A fascinating, mind-boggling account of young athletes in their prime destroyed in the hell of war. A mesmerizing view of cycling in its golden age, and the darkness that followed.
On June 28, 1914, one hundred and forty-five riders lined up in a suburb of Paris at 3 a.m. to start the first stage of the Tour de France. The race, which had been founded just a decade earlier, had grown to become the biggest bicycle race in the world. The riders did not know it at the time, but as they raced, an event was taking place on the opposite side of Europe which would change all of their lives forever: Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, triggering World War I.
While racing went on in France, a diplomatic crisis had started that would try but fail to avert war. Shortly after the finish of the race, France mobilized its troops and went to war with Germany. The organizer of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange, despite being fifty years old, enrolled in the army shortly afterwards and encouraged the cyclists to do the same.
The war would see over 16 million soldiers and civilians die. Many of the riders from that Tour de France did not return, and three previous winners of the race would be among those killed in action.
The Shattered Peloton tells the story of that Tour de France and what happened to the top cyclists of the day during the course of the war.
A brilliant, disturbing, important book for anyone with an interest in cycling or military history.

"The Curse of the Rainbow Jersey "is a peculiar lens on the history of professional cycling. It examines the infamous curse associated with wearers of the tunic awarded to the winner of the World Cycling Championships.

The opening chapters look at how the curse originated with the death of Stan Ockers in 1955, other famous sports curses (including Curse of the Bambino, the US Masters Par 3 curse, and the curse placed on the Australian soccer team by a witch doctor), and also the history of the world cycling championships.

The main body of the book is comprised of chapters dedicated to particular wearers of the rainbow jersey who were struck by misfortune, personal tragedy, or death. Examples include Paolo Bettini, whose brother died in a car crash on the way to a party to celebrate Paolo's win; Jean-Pierre Monsere, who died in a race while wearing the jersey; and Tommy Simpson, who died while racing two years after being crowned champion.

The ill fortune visited upon wearers of the rainbow jersey is bizarre and tragic; but is it anything more than random chance? The final chapter of the book evaluates whether this level of bad luck is higher than for any other sample of humanity.

A chilling look at the history of cycling, sure to fascinate any fan of the sport.

Graham Healy is a cyclist and journalist living in Dublin, Ireland.