The South Downs is a mountain biker's paradise. Thousands of kilometres of well-maintained byways and bridleways can be combined to create seemingly inexhaustible route combinations. The 26 routes in this book are graded (blue, red and black) for a range of abilities, and grouped into 6 sections: The South Downs Way National Trail (the whole route described in 3 stages) and routes around Winchester, Chichester and Petersfield, Arundel and Worthing, Brighton and Lewes and Eastbourne. They range from 14km to 57km in length and up to 95% off road, providing plenty of challenge for any mountain biker. Many tracks traverse well-drained chalk downland, providing superlative off-road conditions for much of the year. All routes are clearly illustrated on OS maps with numbered stages linking the route descriptions to maps. Extensive information is also included on facilities and services, including bike shops and mechanics, cafes, pubs and food shops, accommodation and transport links and tips on bike gear and preparation.

Whether you are a recreational cyclist, a bicycle racer or a triathlete, 101 Cycling Workouts is a must-have guide to help take your cycling to a new level. Rejuvenate and refresh your cycling training with a wide variety of workouts you've never thought of before. Add challenge to your training by trying new workouts that will develop you into a better and more fit cyclist. These workouts will add depth to your training by working on all the physiological systems of a complete cycling training program, including endurance, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, strength, speed and power. Additional non-cycling workouts and gym workouts are included to supplement your training on the bike. Use these workouts to train harder, smarter and more efficiently by making the most of your vital training time.

An ode to Alberic 'Briek' Schotte, the godfather of all flandriens. The heroes of the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix are tough and determined. The Flemings specialise in riding on bad roads and in bad weather. This set of photos provides an intimate and emotional portrait of these legendary athletes, landscapes and the Flemish culture. Stephan Vanfleteren has been photographing cycling races in Belgium and its surrounding areas for more than 15 years already. With more than 100 images, carefully selected by photographer Stephan Vanfleteren.

This is the remarkable story of The Maindy Flyers, a cycling club in Cardiff which has nurtured a string of elite riders such as Elinor Barker, Luke Rowe, Owain Doull, and 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, and has produced more Olympic gold medallists since 2008 than France. In the early 1990s, when no cycling club for children existed in Wales, The Maindy Flyers was established with the sole aim of providing a fun and safe environment for young cyclists and to utilise a once derelict track in the city. Despite minimal funding and equipment, the club's talented and passionate coaches quickly created an unbeatable team spirit that attracted children from across Cardiff who just loved riding bikes and enjoyed making friends. Producing elite cyclists was not the intention. Of interest to all followers of cycling, particularly coaches and leaders of junior cycling clubs everywhere, the key characters who created The Maindy Flyers share their experiences and provide a step-by-step guide to establishing a cycling club. Written by Cardiff-based cycling enthusiast Juan Dickinson and published with the full co-operation and support of the club, The Maindy Flyers - with over 100 photographs, many previously unseen - reveals the struggles and difficulties to set up and maintain the club, and explains how it overcame many challenges, internal and external, to became the world's most successful cycling club.

'I pulled off my glasses and wiped my eyes. "That was perhaps the last race of my career..."' Deep down, Mark Cavendish thought he was finished. After illness, setbacks and clinical depression, the once fastest man in the world had been written off by most. And at the age of 36, even he believed his explosive cycling career would fade out with a whimper. The Manxman hadn't won a single Grand Tour stage in Italy, Spain or France since 2016. But then came his incredible resurrection at the 2021 Tour de France. Included on the Deceuninck Quick-Step team at the very last minute, only after Sam Bennett suffered an injury, Mark set about rewriting history. He claimed back the green jersey he first wore in 2011, and his four stage victories finally saw him matching Belgian legend Eddy Merckx's all-time record of 34 Tour de France stage wins. Cycling greats are never content, and Cav's dogged determination and inner strength had earned him the record that few believed he could ever achieve. This is his own intimate account of that race, right from the saddle of the miracle tour.

