The record-breaking cyclist shares his battle with bipolar disorder: "One of the best and most moving sports books I have read" ( The Times).Number 10 on Cycle Sport 's list of Best 50 Cycling Books of All TimeOn July 17, 1993, cyclist Graeme Obree stunned the world when he emerged from obscurity to smash Francesco Moser's World Hour Record. The Flying Scotsman is his searing autobiography, from his tough upbrin...

Bloomsbury presents The Obree Way by Graeme Obree, read by David Monteath‘A must-read book to make you faster on the bike’ – Cycling Weekly‘Graeme Obree is genius in the true sense of the word’ - Sir Chris Hoy, multiple Olympic cycling championA fully updated edition of twice world hour record holder and twice world 4000m pursuit champion Graeme Obree's popular guide to cycling.No one but G...

**'A must-read book to make you faster on the bike' – Cycling Weekly'Graeme Obree is genius in the true sense of the word.' - Sir Chris Hoy, multiple Olympic cycling champion**A fully updated edition of twice world hour record holder and twice world 4000m pursuit champion Graeme Obree's popular guide to cycling.No one but Graeme Obree has the clarity of vision to get to the heart of the 'problem' of how to improve as a racing cyclist. His i...

The early 21st century has been a golden age for British track cycling, with world championship glory for the likes of Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and Victoria Pendleton, and Olympic medals galore.Tracing the origins of this phenomenal success story, Mark Wellings delves into cycling's chaotic and colourful past to chronicle the rise of the sport through the story of Herne Hill Velodrome, the iconic south London venue.125 years on from the inaugural race, He...

The hottest sprinter in the world - TelegraphMark Cavendish is the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France's green jersey, the first to wear the iconic rainbow jersey in almost 50 years and our only ever rider to capture the Giro d'Italia points title. He is the most prolific sprinter in the Tour's history, and - according to L'Equipe - the best sprinter of all time. But smashing records and racking up victories means whole new levels of fame: and ...

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. Devastatingly fast, powerful and a fearless competitor, Yates won a stage of t...

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 nicknam...

In 1987 Stephen Roche touched greatnessIn June he won the Giro d'Italia, fighting a ferocious battle against not only his rivals but also against his teammates and an angry, partisan Italian crowd.In July Roche secured the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, blacking out shortly after crossing the line following a superhuman effort.In September, victory at the World Cycling Championships in Austria won Roche a near-unprecedented 'triple crown'....

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 instigat...

The inside story of Team Sky's challenge for the 2013 Tour de France.After the victory of Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky in the 2012 Tour de France, the pressure was on the team to repeat their success in 2013. When Wiggins had to pull out of the defence of his yellow jersey, attention moved to Chris Froome, who had finished as runner-up the year before. Could he bring about back-to-back victories fo...

Few British schoolchildren of the seventies can have been as obsessed with the Tour de France as William Fotheringham, who smuggled copies of Miroir du Cyclisme into lessons to read inside his books. He saw the Tour for the first time in 1984, avidly following that year's race on television in the Normandy village where he lived.Since joining the Guardian in 1989, William Fotheringham has been at the forefront of British cycling journalism. Here he reflects on the...

For 11 years I was a professional cyclist, competing in the hardest and greatest races on Earth. I was in demand from the world's best teams, a well-paid elite athlete. But I never won a race. I was the hired help.When my mum dropped me off in a small French town aged 17, I was full of determination to be a professional cyclist, but I was completely green. I went from mowing the team manager's lawn to winning every amateur race I entered. Then I turned pro and realised I hated the ...