It's time we all stopped whining and learned a thing or two from The Toughest Cyclists Ever. Including:

Stephen Roche, whose cure for exhaustion was to go up a gear and fight harder, all the way to the ambulance. Eddy Merckx, who hurt himself so badly in breaking the Hour record that, he estimated, he shortened his career by a year. Beryl Burton, who crushed her (male) rival's morale with the offer of a piece of liquorice, before speeding past to victory. Nicole Cooke and Edwig Van Hooydonck, who rejected dope and became legends.

The Hardmen tells the stories - the good bits, anyway - of the 40 most heroic Cyclists ever. Their bravery, their panache and their Perfect Amount of Dumb.

It reminds us that suffering on a bike liberates us from our daily lives, and that, in the words of Lance Armstrong 'pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever'; proof that even assholes can be insightful.

Le Loop: How to Cycle the Tour de France is the incredible tale of how one man took on the world's toughest bike race. Ceri Stone is an ordinary guy. He wanted to do something extraordinary just once in his life. This book is the exhilarating story of that adventure. He lays out a template for personal success, garnered from some rich life experience, and he puts his theories to the test by cycling Le Loop. Le Loop is an annual charitable event where riders cycle the route of the Tour de France one week before the pros. This is an inspiring adventure for athletes of all levels that proves we can achieve our wildest dreams and laugh along the way. Much like the tour itself, there are extreme highs and lows, and Ceri faces them with a searingly honest sense of reflection and a trivial sense of humour. This story is warm, empowering and leaves you itching to get off your sofa - but with a template to succeed at the same time. Join Ceri in his quest to live a life less ordinary.

Pointing the way to the future of research and development in relation to cycling as a mode of transport, this book investigates some of the significant recent developments in the technology, provision for, and take up of cycling in various parts of the world. Tensions at the heart of the nature of cycling remain: on the one hand cycling is frequently viewed as being a risky activity, while on the other hand it is seen as being a way of allowing populations to live healthier lives. Reviewing this dichotomy, the authors in this book consider the ways that cycling is planned and promoted. This is done partly in relation to these issues of risk and health, but also from the broader perspective of behavioural response to the changing nature of cycling. A section on methodologies is also included which outlines the current state-of-the art and points a way to future research.

The mountains of Europe have many different meanings to many different people. For the locals they are a way of life; for visitors they represent breathtaking beauty, active holidays and peaceful moments. For cyclists, however, the dramatic landscapes mean something quite different: suffering, pain, agony - and glory. For over a century the mountains have provided the setting for the greatest cycling contests, where human determination and willpower can triumph over nature and opponents. In recent years, as cycling's popularity has changed our cities, made us more active and taken us down less-travelled roads, the mountains of Europe have become the primary destination for everyday riders who want to challenge themselves, experience the storied roads and escape their everyday lives. This publication is aimed at all who wish to be inspired by those challenges or celebrate those personal victories. With tributes and personal recollections from leading road cyclists, the photographs and words coalesce into a visual depiction that transcends any single perspective and will inspire awe and wonder in anyone who wishes to confront the power of the mountains.

The inspiring, heart-pumping true story of soldiers turned cyclists and the historic 1919 Tour de France that helped to restore a war-torn country and its people. On June 29, 1919, one day after the Treaty of Versailles brought about the end of World War I, nearly seventy cyclists embarked on the thirteenth Tour de France. From Paris, the war-weary men rode down the western coast on a race that would trace the country's border, through seaside towns and mountains to the ghostly western front. Traversing a cratered postwar landscape, the cyclists faced near-impossible odds and the psychological scars of war. Most of the athletes had arrived straight from the front, where so many fellow countrymen had suffered or died. The cyclists' perseverance and tolerance for pain would be tested in a grueling, monthlong competition. An inspiring true story of human endurance, Sprinting Through No Man's Land explores how the cyclists united a country that had been torn apart by unprecedented desolation and tragedy. It shows how devastated countrymen and women can come together to celebrate the adventure of a lifetime and discover renewed fortitude, purpose, and national identity in the streets of their towns.

