South Leinster has a surprising variety of terrain, boasting canals, blanket bogs, rolling woodlands, golden beaches and brilliant green pastures interspersed with fields of golden barley. Quiet roads with excellent surfaces make this beautiful corner of Ireland perfect for exploring by bike, with some great climbs and descents, notably in the Slieve Bloom Mountains, adding exciting challenges. A journey through this picturesque countryside is also a trip through the ages, with many historical places of interest along the way. Break your journey with pit stops at round towers, restored mansions with attractive gardens like Emo Court, traditional lighthouses such as Hook Lighthouse, or the graves of great Irish figures like Shackleton and Wolfe Tone.The graded routes suit all abilities, and are each illustrated with a colour map, photos, a gradient graph, and key facts and statistics. Information is also provided on the many natural landmarks and historical sites en route. Each trip guarantees a terrific day out for the curious cyclist.

The Tour de France is always one of the sporting calendar's most spectacular and dramatic events. But the 1998 Tour provided drama like no other. As the opening stages in Ireland unfolded, the Festina team's soigneur Willy Voet was arrested on the French-Belgian border with a car-load of drugs. Raid after police raid followed, with arrest after arrest hammering the Tour. In protest, there were riders' strikes and go-slows, with several squads withdrawing en masse and one expelled. By the time the Tour reached Paris, just 96 of the 189 starters remained. And of those 189 starters, more than a quarter were later reported to have doped. The 1998 'Tour de Farce's' status as one of the most scandal-struck sporting events in history was confirmed. Voet's arrest was just the beginning of sport's biggest mass doping controversy - what became known as the Festina affair. It all but destroyed professional cycling as the credibility of the entire sport was called into question and the cycling family began to split apart. And yet, ironically, the 1998 Tour was also one of the best races in years. The End of the Road is the first English-language book to provide in-depth analysis and a colourful evocation of the tumultuous events during the 1998 Tour. Alasdair Fotheringham uncovers, step by step, how the world's biggest bike race sank into a nightmarish series of scandals that left the sport on its knees. He explores its long-term consequences - and what, if any, lessons were learned.

In 2012, Joe Barr almost died from altitude sickness on the infamous 11,000-ft Wolf Creek Pass in a Race Across America attempt. The infamous 3,200-mile race is non-stop, ultra-cycling at its most extreme. In 2014, Joe returned and received the coveted Finisher's medal, and in 2019, at the age of 60, he went back again and won his category. This story of extreme perseverance begins on a yellow Raleigh Chopper on the streets of Co. Derry, where Joe, trying to escape the harsh everyday reality of the Troubles as a young Catholic boy in an all-Protestant school, went on long bicycle rides into the countryside, dreaming of one day taking part in cycling's grand tours. When his baby son was diagnosed with cancer, Joe got on the bike with a different purpose and won his first endurance race, the 1,300-mile, non-stop Race Around Ireland. Since then, Joe has won major World Cup races all over the world. This is a story of unimaginable grit, and of what it takes to keep going despite countless obstacles and to persevere when failure seems inevitable.

With a new Afterword. Lance Armstrong won a record-smashing seven Tour de France yellow jerseys after staring down cancer, and in the process became an international symbol of resilience and courage. In a sport constantly dogged by blood doping scandals, Armstrong seemed above the fray. Never had cycling - or any sport-boasted such a charismatic and accomplished champion. Then, in the summer of 2012, the legend imploded. The rumors that had long dogged Armstrong began to solidify. Buried evidence surfaced. Hushed-up witnesses came forth. Armstrong's Tour victories were stripped from him. His sponsors abandoned him. In January 2013, Armstrong finally admitted doping during the Tours, and in an interview with Oprah, described his "mythic, perfect story" as "one big lie." But his admission raised more questions than it answered. With over three years of extensive reporting, deep sourcing, and interviews with nearly every key player, including Armstrong, Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell have established themselves as the undisputed authorities on this story. Wheelmen reveals the broader tale of how Armstrong and his supporters used money, power, and cutting-edge science to conquer the world's most difficult race. It offers a riveting look at what happens when enigmatic genius breaks loose from the strictures of morality. It reveals the competitiveness and ingenuity that sparked blood doping as an accepted practice, and shows how Americans methodically constructed an international operation of spies and breakthrough technology to reach the top. Lance Armstrong survived and thrived against nigh-insurmountable odds and built a team of unprecedented accomplishment. But in the end, his own outsized ambition destroyed it. At last exposing the truth about Armstrong and American cycling, Wheelmen paints a living portrait of what is, without question, the greatest conspiracy in the history of sports.

An Italian SCHINDLER'S LIST, this is the inspirational story of Gino Bartali, who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and secretly aided the Italian Resistance during the Second World War. ROAD TO VALOUR is the inspiring, against-the-odds story of Gino Bartali, the cyclist who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and still holds the record for the longest gap between victories. Yet it was his actions during the Second World War, when he secretly aided the Resistance, rather than his remarkable exploits on a bike, that truly cemented his place in the hearts and minds of the Italian people. Based on nearly ten years of research, and including fascinating new interviews, this is the only book written that fully explores the scope of Bartali's wartime work. A breathtaking account of one man's unsung heroism and his resilience in the face of adversity, this is an epic tale of courage, comeback and redemption, and the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century.