Cycling Memoirs

For over a decade Alex Dowsett had been one of Britain’s best cyclists. He has ridden Grand Tours and Classics for elite teams including Sky and Movistar and broke the iconic World Hour Record – the ultimate time trial challenge. With humour, insight and brutal honesty, Alex tells of the challenges he has faced in his struggle to reach the top and his years as a pro-cyclist.

Beloved German cyclist Jens Voigt isn't a superstar in the traditional sense of the word. Although he won three stages of the Tour de France - and wore the yellow jersey twice - Voigt never claimed an overall victory. He became a star because he embodies qualities that go beyond winning and losing: sacrifice, selflessness, reliability, and devotion. European and American crowds were drawn to his aggressive riding style, outgoing nature, and refreshing realness.

For over 50 years, Eddy Merckx has reigned supreme as the greatest cyclist of all time, winning every bike race going: Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, La Vuelta, The Monuments, World Championships and the Hour Record. Former L'Équipe journalist Guy Roger has traversed Europe to talk to the officials and journalists who were there, to interview Merckx's former adversaries and teammates, and to reveal their accounts of racing with and against him.

It started with a cash drop by an English spy in occupied Paris in 1944. Reserved for Resistance groups during the war, the money reached Émilien Amaury, an advertising executive, who was tasked to help France return to a free press once liberated. He soon launched a newspaper empire that—unbeknown to him—would own the rights to run what would become one of the greatest sporting events in history.

What is it really like to be a racer? What is it like to be swept along at 60kmh in the middle of the pack? How does it feel to be reeled in from a solo breakaway metres from the line? What happens to the body during a high-speed chute? What tactics must teams employ to win the day, the jersey, the grand tour? How does a domestique keep going to the end of a stage once his job is done and his body exhausted?

Wieso fährt ein Mensch mit der eigenen Muskelkraft Berge hinauf – auch mit mäßigen Erfolgsaussichten und unter allergrößten Qualen? Und wieso setzt er sich am nächsten Tag aufs Rad und beginnt von vorn? Was ist das Geheimnis dieses Sports, der das größte Opfer und das größte Glück vereint? Rick Zabel kennt die Antwort. Als Sohn eines erfolgreichen Sprinters wurde er selbst Profi, fuhr alle großen Rennen – mit deutlich weniger Siegen, aber mit derselben Hingabe und Leidenschaft.

Known, thanks to his racing style and attitude, for being one of road cycling's last romantics, Dan has always shied away from revealing too much about himself and his story. Now, having retired at the end of the 2021 season aged 35 and no longer bound by the constraints of the racing circuit, Dan feels the time is right to tell his story in the same forthright and honest manner that he rode his bike. This audiobook reflects Dan's generous and outspoken spirit, his resilience to pain, crashes, bad luck and, finally, his acceptance of destiny.

At the age of 69, Jonas Barter embarks on an inspiring adventure to celebrate retirement and reassure himself that the old body in the mirror is still friends with the younger guy in the head. This quest becomes the story of a 2,000 km bicycle trip in Northern Africa.

The Tour de France may provide the most obvious fame and glory, but it is cycling’s one-day tests that the professional riders really prize. Toughest, longest and dirtiest of all are the so-called ‘Monuments’, the five legendary races that are the sport’s equivalent of golf’s majors or the grand slams in tennis. Milan–Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris­–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Tour of Lombardy date back more than a century, and each of them is an anomaly in modern-day sport. Peter Cossins tells the history of these extraordinary races and the riders they have immortalised.

Johan Bruyneel knows what it takes to win. In 1998, this calculating Belgian and former professional cyclist looked Lance Armstrong in the eye and said, "Look, if were going to ride the Tour, we might as well win." In that powerful phrase a dynasty was born.

Rebecca Rusch has run the gauntlet of endurance sports over her career as a professional athlete—climbing, adventure racing, whitewater rafting, cross-country skiing, and mountain biking—racking up accolades and world championships along the way.

In 2018, Leigh Timmis became the fastest person to cycle across Europe—in just 16 days, 10 hours and 45 minutes—breaking the previous world record by an astonishing 8 days and 17 hours. But when he set out to break the record, Leigh wasn't just trying to conquer the road. As he prepared his body for this ultra-endurance world record attempt, Leigh realized that he would have to confront deeper problems to make it to the finish line.

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. Three decades on from his retirement, he remains the last Frenchman to win the Tour de France. His victory in 1985 marks the turning point when the nation who had dominated the first eight decades of the race they had invented suddenly found they were no longer able to win it.

After leaving behind the routines of work life, Kevin Ryan sets out on a 4,000-mile journey by bicycle across America to discover who he is after a fulfilling and busy career. From the charming small towns of New England to the vast, rugged landscapes of the Rocky Mountains, this inspiring memoir captures not only the physical adventure but also the deeper, more personal quest for a renewed sense of purpose.

The biggest annual sports event in the world is the Tour de France. In the wake of its overwhelming popularity, it’s easy to forget that there is much more to cycling than whoever gets to wear the yellow jersey. Cycling is rich with legends and pioneers, and it is their stories which light up this compelling account of the sport. This is the story of British cycling as told through the lives of the people who built it. From the first recorded race in a Paris park in 1868 to the present day, Great British Cycling Legends profiles the true originals.

In 1887 a 21-year-old newspaperman named George Nellis (1865-1948) rode a bicycle from Herkimer, New York, to San Francisco in 72 days, surpassing the transcontinental bicycle record by several weeks. He averaged 50 miles a day pedaling a 52-inch, high-wheeled Columbia Expert "ordinary" bicycle with a tubular steel frame and hard rubber tires, and he lost 23 pounds in the process.

As Ellie’s 50th birthday approaches and her ambitions of a steady income, a successful career and an ascent of Everest seem as far away as ever, she begins to doubt she’s capable of achieving anything at all. So when her best friend Mick suggests a gruelling cycle ride from Land’s End to John o’Groats, she takes up the challenge. They opt for the scenic route which takes them along cycle paths, towpaths and the back roads and byways of Britain, unable to resist sampling beers in the pubs they pass along the way.

Before Bradley Wiggins, there was Sean Yates. Behind Bradley Wiggins, there was Sean Yates. One of only five Britons to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, Sean Yates burst onto the cycling scene as the rawest pure talent this country has ever seen. After turning professional at the age of 22, he soon became known as a die-hard domestique, putting his body on the line for his teammates.

Have you ever thought about the words that show up in the imaginary bubble over your head when you look in the mirror, or the mixed feelings of both horror and humor that come with the aging process? Life Cycling will take you on a spirited ride as Alayne shares her stories of motherhood, menopause, family, cancer, grief, and all of the moving parts that make up a woman’s life. With her distinctive and refreshingly forthright style, Alayne’s take on life coming at us will have you feeling like you are enjoying a glass of wine with her on the front porch on a sunny afternoon.

In the wake of the Tour de France’s fallen heroes, the story of one of history’s most legendary cyclists provides a much-needed antidote. In 1907 the world’s most popular athlete was not Cy Young or Ty Cobb. Rather, he was a black bicycle racer named "Major” Taylor. In his day, Taylor became a spiritual and athletic idol. He was the fastest man in America and a champion who prevailed over unspeakable cruelty. The men who aided him were among the most colorful to emerge from the era.