Blazing Saddles: The Cruel and Unusual History of the Tour De France - Tapa dura

Few sporting contests have roused such blind passions and filthy suspicions as the Tour de France. From Lance Armstrong's incredible comeback from cancer, to Tom Simpson's death on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, the Tour has been the stage for some of sport's most monumental triumphs and the scene of some of its darkest hours. Since Maurice Garin's inaugural victory in 1903, hundreds of thousands of kilometres have been covered in pursuit of the yellow jersey - cycling's holy grail - and few have been without incident or drama. And on 7 July 2007, the whole pedalling circus is descending on London! But will the Great British Public be ready for an invasion of neck to thigh slippery lycra, gaudy Geiger-alien headwear, aerodynamic neoprene pixyboots, and Space Age carbon fibre bicycles weighing less than a dinky toy but costing more than a family car? Not without this book, they won't. It's a no-holds-barred look at the rivalries, characters and controversies that have given century-old race its unique colour. Matt Rendell's vivid and entertaining narrative combines the Tour's golden legends with tales from its dark side, capturing the true and often surreal spirit of the world's most arduous race.

Blazing Saddles is a rip-roaring sprint through 104 years of Tour de France history: a riotous tale of tough nuts, bad blood and bitter pills. 1904 “The Tour de France is over and its second edition, I fear, will also be its last.” Henri Desgrange 1908 “It has been said I owe my greatest victories to drugs. Allow me to reply: do you seriously think a man, however strong, could survive such treatment for 28 days?” Lucien Petit-Breton 1924 “I've lost six toenails out of ten. They fall off, one by one, on each stage.” Henri Pelissier 1957 “To prepare for a race there is nothing better than a good pheasant, some champagne and a woman.” Jacques Anquetil 1993 “The bottom line is, I'm a competitor and I like training hard and going out and kicking ass. I like it, and I got a lot more ass to kick.” Lance Armstrong 2006 “I mean, it was 11 to 1! You'd think he'd be violating every virgin within 100 miles. How does he even get on his bicycle?” World anti-doping agency chief Dick Pound on Floyd Landis' testosterone level.