Written by the founder of The London School of Cycling. This essential book celebrates how cycling has changed the world - and the wisdom we can glean along the way from life on two wheels. As Einstein once said, 'life is like riding a bicycle'. In this beautifully illustrated book, cycling expert Patrick Field reveals the lessons we can learn from the world of cycling, including the movers and shakers who created the cycling revolution, the best modern races, chases and riders of the twenty-first century, and incredible stories of people who have smashed down barriers on the road... and beyond. Once we learn how to ride, we never forget how to do it. This little book brings together over 60 vital life lessons inspired by the bike - from pushing yourself to the limit to learning to pace yourself and the importance of teamwork - and will show you that learning how to ride is, essentially, learning how to live. Packed with tips and tricks and combined with stunning illustrations from Harry Goldhawk, this is perfect for seasoned and new cyclists alike.

15 day walks, 3 multi-stage treks and 5 cycle routes are described covering the north, central and southern areas of Germany's Black Forest. The walks and cycle routes are evenly distributed across all three areas and comprise both long distance routes and day walks, although each stage of every long distance walk can also be done as individual day tour. The chosen routes include the main Black Forest destinations, such as Feldberg, Belchen Schauinsland, Hornisgrinde and Mummelsee, as well as Allerheiligen Abbey and waterfalls and the source of the Danube, to name but a few. Two of the three long distance routes are certified quality trails: Schluchtensteig (120km), which means gorge trail traverses the Wutachschlucht, one of the last untamed river systems in Germany, and Zweitalersteig (108km) a highly diverse circular route which leads through some of the most beautiful and contrasting parts of the Central Black Forest. Seensteig (71km) partially follows the central ridge of the Black Forest mountain range, offering unsurpassed views along the way. The cycle routes (4 day rides, and the 242km Southern Black Forest Cycle Route) are mostly easy and scenic, and utilise the extensive and well-maintained bicycle trail system that criss-crosses the entire region. The walks and rides are described in detail and basic maps are provided for orientation.

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022* 'How doping killed cycling's 'golden boy'. A shocking, clear-sighted and sympathetic account of a talent destroyed by drugs.' The Times 'Sensitive yet compelling.' The Observer They called him God. For his grace on a bicycle, for his divine talent, for his heavenly looks. Frank Vandenbroucke had it all, and in the late nineties he raced with dazzling speed and lived even faster. The Belgian won most of cycling's most prestigious races, including Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Paris-Nice, enthralling a generation of cycling fans. Off the bike, he only had one enemy - himself. His rise to prominence coincided with a rampant period of doping and Vandenbroucke had a wayward streak. He regularly fell out with team managers and had all-night party sessions mixing sleeping pills and alcohol. A drugs scandal started a long fall from grace, leading to addiction, car crashes, court appearances, marital problems and suicide bids, punctuated by sporting comebacks. His life was like a soap opera and its premature ending shocked many. In October 2009, aged thirty-four, Vandenbroucke was found dead in a Senegalese hotel room - in mysterious circumstances. Led by candid contributions from his closest family, friends and associates, William Hill award-winning author Andy McGrath lays bare Vandenbroucke's turbulent life story. God is Dead is the compelling biography of this mercurial cycling prodigy. - 'With his talent, Frank is the Johan Cruyff of cycling. He could win anything.' Eddy Merckx, FIVE TIMES WINNER OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE 'Captures the charisma and chaos of Vandenbroucke's short life perfectly.' Cyclist 'A cautionary tale. Gripping yet harrowing.' Bikeradar

An entertaining social and cultural history of cycling in post-war Europe seen through the eyes of a veteran racing cyclist. Written with great literary and historical relish, One More Kilometre examines the spread of cycling's popularity, how it developed into a sport and how the bicycle has changed people's lives - all viewed through the eyes of a seasoned 56-year-old racing cyclist/art critic who keeps eleven racing cycles in his garden shed and who never cycles less than 10,000 miles a year. The book starts with the 1950s, regarded as the golden age of cycling, and when the author, 'an unhappy communist child', first discovered cycling and its emancipating powers. Progressing through four decades of cycling social history, the author will examine cycling as a Continental phenomenon, the rise and fall of the Tour de France; the lives of the great 'trackmen'; cycling in its domestic form, cycling for fun, the ever-popular British cycling clubs - some of which are over one hundred years old and are home to many fellow eccentrics, fanatics and old-timers, like the author's friend, 'the Yorkshire junior road race champion of 1954, now living in a caravan, crippled and penniless with his much younger companion a taxidermist - beautiful and cruel'. One More Kilometre is a lovely blend of personal anecdote, serious history and informed obsession, combining gentle humour, personal reminiscence and good history into a beguiling whole.

