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

For All Levels of Performance. This book covers all aspects of training. It shows readers how to assess their fitness, set up their own training plan based on their individual skills and needs. Provides well-founded instructions for mountain bike training while always taking scientific principles of training and discipline-specific criteria into account Cross Country, Marathon, etc..

Bike London is the definitive guide to cycling in the UK's capital. The cycling culture in London is constantly evolving and this book offers an indispensable resource for the city's bike users - whether they're weather-hardened commuters who ride in all conditions or summer daytrippers looking to explore. This book covers all things two-wheeled, from local cycle shops and essential cafe stops, to ideas for routes and events that will appeal to all breeds of bike lover. More than a mere directory, Bike London speaks to important players in the city's cycling community, while also looking back and offering interesting facts and snippets of information from London's 100-year-plus love affair with the bicycle. As London embraces a greener future, this book is a timely resource that will help you put words into action. Each chapter is categorised by theme: Local Bike Shops, Cycling Clubs, Cycling Events, Cycling Locations, Cycling Routes, Cycling Equipment, Cycling Apparel, Cycling Cafes, Cycle Hire and Iconic London Cyclists. Throughout, Bike London will also feature profiles of some of the great and the good of London cycling, from Bradley Wiggins and Paul Smith to Tahnee Seagrave, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Maurice Burton and Jeremy Vine. Also in the series: Vinyl London ISBN 9781788840156 London Peculiars ISBN 9781851499182 Art London ISBN 9781788840385 Rock 'n' Roll London ISBN 9781788840163

With this full-colour illustrated manual in your toolbox, you will never need to visit the bike repair shop again. From planning regular maintenance to getting your hands dirty for emergency repairs, The Complete Bike Owner's Manual will help you with everything. Explore every part of your bike's anatomy with extremely detailed CGIs, learn which seat position suits you the most, install new brakes and adjust the handlebar, change and refit gear cables, and much more. This essential book equips you with the tools and techniques you need to troubleshoot any problems you may face while taking care of your bicycle. The reference section at the end of the book offers possible solutions to some of the common problems. The Complete Bike Owner's Manual is the perfect handy guide for any bicycle enthusiast.

'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.

The Tour de France Grand Depart of 2014 shone a light on Yorkshire as a world class cycling destination. But the triumph that was Le Tour was in many ways the latest encounter in a unique long distance love affair between the White Rose and the most challenging race on the planet. From the culture shock that working class Yorkshiremen experienced cycling alongside the continental greats of the 1950s and 60s to the golden triumphs of post-Millennial Olympic success, Cycle Yorkshire tells the region's cycling story through the eyes of the riders themselves. It delves into how the pit villages, steelworks, glorious landscapes and riding routes of Yorkshire have played their part in pioneering and sustaining British cycling at home and abroad. And it explores the stories of bravery, passion and heartbreak behind legends like Brian Robinson, Barry Hoban, Tom Simpson and Beryl Burton and the successes of modern day greats like Malcolm Elliott, Ed Clancy and Lizzie Deignan, while looking at what the future might hold for the sport in God's Own Country with its first Road World Championships on the horizon in 2019. There are exclusive interviews, first person musings from the centre of the action and informed guides on the region's best cycling climbs and top training routes along the way. It's the ultimate account of Yorkshire's cycling story.

The Cyclist's Training Manual is the definitive guide to skills development and fitness training for every cyclist. From those new to cycling to experienced racers looking for an edge, this book will help you to become a better rider.All major cycling disciplines are covered, including road racing, time trials, track, cross country and downhill mountain biking, cyclo-cross, and even cyclo-sportive. And every page is packed with solid advice and support, from insider tips to detailed training programs.Combined with action photography and training tips from some of the world's leading riders, this manual provides everything you need to take to the road, track, or trail.Get insider tips on: Cycling skills - from how to go fast to stopping quickly and safely, as well as group riding, climbing, descending, cornering, and other essential skills. Components of fitness - from the upper body strength of the downhill mountain biker to the endurance of the long distance rider - which elements of fitness to focus on. Choosing your races - how to get started on the cycling discipline that matches your strengths, plus tactical tips and goals from more experienced riders. Developing training plans - step-by-step guidance for training plans, personal analysis, and detailed schedules for every discipline and event. Keeping healthy - an A-Z section detailing all you need to know to keep healthy, from nutrition and hydration to dealing with aches and pains.