This classic, once hard-to-find travelogue recalls one of the very first around-the-world bicycle treks. Filled with rarely matched feats of endurance and determination, Around the World on a Bicycle tells of a young cyclist's ever-changing and maturing worldview as he ventures through forty countries on the eve of World War II. It is an exuberant, youthful account, harking back to a time when the exploits of Richard Byrd, Amelia Earhart, and other adventurers stirred the popular imagination. In 1935 Fred A. Birchmore left the small American town of Athens, Georgia, to continue his college studies in Europe. In his spare time, Birchmore toured the continent on a one-speed bike he called Bucephalus (after the name of Alexander the Great's horse). A born wanderer, Birchmore broadened his travels to include the British Isles and even the Mediterranean. After a lengthy, unplanned detour in Egypt, Birchmore put his studies on hold, pointed Bucephalus eastward, and just kept going. From desert valleys to frozen peaks, from palace promenades to muddy jungle trails, Birchmore saw it all on his eighteen-month, twenty-five-thousand-mile odyssey. Some of the people he encountered had never seen a bike - or, for that matter, an Anglo-European. As a good travel experience should, Birchmore's trip changed his outlook on strangers. Always daring, outgoing, and energetic, he now saw an innate goodness in people. In between bone-breaking spills, wild animal attacks, and privation of all kinds, Birchmore learned that he had little to fear from human encounters. That he traveled through a world on the brink of global war makes this lesson even more remarkable - and timeless.

What is it really like to be a racer? What is it like to be swept along at 60kmh in the middle of the pack? What happens to the body during a high-speed chute? What tactics must teams employ to win the day, the jersey, the grand tour? What sacrifices must a cyclist make to reach the highest levels? What is it like on the bus? In the hotels? What camaraderie is built in the confines of a team? What rivalries? How does it feel to be constantly on the road, away from loved ones, tasting one more calorie-counted hotel breakfast? David Millar offers us a unique insight into the mind of a professional cyclist during his last year before retirement. Over the course of a season on the World Tour, Millar puts us in touch with the sights, smells and sounds of the sport. This is a book about youth and age, fresh-faced excitement and hard-earned experience. It is a love letter to cycling. 'Cycling has always been about a great deal more than its winners, and The Racer is quite a ride' Spectator

Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape is the astonishing biography of French cycling star Jacques Anquetil. For the first time since his death in 1987, it reveals the extraordinary truth behind the legend, the man and the cyclist. His list of 'firsts' alone makes him worthy of a place in the cycling pantheon: the first man to win the Tour de France five times; the first man to win all three grand tours - the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana; and the first man to win both the Tour and Vuelta in the same year. However, the extraordinary life of Anquetil does not stop at his achievements on a bike. He candidly admitted to using drugs, offended legions of fans by confessing that his only motivation for riding was financial and infamously indulged his enthusiasm for the high life. He also seduced and married his doctor's wife, had a child with her daughter and then sustained a menage a trois with both wife and stepdaughter under the same roof for 12 years. When this 'family' eventually imploded, he attempted to inspire jealousy in his former lovers by having a child with his stepson's ex-wife. Containing exclusive contributions from Anquetil's family, friends, teammates and rivals, Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape untangles myth from reality and confirms that fact is definitely stranger than fiction.

"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"
"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 original autobiography of Bradley Wiggins, the first British rider to have won the Tour de France and a record-equalling seven-time Olympic medallist. 'The autobiography of one of British cycling's true greats is an authentic account of hard knocks, tough times and a surprising amount of alcohol' TIME OUT Bradley Wiggins is a British sporting legend. Not only has he won seven World Track Championships and a record-equalling seven Olympic medals, including double-gold in Beijing in 2008 and gold in the time trial in London in 2012, he is the first Briton to have won cycling's ultimate prize, the Tour de France. He is an immensely talented and dedicated endurance athlete with a gritty, down-to-earth persona - cool, outspoken, respected, inspiring - and he has helped to bring track and road cycling to a new audience in the UK. With new material by Brendan Gallagher, co-author of the original edition, this is the story of a boy with bikes in his blood, of a son abandoned by his father and of the journey from council estate to the very pinnacle of the sport. IN PURSUIT OF GLORY is a compelling, no-holds-barred account of Wiggins' rise to global success and an extraordinary insight into the world of cycling.

