and family, only a few months before. But in addition to the hellish conditions there were moments of high comedy, even farce.

The rediscovered story of the Circuit des Champs de Bataille is an epic tale of human endurance, suffering and triumph over extreme adversity.

About the Author

Tom Isitt is a photo journalist specialising in cycling, boating, adventure-sports and travel. He has been editor of various sporting magazines, including Motorcycle International, Sports Boat & RIB and Motor Boat & Yachting. He has written freelance for GQ, Roleur magazine, and a host of boat and motorcycle magazines around the world. Riding in the Zone Rouge is his first book.