A fly-on-the-wall account of the greatest drama in modern sporting history by the New York Times cycling correspondent. As Lance Armstrong's precipitous fall from grace continues, New York Times sports reporter Juliet Macur takes the reader behind the scenes to bring to life the astonishing twists and turns of the scandal that has rocked the world of cycling. With unprecedented access to the key players in the drama - from Armstrong's fellow cyclists and top cycling officials to doctors, trainers and wives - Cycle of Lies reveals how Armstrong built a fortress of people around him to protect his image and upend the lives of anybody who stood in his way. As America's fallen idol faces potential perjury charges, Cycle of Lies widens the focus to expose corruption at all levels of the sport in a thrilling, page-turning work of contemporary narrative history.

n this beautifully illustrated guide to travelling across France by bike you will discover hidden lanes, stunning gorges, amazing places to eat and stay, plus the best of French cycling culture. This iconic journey of more than 1000 miles takes you through no fewer than 21 of France's regional departements and into some of the country's most striking and dramatic landscapes helping you to discover the true heart of rural France. Ride one section, follow a mini itinerary, or complete the entire challenge! Starting in St.Malo on the coast of Brittany the route winds its way through quiet lanes on the banks of rivers, through dramatic gorges and quintessentially French villages before reaching the dazzling glamour of Nice on the French Riviera. Beautifully illustrated maps, detailed directions and PDF downloads guide you along the route providing essential information and revealing the many hidden secrets of the area.

Muck, Sweat & Gears is a compendium of fascinating facts, quotes, stats, stories, personalities, advice and trivia - fully revised to include cycling's dramatic increase in popularity since the first volume was published. This revised and updated edition includes stories on: Bono's cycling accident in Central Park, New York; the wedding of Solange Knowles and Alan Ferguson, when they rode to church on white bicycles; the 2014 Commonwealth and 2016 Rio Olympic Games cycling events; the Tour de France and the new Tour de Yorkshire; epic bicycle journeys; MAMIL (middle-aged men in lycra) activities; and new technology. Muck, Sweat & Gears is the perfect gift for the cyclist in your life, whether he or she is an everyday commuter, mountain biker, cycle courier, tourist or racer.

Fix Your Bike is a brilliantly straightforward, stylish and no-fuss guide to DIY bike maintenance and safety that does exactly what it says on the tin - teaching you the basics of bike maintenance so you can simply get on with riding your bike without encountering any further bumps in the road. Everyone's cycling nowdays. City streets are thronged with cyclists on the latest cool bikes, and more and more of us are cycling for fun at the weekends. You may love to cruise the streets and lanes with the wind in your hair, but would you be able to fix your bike if it let you down? Fix Your Bike is a brilliantly straightforward, stylish and no-fuss approach to getting you geared up and back on your bike in no time. It's a visually stunning, clear-cut and hands-on guide to DIY bike maintenance and safety that does exactly what it says on the tin. By teaching you the basics in plain terms and straightforward, step-by-step instructions you can simply just get on with riding your bike without encouraging any further bumps in the road. Speedy, easy and proficient, Fix Your Bike is full of shortcuts, tricks and techniques that all cyclists should know to help them get back (and remain) on the road. Smart and beautifully illustrated, this book will aid and encourage you in all areas of bike maintenance - from puncture repair to gear care, brake-tightening to chain-fixing - this brilliant roadside companion will help you bring out the best in your bike. Word count: 15,000 Other forthcoming titles in this series: Fix Your Home and Fix Your Garden.