At fifty-four, Alenka was running out of time to follow through on a dream she’d written down in her pocket-size Rumi book just after her first marriage crumbled. Years later, as she slowly rebuilt her life with her second husband, things started spiraling out of control. The only way she knew how to heal and connect all painful parts of her life was by riding her bike, and she didn’t want to have regrets. But was she brave enough to embark on an unknown path and risk losing everything . . . perhaps even her own life? Determined to awaken her dying spirit and heal her battered body, Alenka loaded her mountain bike with 50 pounds’ worth of camping gear and set off on a 2,500-mile journey. Starting in Lake Tahoe California, she hoped to ride along the Sierra Nevada Mountain range to the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, following remote mountain trails. Alone. What followed was an irrevocably transformational journey of love, hope, courage, and resilience—and here, Alenka tells that story in a voice stripped of self-pity and infused with a good dose of humor. She Rides is a galvanizing wake-up call for anyone who wants to unearth and follow their own deeply buried dreams—and reclaim their life.

Push until it hurts, then push some more Even by the standards of a sport that requires enormous stamina and capacity for suffering, Jens Voigt is in a class on his own. Beloved by cycling fans for his madcap one-man breakaways as much as his sense of humour and quotable catchphrases, Jens is one of the most popular personalities in cycling. Jens was born near Hamburg, and came up through the East German system before the Wall came down. He got into the national team through the German army, before signing for his first big team. In many ways he is cycling's anti-star; despite arguably spending more time at the front of the Tour de France than any other rider he has only worn the yellow jersey twice as his efforts have always been in the service of others. Jens embodies the best of cycling's qualities - loyalty to his team, sacrifice, and devotion to the sport. He says, 'I'm not a head person, I'm more of a heart and guts guy. That's how I race.' Shut Up Legs is a funny, insightful and entertaining look at the tough realities of professional cycling, told in Jens's trademark irreverent and inimitable style.

A wickedly funny and life-affirming coming-of-age roadtrip story - winner of France's biggest prize for teen and YA fiction Mireille, Astrid and Hakima have just been voted the three ugliest girls in school by their classmates on Facebook. But does that mean they're going to sit around crying about it?... Well, maybe a little, but not for long! Climbing onto their bikes, the friends set off on a summer roadtrip to Paris. The girls will find fame, friendship and happiness on their journey, and still have time to eat a mountain of food (and drink the odd glass of wine) along the way. But will they really be able to leave all their troubles behind? Piglettes is a hilarious, beautiful and uplifting story of three girls who are determined not to let online bullying get them down.

The Cyclist's Training Bible is the bestselling and most comprehensive guide for aspiring and experienced cyclists. Joe Friel is the most trusted coach in the world and his proven cycling training program has helped hundreds of thousands find success in the sport. Joe has completely rewritten this new 5th Edition of The Cyclist's Training Bible to incorporate new training principles and help athletes train smarter than ever. The Cyclist's Training Bible equips cyclists of all abilities with every detail they must consider when planning a season, lining up a week of workouts, or preparing for race day. With this all-new edition, Joe will guide you to develop your own personalized cycling training program and: Train with the right intensity and volume Gain maximum fitness from every workout Change your training plan over the course of the season Make up for missed workouts and avoid overtraining Build muscular endurance with a new approach to strength training Improve body composition with smarter nutrition The Cyclist's Training Bible is the world's most trusted guide to cycling training. Get stronger, smarter, and faster with this newest version of the bible of the sport. What's New in this fifth edition of The Cyclist's Training Bible? Coach Joe Friel started writing the fifth edition of The Cyclist's Training Bible with a blank page: the entire book is new. This new edition adds emphasis to personalizing training plans, incorporates new power meter techniques, improves on ways to develop technique, updates the strength training approach, speeds recovery for busy athletes, and cuts through the noisy volume of training data to focus athletes on the numbers that mean the most to better performance.

