Great Britain and the Tour de France

Roule Britannia

British Cycling and the Greatest Road Races

William Fotheringham's critically acclaimed history of Britons in the Tour de France now fully revised and updated to include the Geraint Thomas 2018 victory.

Brilliant...tells each story with passion and sensitivity

Painstakingly resarched...a fascinating insight

William Fothering's book is painstakingly researched and gives a fascinating insight into the workings of the Tour.

William Fotheringham writes for the Guardian and Observer on cycling and rugby. A racing cyclist and launch editor of procycling and Cycle Sport magazines, he has reported on over twenty Tours de France. He is the number one bestselling author of Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike and is the critically lauded author of Fallen Angel, Roule Britannia, and Put Me Back on My Bike, which Vélo magazine called 'The best cycling biography ever written.

How did Great Britain conquer the Tour de France? 
 
In 2012 Bradley Wiggins made history by becoming the first Briton ever to win the Tour de France. Since that moment the UK has been living through the golden era in the world's greatest bike race, with four overall titles for Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas winning for Wales in 2018, and Manxman Mark Cavendish proving the race's most prolific sprinter. 
 
 In Roule Britannia, number one bestselling author William Fotheringham, charts British cycling's rise to the top and provides us with the definitive account of the nation’s Tour de France achievements through exclusive interviews with and profiles of cycling champions - from the early days of Brian Robinson to Bradley Wiggins's dominant ride via Tom Simpson, Robert Millar, Chris Boardman and many others, Roule Britannia celebrates a nation's love affair with the greatest race of all. 
 
‘Brilliant...tells each story with passion and sensitivity’ Sunday Times

Bernard Hinault and the Fall and Rise of French Cycling

The Badger

The definitive biography of France’s greatest cyclist by the number one bestselling author of Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike

A thorough, well-researched and highly readable biography about one of cycling's best ever riders

One of cycling’s most fascinating characters

William Fotheringham is the number-one bestselling author of Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike. He writes for the Guardian and Observer on cycling and rugby and is the critically lauded author of Fallen Angel, Roule Britannia, and Put Me Back on My Bike, which Vélo magazine called `the best cycling biography ever written’. A racing cyclist and launch editor of Procycling and Cycle Sport magazines, he has reported on over twenty Tours de France.

Bernard Hinault is one of the greatest cyclists of all time. He is a five-time winner of the Tour de France and the only man to have won each of the Grand Tours on more than one occasion. 
 
Hinault is the last ‘old-school’ champion: a larger-than-life character from a working-class background, capable of winning on all terrains, in major Tours and one-day Classics. Nicknamed the ‘Badger’ for his combative style, he led a cyclists’ strike in his first Tour and instigated a legendary punch-up with demonstrators in 1982 while in the middle of a race. His battles with teammates Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond in the 1986 Tour resulted in one of the greatest races of all time. 
 
Three decades on from his retirement, Hinault remains the last French winner of the Tour de France. Here, William Fotheringham shows that while France may one day find a new champion, there will never be another Bernard Hinault.

Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike

The Sunday Times Number One bestselling biography of Eddy Merckx, the greatest cyclist of all time, by William Fotheringham, Britain's top cycling writer.

Merckx - a natural champion who regularly rode himself and others into agony and glory - is a fine choice for a writer of Fotheringham's skill and cycling knowledge... A fascinating, often bleak portrait of remarkable athlete and an unnerving man.

Remarkable and impressive … everything you want to know about Merckx and more.

The Cantona or Muhammad Ali of cycling, this Belgian’s story is amazing – and it’s told by one of the greatest cycling reporters around... Top Notch

The full unvarnished of one man’s heaven, and hell, on wheels.

The extraordinary and definitive story of a man whose fear of failure would drive him to the highest pinnacles, before ultimately destroying him.

Packed with stories of controversies, falls, secret deals and bitter recriminations.

