The Call of the Road: A Complete History of Cycle Road Racing
Written by Chris Sidwells
Narrated by David Thorpe
5/5
()
About this audiobook
Eddy Merckx. Fausto Coppi. Jacques Anquetil. Bernard Hinault. Beryl Burton. Marianne Vos.
A sole cyclist battling over a pass high in the mountains is one of the most romantic of sporting images. In the past 150 years road cycling has been dominated by a series of iconic people who have redefined endurance and fortitude. Every decade has pushed human limits, until limits were extended by inhuman pharmacology. And these battles have not been fought over just one race, but an annual series beginning with the Spring Classics and then culminating in the three great tours – the Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España and the Tour de France – before the cyclists retire to lick their wounds and start on another winter of training.
The Call of the Road is the definitive story of cycle road racing, from the first race in 1868 to the present day. It is a story that has never been told as the professionals experience it – as a whole energy-sapping year. It looks at the beginning and development of the sport, it explains the tactics and looks at the different physical types that succeed. It explains why some nations have dominated this sport and why, until recently, British riders have underperformed. It also looks at the way the great races were founded and developed, and how the great riders stamped their authority on them through the ages.
Sidwells doesn’t shy away from controversy: dissecting the vexed and seemingly ever-present question of doping. The final chapter brings the story of road racing completely up to date with insight into jiffy bags and salbutamol levels.
Truly international in scope, looking at road racing in North and Latin America, Australia, Africa and Asia, as well as continental Europe, The Call of the Road is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the history, tactics or personalities of cycle road racing.
Chris Sidwells
Chris Sidwells is a freelance journalist, author and photographer who specialises in all aspects of the sport and pastime of cycling. His books have been translated into 17 languages and been bestsellers in their genre in the UK and abroad. Chris currently contributes both words and pictures to every issue of the two top English language cycling magazines, Cycling Weekly and Cycle Sport, as well as Men’s Fitness and the Sunday Times.
Related to The Call of the Road
Related audiobooks
Icons: My Inspiration. My Motivation. My Obsession. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Draft Animals: Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slaying the Badger: Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, and the Greatest Tour de France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ask a Pro: Deep Thoughts and Unreliable Advice from America's Foremost Cycling Sage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Weeks, Eight Seconds: Greg Lemond, Laurent Fignon, and the Epic Tour de France of 1989 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Just Ride: Racing 2,725 Miles to Mexico Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ride the Revolution: The Inside Stories from Women in Cycling Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMIKE REILLY Finding My Voice: Tales From IRONMAN, the World’s Greatest Endurance Event Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Incomplete Book of Running Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Year of Running Dangerously Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ultra Mindset: An Endurance Champion's 8 Core Principles for Success in Business, Sports, and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hal Koerner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning: Training for an Ultramarathon, from 50K to 100 Miles and Beyond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition: A Cutting-Edge Plan to Fuel Your Body Beyond "The Wall" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRelentless: Secrets of the Sporting Elite Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ultra: Top Model to Top Ultra Runner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mechanic's Tale: Life in the Pit-Lanes of Formula One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Break: Life as a Cycling Maverick Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMountain Biking: The Ultimate Guide to Mountain Biking For Beginners MTB Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lights Out, Full Throttle: The Good the Bad and the Bernie of Formula One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Race of Truth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rise of the Ultra Runners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sprinting Through No Man's Land: Endurance, Tragedy, and Rebirth in the 1919 Tour de France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Pace or Mine?: What Running Taught Me About Life, Laughter and Coming Last Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Total Competition: Lessons in Strategy from Formula One Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Driven: A pioneer for women in motorsport – an autobiography Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Running Smart: How Science Can Improve Your Endurance and Performance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Laura Trott and Jason Kenny: The Inside Track Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Cycling For You
Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, & Resistance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The World's Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America's First Black Sports Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shut Up, Legs!: My Wild Ride On and Off the Bike Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brompton: Engineering for Change Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Around the World on a Bicycle Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Miles from Nowhere: A Round the World Bicycle Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5End of the Road: The Festina Affair and the Tour that Almost Wrecked Cycling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lance: The Making of the World's Greatest Champion Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This Road I Ride: Sometimes It Takes Losing Everything to Find Yourself Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Daring Book for Girls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mountain Biking: The Ultimate Guide to Mountain Biking For Beginners MTB Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5STAND: A Memoir on Activism. A Manual for Progress Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBiking Across America: My Coast-to-Coast Adventure and the People I Met Along the Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cycling King Alfred's Way: A Piece of Cake? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Break: Life as a Cycling Maverick Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSprinting Through No Man's Land: Endurance, Tragedy, and Rebirth in the 1919 Tour de France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike - Bicycle Rules and Safety Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Just Ride: Racing 2,725 Miles to Mexico Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Descent: My Epic Fall from Cycling Superstardom to Doping Dead End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One More Croissant for the Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo: A unique climbing and cycling adventure to the summit of Ecuador Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Bicycle Built for Two Billion: 20th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Call of the Road
8 ratings0 reviews