The must-have encyclopedia for all Tour de France fans. Celebrating the centenary of cycling's most iconic award, The Official Encyclopedia of the Yellow Jersey is a visually stunning and comprehensive look at all the wearers of the 'maillot jaune'. In this book, acclaimed L'Equipe journalists Philippe Bouvet and Frederique Galametz bring to life the 100-year history of spectacular sporting achievement, covering incredible stories from the 'Hall of Fame' including five-time winner Miguel Indurain, and statistics on the yellow jersey, the 266 race leaders who have worn it and much more. This book includes: - A preface from 11-time Grand Tour winner, Eddy Merckx - A look at the rise of the British reign since 2012, with Wiggins, Froome and Thomas - All the official statistics established by L'Equipe (the no.1 French sports newspaper) and used by the Tour de France, from the yellow jersey winners by country, to the 'National Firsts' - the first riders from each nation to wear the yellow jersey - Photographs and biographies of all the successive yellow jersey wearers over the past 100 years, from the first wearer, Eugene Christophe, to the 2018 Tour de France and yellow jersey winner, Geraint Thomas The perfect guide for all those with a passion for sport.

From 2015 to 2017, Peter Sagan achieved the seemingly impossible: he won three road race World Championships in a row, ensuring his entry into the history books as one of the greatest riders of all time.

But to look at Peter’s record in isolation is to tell only a fraction of his story, because Peter doesn’t just win: he entertains. Every moment in the saddle is an opportunity to express his personality, and nobody else has succeeded in making elite cycling look so much fun. From no-hands wheelies on the slopes of Mont Ventoux to press conference mischief with clamouring journalists, Peter exudes a passion for the sport and a lovable desire to bring smiles to the faces of his fans.

So, for the very first time, you will have the opportunity to glimpse behind the scenes of Peter’s world. You will discover the gruelling training programmes necessary for success, and how Peter copes with the pressure of high expectation. You will feel that sense of elation when crossing the line ahead of the pack, and moments of desperation, like in 2017 when Peter realised he wouldn’t be allowed to challenge for his sixth Tour de France green jersey. But what better tonic than to ensure a third year in rainbow – an achievement which may never be repeated again.

Curves is the ultimate high-quality journeyman's magazine. Produced with love and aimed at all who drive, bike or cycle with passion, it encapsulates the joy of the open road. It is a magazine for those who see planning a journey as an act of celebration: people who are prepared to shake off their shackles and live their dreams. It is designed for the devotees and dreamers who experience the drive in their mind's eye before even embarking on the real-life adventure. This volume focuses on Scotland: its meandering roads, its hilly heights, the breathtaking bleakness of its countryside. Text in English and German.

The Tour de France is a race like no other, so perhaps it's no surprise that it attracts racers like no other. The winner of the second Tour actually came fifth - but the four racers before him were disqualified for cheating. The 1932 champion credits his win with saving him from capture by the Nazis, as the soldiers recognised him from the podium. One of Britain's best cyclists of the modern era only got into European racing by forging an email. Tour de France Champions is a journey to the summit of cycling, looking at those who have taken on the roads and mountains of France to prevail above all others and win cycling's greatest prize. Giles Belbin presents the stories of all those who have claimed the original and greatest Grand Tour, the one race that still transcends the sport of cycling: the Tour de France.

The Time-Crunched Cyclist reveals the fastest way to get fit for road racing, century rides, gravel grinders, cyclocross, Gran Fondos, and mountain bike events. With elite cycling coach Chris Carmichael's innovative, time-saving approach, busy cyclists will develop fitness, speed, and power in just 6 hours a week. Now powered by Strava, this updated third edition of The Time-Crunched Cyclist training program taps into the most popular cycling social network to help cyclists get fired up to crush their workouts, one segment at a time. Through his popular endurance coaching service, Carmichael noticed that many busy cyclists are unable to make performance gains using conventional training methods; they simply don't have enough time to train. So CTS developed a new approach-the Time-Crunched Training Program-to help cyclists achieve competitive fitness and power without the impossible time demands of traditional training methods. The Time-Crunched Cyclist shows cyclists how to build fitness on a realistic schedule by tapping the power of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts. Cyclists learn the science behind this alternative approach to training before performing the CTS field tests to get a baseline reading of their fitness. Nine comprehensive training plans include effective time-crunched workouts, nutrition guidelines, and strength training to develop the speed and endurance for a wide variety of cycling races and events. The new Time-Crunched Training Plans cover: * New and Experienced plans for criteriums, road races, and cyclocross * New, Experienced, and Competitive plans for century rides and Gran Fondos * Gravel racing and ultraendurance mountain biking plans * Intermediate and Advanced plans for commuters This new, third edition integrates Strava, the popular ride tracking and analysis program. Powered by Strava, the Time-Crunched program becomes interactive, social, highly motivating-and focuses riders on the training data that matters most. It also adds the Time-Crunched Diet, a sports nutrition approach designed to help riders optimize their power-to-weight ratio with new guidelines on eating behaviors and delicious recipes from chefs Michael Chiarello and Matt Accarrino. A new chapter on hydration and managing heat stress will show athletes simple ways to avoid overheating that lead to better performance. The Time-Crunched Cyclist can help you capture your best performance-all in the time you have right now.