William Fotheringham writes for the Guardian and Observer on cycling and rugby. A racing cyclist and launch editor of procycling and Cycle Sport magazines, he has reported on over twenty Tours de France. He is the critically lauded author of Fallen Angel, Roule Britannia, and Put Me Back on My Bike, which Vélo magazine called 'The best cycling biography ever written.

THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLER 
 
What makes a man the greatest of all time? Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pelé to football: quite simply, the best there has ever been. 
 
Merckx was a machine. It wasn't just the number of victories (445); it was his remorseless domination that created the legend. He didn't just beat his opponents, he crushed them. But his triumphs only tell half a story that includes horrific injury, a doping controversy and tragedy. He was nicknamed 'The Cannibal' for his insatiable appetite for victory, but the moniker did scant justice to a man who was handsome, sensitive and surprisingly anxious. Britain's leading cycling writer, William Fotheringham, goes back to speak to those who were there at the time and those who knew Merckx best to find out what made Eddy Merckx so invincible. 
 
'The full unvarnished of one man’s heaven, and hell, on wheels' Independent

How did Great Britain conquer the Tour de France? 
 
In 2012 Bradley Wiggins made history by becoming the first Briton ever to win the Tour de France. His compatriot Chris Froome came second while fellow Brits, the 'fastest man on earth' Mark Cavendish and reformed doper David Millar, made sure that between them Britain accounted for 7 of a possible 21 stage wins. The golden era of British cycling had begun. 
 
 In Roule Britannia, number one bestselling author William Fotheringham, charts British cycling's rise to the top and provides us with the definitive account of the nation’s Tour de France achievements through exclusive interviews with and profiles of cycling champions - from the early days of Brian Robinson to Bradley Wiggins's dominant ride via Tom Simpson, Robert Millar, Chris Boardman and many others, Roule Britannia celebrates a nation's love affair with the greatest race of all. 
 
‘Brilliant...tells each story with passion and sensitivity’ Sunday Times

The Passion of Fausto Coppi

Fallen Angel

A remarkable biography of one of historys greatest sportsmen by the acclaimed author of Put Me Back on My Bike

Sympathetic and perceptive. Times have changed but the myth lives on

The Italian star's rivalry with Gino Bartali makes Armstrong v Contador look like a playground spat

Admirable. Coppi's melancholy journey from poverty to superstardom is a cautionary tale of the price of fame

The quality of the testimony and the sources used by Fotheringham are of a remarkable breadth and depth. An excellent book

Fotheringham is at his best when describing the emergence of a new national hero from a world of rubble and grinding poverty

A fantastic study of Coppi's life and achievements ... Everything you need or want to know about Fausto is in this book

William Fotheringham writes for the Guardian and Observer on cycling and rugby. A racing cyclist and launch editor of procycling and Cycle Sport magazines, he has reported on over twenty Tours de France. He is the critically lauded author of Fallen Angel, Roule Britannia, Put Me Back on My Bike, which Vélo magazine called 'The best cycling biography ever written; and the Sunday Times number one bestselling biography of Eddy Merckx.

Voted the most popular Italian sportsman of the twentieth century, Fausto Angelo Coppi was the campionissimo - champion of champions. The greatest cyclist of the immediate post-war years, he was the first man to win cycling's great double, the Tour de France and Tour of Italy in the same year - and he did it twice. He achieved mythical status for his crushing solo victories, world titles and world records. But his significance extends far beyond his sport. 
 
Coppi's scandalous divorce and controversial early death convulsed a conservative, staunchly Roman Catholic Italy in the 1950s. At a time when adultery was still illegal, Coppi and his lover were dragged from their bed in the middle of the night, excommunicated and forced to face a clamorous legal battle. The ramifications of this case are still being felt today. 
 
In Fallen Angel, acclaimed cycling biographer, William Fotheringham, tells the tragic story of Coppi's life and death - of how a man who became the symbol of a nation's rebirth after the disasters of war died reviled and heartbroken. Told with insight and intelligence, this is a unique portrait of Italy and Italian sport at a time of tumultuous change.

