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"It is testament to the author's skill and enthusiasm that reading places you right there, amongst the sea of orange that constitutes the annual Dutch army." -- TheWashingMachinePost.net
""The Tour Is Won on the Alpe" is a great place to start tracing the sport's last half-century. The book recreates the slopes, screaming masses of fans, and exhausted riders that make up the legend of the Alpe. If you want to get to know the Alpe, this is your reference guide." -- PodiumCafe.com
"A valuable historical account of the last 30-odd years of professional cycling." -- BikeRadar.com
Product Description
If there is one mountain climb that embodies the spirit and magic of the Tour de France, it is the Alpe d'Huez. Its twenty-one hairpin turns and average gradient of 8.1 percent over 13.1 kilometres have become legendary, changing the careers of Americans Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong, and nearly destroying Jan Ullrich and Marco Pantani. Here at last is the definitive history and unforgettable story of cycling's greatest challenge.In "The Tour is Won on the Alpe: Alpe d'Huez and the Classic Battles of the Tour de France", cycling historian Jean-Paul Vespini tells the story of this celebrated climb and the mountain that so often acts as the ultimate arbiter for cycling's biggest prize. Each chapter covers one ascent, starting with Fausto Coppi's astonishing victory in 1952. Cycling's most famous names are all present and accounted for: Coppi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Pedro Delgado, Miguel Indurain, Marco Pantani, and of course the American victors Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong.Jean-Paul Vespini's riveting descriptions of each battle to the top include candid interviews with riders, new insight into epic rivalries, and little-known but fascinating facts about the climb that has become a rite of passage for every rider in the Tour.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you like the Tour, you have to read this book. Wonderful experience of a french reporter, who tells us alpe legends... A must have.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This wonderful book outlines the great battles up the 21 hairpins to the iconic summit of l'Alpe d'Huez. From the early battles, the Dutch dominance, "the look" and the great Pantani, each muscle shredding bend from each ascent in the Tour is described with humour and passion. There were also some memorable factoids about the climb itself and the riders, and I this book gave me many "I never knew that!" moments.
I love this book, it sits proudly with my other cycling books, and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in cycling or the Tour de France.
I love this book, it sits proudly with my other cycling books, and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in cycling or the Tour de France.
Format:Paperback
Whilst there is an interesting story to be told about the iconic Alpe D'Huez this book doesn't quite make the grade.
However it is difficult to know at whose feet to lay the blame: author or translator.
The book is littered with cliches and the author rarely lets a paragraph pass without shoehorning in a smilie or metaphor, there's plenty of soaring eagles, duelling gladiators and swift and cruel competitors described. This becomes wearing long before the end of the book. However some of the translation is also clumsy, for a contemporary book you wonder if the translator is more used to historic text.
However it is difficult to know at whose feet to lay the blame: author or translator.
The book is littered with cliches and the author rarely lets a paragraph pass without shoehorning in a smilie or metaphor, there's plenty of soaring eagles, duelling gladiators and swift and cruel competitors described. This becomes wearing long before the end of the book. However some of the translation is also clumsy, for a contemporary book you wonder if the translator is more used to historic text.
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