Happy 100th race, Tour de France The deluxe "Official Treasures" series celebrates the grand occasion with a brand-new boxed edition. It gives fans of this 2,200-mile event considered the greatest test of endurance in the sporting world an authoritative account of each major era up to and including the 2012 Tour, plus 40 items of historic memorabilia packaged into six folders. The removable facsimiles include souvenir brochures, period newspapers, posters, stickers, and postcards and correspondence from leading cyclists. An official publication of ASO, the organizers of the Tour de France, in tandem with the French sports newspaper "L'Equipe," this volume features a foreword by Bernard Hinault, a five-time champion and Tour ambassador."

An illustrated celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France. TREASURES OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE is a celebration of the 100th edition of the one of the world's most famed annual events. Generally considered to be the greatest test of endurance in the sporting world, the Tour de France covers more than 2200 miles in just over three weeks, climbing high into both the Alps and Pyrenees on a circular journey around France and briefly into neighbouring countries before ending on Paris's iconic Champs-Elysees. This brand new edition, in an exciting new format with new features and stories, comprises an authoritative narrative account of each major era in the sport up to and including the 2012 Tour and items of memorabilia from the past 109 years. There are features on the superstars and the memorable moments for each of the years. It also contains 40 facsimilie items of rare sporting memorabilia from the race archives packaged into six folders. The reader can relive the dramatic events that have entranced the watching millions by holding and examining souvenir brochures, period newspapers, posters, stickers, postcards and items of correspondence from leading figures associated with the epic sports event.

The Treasures of the Tour de France comprises an authoritative narrative account of each major era in the sport up to and including the 2008 Tour. The reportage is complemented by features on the superstars and the memorable moments for each of the eras. It also contains 40 facsimile items of rare sporting memorabilia integrated into the pages of the book. The reader can relive the dramatic events that have entranced the watching millions by holding and examining souvenir brochures, period newspapers, posters, stickers, postcards and items of correspondence from leading figures associated with the epic sports event.

Comprising an authoritative narrative account of each major era in the history of the epic race, up to and including the 2007 Tour, this work also contains 40 facsimile items of sporting memorabilia integrated into its pages. The greatest endurance test in sports, the Tour de France covers more than 2,200 miles in just over three weeks, climbing high into the Alps and Pyrenees on a circular journey around France and into neighboring countries before ending on the Champs-Élysées. This official publication of the Tour's organizers presents an authoritative history of the sport, including 40 items of rare memorabilia such as personal letters from champions, logbook entries, regulations from 1910, and more!

When Henri Desgrange decided to stage a bicycle race as a publicity stunt to promote his cycling newspaper, L'Auto, in 1903, he could have had little idea that the event would, a century later, have evolved into one of the world's most iconic and perhaps greatest sporting events. this fascinating book plots the extraordinary evolution of this great race, from its early beginnings and pre-war rivalries, to its post-war re-establishment. It includes the great conflicts between riders in the late 1940s and 1950s, and the emergence of cycling superstars from the 1960s and beyond who would go on to dominate eras of the race. the Official treasures of Le tour De France comprises an authoritative narrative account of the event s history, up to and including the 2006 race, complemented by features on the superstars and the memorable moments of each era, maps of the key stages and stats boxes. Also included are more than 30 facsimile items of rare sporting memorabilia, such as souvenir brochures, period newspapers, posters, stickers, postcards and correspondence. Many of these items are previously unpublished.

The Official History of the Tour de France is a celebration of one of the greatest annual sporting events, and the premier competition in world cycling. Through more than 300 photographs, rarely-seen documents and items of memorabilia, this book covers more than a century of fascinating stories on the Tour and its iconic yellow jersey. This revised and updated edition includes an authoritative narrative account of each major era, up to and including the thrilling 2020 Tour - a dramatic contest completed against all the odds - and a preview of the 2021 event. There are features on superstar cyclists and memorable moments from each period of the event's rich history, and a foreword from legendary Tour de France champion Stephen Roche, all of which combines to form the definitive illustrated book on the Tour.

"Shows that sport has been for us moderns the ultimate tabula rasa into which we pour our hopes, fears, prejudices and self-interest."—Robert A. Nye, author of Crime, Madness, & Politics in Modern France and Masculinity and Male Codes of Honor in Modern France "A true gem of a book. A terrific scholar and an engaging writer."—Dean MacCannell, author of The Tourist and Empty Meeting Grounds "A major new interpretation of France's most famous sporting event. For the first time the Tour de France has been fully and carefully placed within the wider context of French history."—Richard Holt, author of Sport and Society in Modern France and Sport and the British "Chris Thompson has written an engaging, nicely-paced account of France's world-famous cycle race: his writing is lively and full of detail and excitement. But he has done much more than simply narrate the story of the Tour. His book sets the race—its history, its participants and its meaning—firmly in its shifting national and cultural contexts. The sections dealing with professional cycling as a form of labor and with the Tour's place in France's troubled twentieth century are absolutely first-rate: insightful and original. This is the best history of the Tour that we have and are likely to have for many years, a work of scholarship that deserves to find a broad general readership."—Tony Judt, author of Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945