In Search of Tom Simpson

Put Me Back on My Bike

The definitive account of the life of Britain's greatest cyclist by Britain's greatest cycling writer.

A beautiful explanation of why Simpson's legend still exerts such a powerful hold

The definitive story of Britain’s greatest ever cyclist

A definitive insight into one of cycling’s most intriguing characters and tragic stories

William Fotheringham writes for the Guardian and Observer on cycling and rugby. A racing cyclist and launch editor of Procycling and Cycle Sport magazines, he has reported on over twenty Tours de France. He is the critically lauded author of Fallen Angel, Roule Britannia, and Put Me Back on My Bike, which Vélo magazine called 'The best cycling biography ever written', and the bestselling biography of Eddy Merckx.

Discover the story of Britain’s ultimate cyclist and his ill-fated race during the 1967 Tour de France, from the bestselling author of Half Man Half Bike 
 
Tom Simpson was an Olympic medallist, world champion and the first Briton to wear the fabled yellow jersey of the Tour de France. He died a tragic early death during the 1967 Tour. A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs, and was accused of fixing races, yet the dapper 'Major Tom' inspired awe and affection for the obsessive will to win which was ultimately to cost him his life. 
 
 Put Me Back on My Bike revisits the places and people associated with Simpson to produce the definitive story of Britain's greatest ever cyclist. The fully revised and updated edition of William Fotheringham's classic biography features a new foreword and postscript further exploring the truth behind the legend. 
 
‘The best cycling biography ever written' Velo 
 ‘A beautiful explanation of why Simpson's legend still exerts such a powerful hold’ Sunday Times

William Fotheringham

William Fotheringham… Can legitimately stake a claim to being the Bard of the Bike, the most prolific and mythic of cycling writers, the Ernest Hemingway of two wheels.

There are few finer scribes on the subject in this country than William Fotheringham.

Arguably the best film ever made about professional cycling.

You can see every bead of sweat on the cyclists and every smashed-up ankle. It really makes you never want to get on a bike again. But it is an amazing film.

Behind the Lens of the Greatest Cycling Film of All Time

The Paris-Roubaix Classic. 273 kilometres of torment across the bone-crunching pavé of northern France. 
In 1976 the celebrated Danish film director, Jørgen Leth, embarked on an ambitious project to capture the spirit of this spectacular and cruel one-day race. The resulting film, A Sunday in Hell, has become the most admired cycling documentary of all time, and its revolutionary camera and sound techniques have forever changed the way the sport is viewed on screen. 
The film centres around legends including Eddie Merkx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Freddie Maertens and Francesco Moser, capturing not just their experiences from the saddle, but also the mood of a nation and its relationship with the most punishing of the Spring Classics. 
Sunday in Hell looks at the men, the method and the places behind the film. It observes the creativity of Leth and his collaborators, explores the lives of riders such as unlikely winner Marc Demeyer and revisits locations which have changed little to this day.

William Fotheringham

Praise for Sunday in Hell

William Fotheringham… Can legitimately stake a claim to being the Bard of the Bike, the most prolific and mythic of cycling writers, the Ernest Hemingway of two wheels.

There are few finer scribes on the subject in this country than William Fotheringham.

Arguably the best film ever made about professional cycling.

William Fotheringham… Can legitimately stake a claim to being the Bard of the Bike, the most prolific and mythic of cycling writers, the Ernest Hemingway of two wheels.

There are few finer scribes on the subject in this country than William Fotheringham.

Arguably the best film ever made about professional cycling.

William Fotheringham… Can legitimately stake a claim to being the Bard of the Bike, the most prolific and mythic of cycling writers, the Ernest Hemingway of two wheels.

There are few finer scribes on the subject in this country than William Fotheringham.

Arguably the best film ever made about professional cycling.

Books by William Fotheringham

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