The first book to cover in detail every major climb
ever used in the Tour de France, including detail on the
actual route (with maps and profile), length, height,
list of winners and route descriptions of how to emulate
the King of the Mountains and get from the bottom to the
top. Every year the Tour de France is said to only
really start when it reaches the first mountain stages:
the drama of the race only really begins as the climbers
take over in the Pyrenees, Vosges or Alps. The Tour is
also the most famous classic in cycling and draws huge
audiences to the TV and internet coverage (the official
web site holds the world record for number of hits
excluding search engines). But the route of the Tour is
not just for professionals. A growing number of people
now take their bikes and actually do a stage of the Tour
(the Etap - for amateurs, which this year attracted
8,000 people to climb one of the hardest mountain stages
in the Tour) or spend a week doing some of the more
notorious climbs (Ventoux - where Tommy Simpson died in
the 50s). This book is for everyone who watches the Tour
and has even the slightest of an inkling that they'd
like to do at least one of the climbs.Packed with
information on each climb, this is the ultimate guide to
the Tour climbs, which will remain important for many
years to come (the Tour only uses a set number of
climbs, which they return to every couple of years).
Contents - Eastern Pyrenees, Central Pyrenees, Western
Pyrenees, Vosges & Jura, Massif & Cevennes,
Northern Alps, Central Alps and Southern Alps |
|