A profound insight into the stories behind the image of the Tour de France, showcasing the sacrifice, despair, strategy and chaos of those four weeks in July to reveal a fascinating new perspective on the greatest race on earth. Every year the Tour de France puts on one of the great viewing spectacles in sport, showcasing extraordinary human endurance and one of the most beautiful countries on the planet. But underneath the facade, it's a different story - a story of suffering, sacrifice and pain. This is that story. Pain and Privilege gets under the skin of cycling's cruel super race and describes what the race that unites people from all over the globe is really like, from the laughs to the tears, from the politics to the personal, from inspirational triumph to desperate failure. Team staff, sports scientists, psychologists, media and dignitaries all contribute to draw a more complex and confronting portrait of the world's grandest sporting spectacle. With exclusive contributions from Richie Porte, Cadel Evans, Chris Froome, Michael Matthews, Caleb Ewan, Sam Bennett, Robbie McEwen, Michael Morkov, Jens Debusschere, Matt White, Allan Peiper, Cherie Pridham, Enrico Poitschke, Mathew Hayman, Simon Clarke, Marcel Kittel and Luke Durbridge. Plus, insights from Geraint Thomas, Mark Cavendish, Patrick Lefevere, David Brailsford, Tadej Pogacar and more.

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

**Winner - Sweetspot Cycling Book of the Year** For 11 years I was a professional cyclist, competing in the hardest and greatest races on Earth. I was in demand from the world's best teams, a well-paid elite athlete. But I never won a race. I was the hired help. When my mum dropped me off in a small French town aged 17, I was full of determination to be a professional cyclist, but I was completely green. I went from mowing the team manager's lawn to winning every amateur race I entered. Then I turned pro and realised I hated the responsibility and pressure of chasing victory. And that's when I became a domestique. I learned to take that hurt and give it everything I had to give, all for someone else's win. When the order came in to ride I pushed out with the hardest rhythm I could, dragging the group faster and faster, until my whole body screamed with pain. There were times I rode myself to a standstill, clutching the barrier metres from the line, as the lead group shot past. But that's what made me a so good at my job. As my career took off, I started looking at the fans lining the route, cheering us like heroes. The passion for cycling oozed off them, but they couldn't know what it was really like. They didn't see the terrible hotels, the crazy egos or all the shit that goes with great expectations. Well, this is how it is...