Le Tour: A History of the Tour de France, 1903-2003

by Geoffrey Wheatcroft

Book Overview

When Henri Desgrange began a new bicycle road race in 1903, he saw it as little more than a temporary publicity stunt to promote his newspaper. The sixty cyclists who left Paris to ride through the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743449924
• ISBN13: 9780743449922
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 389 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Le Tour and travelogue

Along the lines of the books by Thompson and Dauncey, but with less of a scholarly feel to it, Wheatcroft's book combines his interest in the Tour de France with a close look at how the race has left its impact on the six-sided country -- and vice versa. Instead of researching the Tour in historical journals and periodicals, Wheatcroft, an admitted non-expert on the race, gets out there and gives us a felt for what it's really like to experience the race from the viewpoint of the of the people from all walks of French life. I think the reason I like this book so much is because, after having studied the race itself closely for more than a decade, I needed to see how it fit into the bigger pcture. Once you've read up on all the Tours over the years, you may find yourself in the boat.

Fantastic book about the Tour de France's history and folklore

I really enjoyed this book. From the eccentric, despotic Henri Desgrange (founder of the Tour de France) to riders such as Merckx, Poulidor, Hinault, Bobet -- and other tales from past Tours de France, you get a very good idea of why the Tour has become part of France's patrimony. Wheatcroft does a marvelous job conveying to people who are new to the Tour and people who've been watching it for years, why it is an obsession for many and why no other sporting event in the world comes close. I love Wheatcroft's descriptions of the French countryside, French manners and food. This is the best book on the Tour.

An Incredible Book about The History of Le Tour!!

Quite simply, this is the best written, most entertaining book I have read about cycling (I've read about 30 cycling books to date). I was at first quite reluctant to purchase this book; how exciting could a historical recounting of a bike race be? The answer is VERY, if it's written by Geoffrey Wheatcroft. This author's success comes not from being a die-hard cycling author, but a masterful story teller who interweaves the colorful personalities who participated in Le Tour de France with the social, interpersonal and political impacts of the different eras. This book is a must-read for cycling fans & history-buffs alike. (I can imagine passing-along this book to my father-in-law, who has no interest in cycling but loves reading about the histories of WW1 & 2.) My only slight, picky complaint with the book is that the author uses occasional French phrases without translating them. (Note: the phrases are non-cycling specific, & it would be fun to expand my French beyond "peloton", "bidon" & "maillot jaune"). In short, if you love cycling or The Tour, enjoy reading about history, or hearing a well-told story, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Enjoy!!