The guide features 350 of the most beautiful and scenic cycling routes all over Europe, carefully curated for cyclists of every level and ability from easy, scenic lowland countryside to visually glorious, more strenuous routes in the Alps and the Carpathians. The book also includes routes that enable the user to re-create itineraries from the Tour de France or Giro d Italia. This is the best European cycling guide ever assembled with the aid of Strava, the mapping app that includes information from the world s most knowledgeable and expert cyclists who have critically reviewed and rated them. It contains maps, technical details, tourist information, and tips. Included are urban tours that highlight Europe s cultural glories and routes that highlight the continent s breathtaking natural beauty. The book is organized into nine regional sections covering mainland Europe from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and the boot of Italy.

Rides using Trans Pennine Trail, Pennine Bridleway and featuring a 110 mile 'Pike to Peak' circular route, linking the famous landmarks of Stoodley Pike near Hebden Bridge to Rushup Edge and Mam Tor in the Peak District National Park. The Pike to Peak is around 75% off-road and uses old packhorse trails and turnpike roads to take in some of the area's most stunning scenery and attractive towns and villages. An ideal long weekend challenge! - Off-road riding with the emphasis on broad, rideable tracks for adventurous leisure riders. Ideal for electric mountain bikers getting their first taste of the activity. - 14 epic circular bike rides along classic trails such as Cut Gate, Wessenden Valley, Holme Valley, Reddyshore Scout, Ladybower Reservoir and the Hope Valley. - 20 family trails including sections of the Calder Valley Greenway, Longdendale Trail, Tame Valley Trail, Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Sett Valley Trail and many more. - Cycle-friendly accommodation listings located on the map. - Internet links guide users to web pages where they can download GPX route files and get lots more background information about the routes.

This is a completely new, fully updated edition of the best selling guide to the UK's premier long distance cycle route - around 140 miles of superb scenery, from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, taking in the Lake District and the Northern Pennines on the way. As part of Sustrans' National Cycle Network, the C2C uses mainly traffic-free paths and minor roads and is fully signed and waymarked. It is completed by thousands of cyclists every year. This is the complete guide, including detailed 1:50,000 maps of all route options, directions, what to see and do, accommodation, places to eat and much more. The guidebook covers the route from Whitehaven or Workington to Sunderland or Newcastle.

Bicycling for Ladies is the trailblazing book that introduced women to bicycling and shocked a Victorian culture on its release in 1896. Today it remains comprehensive and useful, but also celebrates women's advancement in the sport and offers an inspiring, and amusing, look back. Maria E. Ward let the social norms and gendered expectations of the nineteenth century eat her dust when she wrote the groundbreaking guide to bicycling for women. In chapters such as Women and Tools, Dress, and How to Make Progress, Ward explains the function of wheels, gears, and spokes, gives instruction on how to safely and efficiently ride, and discusses optimal attire (layers and a stretchy corset, of course). Ward's detailed mechanical and physical instruction, paired with helpful images and charts, makes daunting ordeals like hill climbing, navigating traffic, and bike maintenance a breeze. In modern times, when so much is outsourced, automated, and unreliable, Ward's approach to transportation is refreshing. But while bicycling is rich with health and environmental benefits, male bicyclists still outnumber female riders, most competitive cyclists are male, and women are more likely to report feeling unsafe on a bike. Ward's text gives women the tools they need to claim their stake of the road. For seasoned cyclists or those just starting out, it is a timeless and relevant directive-ideal for today's woman who's ready to take the world by the handlebars. The photos and instructional images throughout Bicycling for Ladies are the result of a collaboration between Ward and Alice Austen, one of America's earliest and most prolific professional female photographers. The volume has an elegant new design and is small enough to ride with.

Where do you turn when you want to ride in the mountains, to follow in the wheeltracks of professional racers by climbing the famous passes of the Tour de France? There are several books and websites that highlight these renowned ascents, detailing their location, length and every little change in gradient. But how do you go about finding a route that links these passes together, that describes not only where they are and what they're like to ride, but highlights which is the best side to tackle them from and which roads to avoid? Award-winning author Peter Cossins's new series of guides to riding in the Western Europe's high mountains will provide these details - and much more. Inspired by Alfred Wainwright's walking guides to the Lake District, they are intended as the bible for any cyclist riding in Europe's most stunning terrain. The first in the series is The Roads, Cols and Passes of the Pyrenees, which is due for publication by Great Northern Books in June 2020. Featuring 120 routes, 400 Pyrenean climbs and more than 12,000 kilometres of riding, it will detail the best road cycling routes on both the French and Spanish sides of the 600km-long Pyrenean chain, as well as in Andorra. The routes will range from 50-kilometre loops passing some of the most extraordinary of France's Cathar Castles perched on almost impregnable pinnacles to 200-kilometre Tour de France-like epics over several passes. It will not only include illustrious Tour ascents such as the Col du Tourmalet, the Col d'Aubisque and Plateau de Beille, but also draw attention to other climbs and regions that also merit exploration on two wheels, highlighting points of historical significance and the best the roads on which to access them, always aiming to make the riding experience as pleasurable as possible. The book is aimed at anyone who wants to ride in the Pyrenees, from newcomers to road riding who want to take their first tentative steps in the high mountains right through to very experienced cyclists who want to push themselves and explore new terrain at the same time. There will be something for everyone, in every part of the Pyrenees.