The only guidebook to one of the world's premier long-distance mountain bike trails * Mountain bikers from around the world test their mettle on this 2,745-mile route each year * Ultra cycling, including this route through the Rockies, are increasing in popularity * 245 miles have been added to the route since the first edition was published and are now covered in this new update Mostly dirt roads, a little pavement, some single track, and 100% adventure await on the great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Canada to Mexico. Cyclists dream of and plan for this life-list trip that starts in Banff, Alberta and rolls through 2,745 miles of wild mountainous beauty all the way to antelope Wells, New Mexico. Michael McCoy and the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) provide a segmented route guide for you to follow in its entirety or section ride to suit your schedule and stamina. This fully updated edition provides the information you need to stay on route and find food, water, bike supplies, and shelter (camp or stay in small-town accommodations) over the entire adventure. Updated content in the 2nd edition includes info on the 254 miles in Canada that were recently added to the route (with maps and photos), as well as changes and additions to the evolving trail, new resources to access on your trip, and new and revised maps.

Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2022 WINNER OF THE TIMES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 A TIMES BEST SPORTS BOOK OF 2022 A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SPORTS BOOK OF 2022 A WATERSTONES BEST SPORTS BOOK OF 2022 A DAILY MAIL SPORTS BOOK OF 2022 Cyclist Beryl Burton - also known as BB - dominated her sport much as her male contemporary Eddy Merckx, but with a longevity that surpasses even sporting legends like Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams and Sir Steve Redgrave. She was practically invincible in time trials, finishing as Best All-Rounder for 25 consecutive years and setting a world record in 1967 for the distance covered in 12 hours that beat the men. She won multiple world titles, even when the distances didn't play to her strengths. But her achievements were limited by discrimination from the cycling authorities, and by her strictly amateur status against state-sponsored rivals from Eastern Bloc nations. Yet she carried on winning, beating men and - infamously - competing against her own daughter, while working on a farm and running a household. Her motivation, sparked by appalling childhood illness, is as fascinating as her achievements are stunning. With access to previously unseen correspondence and photographs, and through extensive interviews with family, friends, rivals and fellow giants from across sport, acclaimed journalist Jeremy Wilson peels back the layers to reveal one of the most complex, enigmatic and compelling characters in cycling history. For the first time, he also provides the jaw-dropping answer to how fast she would still be on modern cycling technology. Long ignored by sporting history, Burton's life story - recently told by Maxine Peake in a stage and radio play - is finally getting the recognition she deserves.

The NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Second Edition is based on the experience of the best cycling cities in the world. The designs in this book were developed by cities for cities, since unique urban streets require innovative solutions. To create the Guide, the authors conducted an extensive worldwide literature search from design guidelines and real-life experience. They worked closely with a panel of urban cycleway planning professionals from NACTO member cities and from numerous other cities worldwide, as well as traffic engineers, planners, and academics with deep experience in urban cycleway applications. The Guide offers substantive guidance for cities seeking to improve bicycle transportation in places where competing demands for the use of the right of way present unique challenges. Each of the treatments addressed in the Guide offers three levels of guidance: Required: elements for which there is a strong consensus that the treatment cannot be implemented without; Recommended: elements for which there is a strong consensus of added value; and, Optional: elements that vary across cities and may add value depending on the situation. First and foremost, the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Second Edition will help practitioners make good decisions about urban cycleway design. The treatments outlined in the Guide are based on real-life experience in the world's most bicycle friendly cities and have been selected because of their utility in helping cities meet their goals related to bicycle transportation. The Guide is an indispensable tool every planner must have for their daily transportation design work.