Sports Biography Cycling

An intense and inspiring story of sporting triumph, from World, Commonwealth and National racing champion and Olympic silver medalist Lizzie Armitstead. On the eve of the 2016 Olympic Games, the biggest moment of her life, Lizzie Armitstead's career was throw n into turmoil. After being cleared to ride the Games at the final hour following a successful court appeal to overturn an alleged missed drugs test, the ensuing leak and backlash threatened to engulf her.

When Geoff Thomas struggled to play a friendly game of tennis while on holiday in Mallorca in May 2003, he thought little of it. Recently retired as a footballer, he believed it was a sign of ageing and perhaps a pulled muscle. But when the pain wouldn't go away, his wife Julie persuaded him to go to a doctor. He was diagnosed as having leukaemia. Riding Through the Storm focuses on his journey round the Tour de France in the summer of 2005.

Across the UK, into Europe and further afield, these are the training rides, races and journeys closest to his heart. From one-day classics in the Peak District and Snowdonia to the rolling roads of Tuscany and the wide-open vistas of New Zealand's South Island, these are the routes you'll want to ride alongside Britain's favourite cycling superstar. Twenty rides, twenty adventures you'll never forget.

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.

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.

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.

Bellissimo in volo come l'Airone, e come l'Airone inadatto alla terra. Di qui il dramma di Fausto Coppi, la sua scissione, l'essere stato predisposto da una bizzarra natura a vivere una vita da ciclista e non da uomo, con le sue debolezze e le sue passioni. Così, quando fu travolto dalla passione come un uomo qualsiasi, quando incontrò la sfolgorante Giulia, i suoi tifosi e il mondo intero non gli perdonarono quel momento di debolezza.

Il "Cannibale" Eddie Merckx, il più forte di tutti, e il "Pirata" Marco Pantani, un magnifico testardo che ci ha lasciato troppo presto. Beppe Saronni e la perfetta strategia della fucilata di Goodwood, Claudio Chiappucci e l'impresa tutta istinto del Sestrière. L'indisciplinato Peter Sagan e Laurent Fignon, il "Professore". E poi l'irrequietezza dell'enigmatico Gianni Bugno, l'impetuosa forza tranquilla di Miguel Indurain, il fascino di Fabian Cancellara e la spavalderia di Lance Armstrong, al centro dello scandalo più grande della storia del ciclismo.

Milano-Sanremo, Giro d'Italia - indossando la maglia rosa dalla prima all'ultima tappa - Coppa del Mondo, due Mondiali consecutivi, due Alpe d'Huez, due podi al Tour de France, un Giro delle Fiandre. Erano i primi anni Novanta e Gianni Bugno faceva sognare una Nazione intera. A trent'anni dai suoi più grandi successi, Bugno si racconta nella sua prima autobiografia. Lo fa con quello stile, umile e signorile, che lo ha sempre caratterizzato. Una persona di poche parole, divenuta suo malgrado mito.

When he was overtaken by a jogger on a borrowed mountain bike, Jo knew it was time for drastic action. Welcome to the world of a man in his 60s and his new e-bike. His first injury occurred within one foot! Setting off for his first practice ride round a car park, he misjudged the width of the handlebars and scraped his hand on the cycle shop's stone wall. You'll go places you'll never have dreamed of, said the shop owner. Prophetic words indeed. Eighteen hours later Jo was embedded in his neighbour's hedge due to a clothing malfunction.

To achieve an Olympic gold is impressive; to be part of a couple doing this in the same sport is rare; to do it 10 times between you is unprecedented. Britain's most successful female and male Olympians give us the inside track on becoming a champion. Hear their take on how they became the best in the world while finding in each other the perfect partner.

In 2001, when the bible of the sport, Cycling Weekly, ran a poll to decide the greatest British cyclist, Chris Boardman's was the name that topped the list. It was Boardman's lone achievements in the '80s and '90s - Olympic track gold, the world hour record, repeatedly claiming the yellow jersey in the Tour de France - that lit the spark for modern British cycling. His endeavours both on and off the bike have made him the founding father of current golden generation - without him there would simply be no Hoy, Wiggins or Cavendish.

Marty Nothstein, one of the greatest cyclists of all time, arrived at the 1996 Olympic Games a heavy favorite. In the match sprint at the Atlanta Olympics, an event akin to prizefighting on a bicycle, he raced around a banked, oval track. Nothstein lost by a hair's width on the finish line and vowed to win the gold at the next Olympics, saying, "I didn't come here for a silver medal."

So rapid has this national transformation been that it has taken place within the lifetimes of these remarkable young sportsmen. Colombia Es Pasión! How a New Generation of Cyclists Changed a Nation explores the lives and dreams of each of Colombia's leading cyclists. Theirs are inspiring stories of overcoming poverty and violence, sickness and corruption - of the emergence of the indigenous to global sporting glory.

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.

Absprachen, Lügen und kuriose Methoden: so kam es zu den Skandalen im Rennradsport. Blutdoping, verbotene Leistungssteigerungen und geheime Abmachungen für den Sieg des Team-Favoriten - ab den 1990er-Jahren taumelte der Radsport und mit ihm die Tour de France von einem Skandal zum nächsten. Vom Glanz des gelben Trikots blieb in jenen Tagen nicht mehr viel. Wie organisiert lief das Doping in der TdF ab, wer war beteiligt und wie konnten berühmte Dopingfälle so lange unbemerkt bleiben?

Ishbel Rose Holmes was adrift and alone when she set out to bicycle across the world. She was pedaling across Turkey when a street dog, Lucy, crossed her path and changed her life forever. Ishbel did not want anything or anyone to slow her down, but when she witnessed Lucy attacked by other dogs, Ishbel rescued her - forming a deep bond between the pair. Ishbel recognized her own vulnerability in her new canine friend and launched a heartfelt mission to find Lucy a home and give her a happy life.

Until 1894 there were no female sport stars, no product endorsement deals, and no young mothers with the chutzpah to circle the globe on a bicycle. Annie Kopchovsky changed all of that.

Damiano Cunego, vincitore del Giro d'Italia 2004, si racconta nella sua prima autobiografia. Dal ricordo di un'infanzia felice passata sui monti veronesi - tra auto veloci, hockey su ghiaccio e corsa campestre - allo sbarco nel ciclismo che conta. Aneddoti, curiosità e foto dell'ex enfant prodige che avrebbe dovuto raccogliere l'eredità del più grande, Marco Pantani. Soprannominato Il Piccolo Principe, per il suo animo gentile e puro, Cunego ha avuto la sola colpa di voler correre onestamente.