Minneapolis and Saint Paul has an abundance of bike paths, roads, parks, and trails that provide a wonderful cycling experience for the entire family. Best Easy Bike Rides Minneapolis and Saint Paul includes concise descriptions and detailed maps for twenty-one easy-to-follow rides. Look inside for: One-hour rides to half-day adventures Rides for everyone, including families Mile-by-mile directions and clear trail maps Trail Finder for best rides for foliage, waterfalls, and great views GPS coordinates

This spiral-bound guide describes 20 wonderful bike rides in the countryside to the north and west of London. The area offers some excellent and varied cycling: from the challenges of the steep wooded escarpment of the Chilterns in the west to the gentle gradients on networks of quiet lanes in Hertfordshire and north Essex. The book contains 15 road rides (24-35 miles long) and five offroad rides on bridleways and byways (15-21 miles long). All of the rides are highlighted on Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 mapping, seen as the gold standard of mapping for cyclists. Junction-by-junction route instructions guide you from village to village through the region's beautiful rolling countryside. Each ride contains details of distance, grade of difficulty and refreshments along the way (with phone numbers of pubs and cafes so that you can check on opening hours). A height profile gives you warning of any hills to expect and schematic maps show how the ride can either be shortened or linked to adjacent rides for a longer day out. The Chilterns rise to over 800ft (245mts) at several points along the escarpment as it runs northeast from the River Thames at Goring towards Dunstable and Luton. Three of the five offroad rides use the fine stone-based tracks that weave their way through the area's famous beech woodlands which often form a great green tree cathedral overhead. Three of the road rides also explore the Chiltern woodlands, one from Princes Risborough and two around Tring. East of the Chilterns the rides make use of the network of quiet lanes that criss-cross this gently rolling, predominantly arable landscape. Small villages of thatched and half-timbered houses seem to vie with each other for the splendour of their village signs, often intricately carved and painted. The easiest ride in the book follows the Lee Navigation south from Hertford to Limehouse Basin in London: the towpath is one of the best in the whole country.

Wales Mountain Biking - Beicio Mynydd Cymru is a collection of 20 classic Welsh mountain bike rides, between 12 and 50 kilometres in length. Split into three sections, South Wales, Mid Wales and North Wales, this book includes classic mountain bike loops such as The Gap Road in the Brecon Beacons and Pen Trumau in the Black Mountains, routes in Pembrokeshire, and the Gower, the Elan Valley in the Cambrian Mountains, Moel Famau in the Clwydian Hills and classic routes in Snowdonia - including options for the awesome ascent and descent (!) of Snowdon itself. Written and illustrated by Mountain Bike Rider magazine's Wales-based routes expert Tom Hutton, each route is described with easy-to-follow directions and is plotted on clear and easy to use Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 mapping. Also included are details of distance, timings and difficulty gradings, plus refreshment stops and local knowledge. A Bonus Section hops over the border into England, to give the full lowdown on the classic Long Mynd circuit, featuring the legendary Minton Batch singletrack.

Best Rail Trails Illinois is the complete guide to walking, jogging, biking, and cross-country skiing more than forty of the most popular rail trails in Illinois. Written by an author with expert knowledge of the Prairie State, this easy-to-use book provides mile-by-mile descriptions of the top rural and urban rail trails-from the Chicago area's Prairie Path, one of America's first rail trails, to trails in the St. Louis area and those set in the breathtaking beauty of the Shawnee National Forest, as well as numerous other urban, suburban, and rural rail trails statewide. Look inside to find: * Full trail profiles, including length, access points, difficulty rating, and surface type * Detailed trail maps * At-a-glance icons for easy identification of rail trails that best suit one's interests * Information on wheelchair accessibility, parking, restrooms, where to rent bikes, and places to eat along the trail * Location of ranger stations, visitor centers, and depot museums

An easy-to-use pocket-book format, Off-Road Rides gives a series of expertly chosen cycle routes, featuring delightful tracks and trails in and around the Lake District National Park. With Ordnance Survey mapping, clear route directions and professional photography throughout, this little guide book presents some of the most enjoyable riding in the district, suitable for a wide range of riders (and bikes!). Featured rides include: Askham Fell and Ullswater; Blawith and Subberthwaite Common; The Cartmel Valley; Coniston and Tilberthwaite; Crosby Ravensworth Fell; Lorton and Loweswater; A Loughrigg Circuit; Staveley and Kentmere; The Secret South; Windermere and Hawkshead.

The Rough Stuff Cycling in the Alps guide book was compiled by Fred Wright and self-published in 2002. It preserved the collective wisdom of generations of riders who pioneered riding the 'rough stuff' - riders who headed into the high peaks armed only with touring bikes and canvas rucksacks, sandals and floppy hats, crossing mountain ranges and joining up towns and famous cols on little-known gravel tracks, dirt trails and even icy climbs(!). This was gravel biking before gravel bikes - mountain biking before mountain bikes, in some cases. The book contained nearly 300 routes, ranging from easy unsurfaced roads at little more than 1000m to steep footpaths above 3000m, and from the southern French Alps to Switzerland, the Dolomites and the Austrian Tirol. The entries often included detailed personal accounts of when the route was ridden, and the book also offered tips for beginners, advice on equipment and maps, and suggestions for routes not covered in the guide. More and more of us are choosing to head off the beaten track with our bikes. Adventure touring, gravel biking, bikepacking - whatever you call it, we all want to get out there. The Alps are one of cycling's ultimate playgrounds, and this guide is an invaluable resource of practical information about cycling in some of the most remote and beautiful places in Europe. This new edition includes; - 16 new hand-drawn maps, showing the areas covered and the routes described, so that readers can easily locate the main towns and road passes, and the potential unpaved tracks and paths to navigate between them - A beautiful overall Alps map illustrated by Stefan Amato of Pannier.cc - An extended colour photo section. Fred included just four photos of his adventures. We will have at least 16 pages of original photos taken by Fred and other pioneers of rough stuff riding in the Alps. See the pics in this campaign for a selection. - A new introduction by Fred Wright himself, explaining the genesis of the book and recounting his riding life. A new postscript by James Olsen (founder of the Torino-Nice Rally, who used the guide to create the TNR) on rough stuff in the 21st century. This will give advice for using the book in the age of mountain bikes and gravel bikes, bikepacking luggage, 3G and GPS - Updated information - for example, on the availability of paper maps and adding a few suggested routes where possible.

Oxford has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the most cycle-friendly cities in the country. This spiral-bound guide describes 20 wonderful bike rides in the countryside in a 30-mile radius around the city, exploring the delights of the Cotswolds, the Lambourn Downs and the Chilterns. The book contains 15 rides on networks of quiet lanes (26-34 miles long) and five offroad rides on bridleways and byways (15-20 miles long). All of the rides are highlighted on Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 mapping, seen as the gold standard of mapping for cyclists. Junction-by-junction route instructions guide you from village to village through the region's beautiful rolling countryside. Each ride contains details of distance, grade of difficulty and refreshments along the way (with phone numbers of pubs and cafes so that you can check on opening hours). A height profile gives you warning of any hills to expect and schematic maps show how the ride can either be shortened or linked to adjacent rides for a longer day out. Seven of the road rides explore the honey-stone villages lying to the west and northwest of Oxford, from Woodstock through the beautiful Tew and Sibford villages as far as Chipping Campden and from Minster Lovell and Burford along the lovely Windrush and Coln valleys. To the south, five of the road rides link together quiet lanes across the chalk downlands between the Vale of the White Horse and the Kennet & Avon Canal. The Chiltern beechwoods lie to the southeast of Oxford and three of the rides use the dense network of lanes that criss-cross the area around Goring, Pangbourne and Henley. As for the offroad rides, three are located on the chalk and flint tracks of the Ridgeway. The other two rides delve deep into the beech woodlands of the Chilterns. Rides here take on an extraordinary beauty in late spring when the woodland floor is carpeted with bluebells and the beechwoods are coming into leaf, almost glowing with translucent green and also through autumn with the changing of the colours.

The Sound Studies Reader blends recent work that self-consciously describes itself as sound studies along with earlier and lesser-known scholarship on sound from across the humanities and social sciences. The Sound Studies Reader touches on key themes like noise and silence; architecture, acoustics and space; media and reproducibility; listening, voices and disability; culture, community, power and difference; and shifts in the form and meaning of sound across cultures, contexts and centuries. Writers reflect on crucial historical moments, difficult definitions, and competing accounts of the role of sound in culture and everyday life. Across the essays, readers will gain a sense of the range and history of key debates and discussions in sound studies.

The collection begins with an introduction to welcome novice readers to the field and acquaint them the main issues in sound studies. Individual section introductions give readers further background on the essays and an extensive up to date bibliography for further reading in sound studies make this an original and accessible guide to the field.

Contributors: Rick Altman, Jacques Attali, Roland Barthes, Jody Berland, Karin Bijsterveld, Barry Blesser, Georgina Born, Michael Bull, Adriana Cavarero, Michel Chion, Kate Crawford, Richard Cullen Rath, Jacques Derrida, Mladen Dolar, John Durham Peters, Kodwo Eshun, Frantz Fanon, Lisa Gitelman, Gerard Goggin, Steve Goodman, Stefan Helmreich, Michelle Hilmes, Charles Hirschkind, Shuhei Hosokawa, Don Ihde, Douglas Kahn, Friedrich Kittler, Brandon LaBelle, James Lastra, Richard Leppert, Michele Martin, Louise Meintjes, Mara Mills, John Mowitt, R. Murray Schafer, Ana Maria Ochoa Gautier, John Picker, Benjamin Piekut, Trevor Pinch, Tara Rodgers, Linda-Ruth Salter, Jacob Smith, Jason Stanyek, Jonathan Sterne, Emily Thompson, Frank Trocco, Michael Veal, Alexander Weheliye

So you've got a new bike? Or just getting into cycling? Or just fancy learning more about the bike you already have? On Your Bike by Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy is the perfect guide for children looking to make the most of their bikes. * How to choose your bike? BMX, Racer, Mountain bike? Which tribe are you? * Get the right kit. Advice on cycling essentials for riding in all weathers and safety tips to make sure you are seen on the road. * Maintenance. Step by step guides with illustrations to help you change a tyre, check your bike for wear and tear plus access to bonus video footage with Sir Chris Packed full of handy hints, fun facts, quizzes, checklists and illustrations, Sir Chris shows you how to look after your bike and much, much more.

'It wasn't a race but a war game' Bernard Hinault 'Without question, the hardest one-day bike race ever created' George Hincapie The Tour of Flanders - known to cycling fans as the Ronde - is the biggest one-day bike race in the world. It is a potent mix of grit, cobbles, steep climbs, narrow roads, national pride, beer, brutal weather and the maddest, most passionate fans in the sport. It's the Tour de France boiled down into a single day of non-stop action - the Belgian equivalent of the Grand National, Wimbledon and the FA Cup final. And there's yet more to it than that. Edward Pickering tells the story of the Tour of Flanders, its history, culture and meaning, through the prism of the 2011 Ronde, an incredible edition that was one of the most exciting bike races of the past half-century. He weaves the narrative of that day into a broader study of the race, with eyewitness accounts from the key locations of the Ronde and dozens of interviews with the riders. The Ronde is a textured portrait of a race, but it also explores the deep links between bike races and the landscape and culture in which they take place, and explains how cycling works, with the most detailed analysis of a single event ever seen.

'I can't think of a finer chef to have written a book on nutrition and diet for athletes' Tom Kerridge

A must-have recipe book designed for cyclists of all levels, written by Alan Murchison - a Michelin-starred chef and champion athlete who now cooks for British Cycling's elite athletes. His easy-to-make and nutritionally balanced meals will help cyclists reach their cycling performance goals - this is flavoursome food to make you go faster.

The Cycling Chef features more than 65 mouth-watering recipes - including breakfasts, salads, main meals, desserts and snacks, as well as vegetarian and vegan dishes - each designed with busy cyclists in mind. They are all quick and easy to prepare, and are made from ingredients that are readily available in any local supermarket.

A good diet won't make a sub-standard cyclist into a world beater, but a poor diet can certainly make a world class or any ambitious cyclist sub-standard. However, an optimised diet, whatever your potential, will help you reach your own personal performance goals.