Nicolas Roche has a famous surname to all fans of cycling. The son of legendary Irish and World Champion Stephen Roche, Nicolas had to fight to make it as a professional and even harder to make his mark as his own man in this toughest of competitive sports.His rise up the ranks has been meteoric, with top 15 finishes in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espa�a, but his attitude to his chosen profession has remained undimmed. Honest, eloquent and passionate about the cycling ...

Since the publication of the first edition, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as a public health issue, has increased in line with the predictions of the World Health Organization and by the year 2020, will become one of the main killers of human life.With several important large scaled trials becoming available and our knowledge of COP

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'....

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...

Stuart O'Grady is one of Australia's best-loved cyclists with a long and successful career in cycling for Australia and as a professional road cyclist. The record holder for most starts in a Tour de France ever, as well as an Olympic gold medallist and winner of the Green Jersey on four occasions, O'Grady is one of cycling's most respected stars. But in 2013, following his retirement, Stuart made a shock announcement: he had used EPO, a performance enhancing drug, in the 1998 Tour de Franc...

The story of a unique athlete's remarkable journey—from riding his bike in the Ngong Hills of Kenya to the sport's pinnacle, victory in the Tour de France.On 21 July 2013 Chris Froome made history as the second British cyclist to win the Tour de France—in the 100th edition of the world's most famous bike race—and the first ever African-born rider to wear the coveted maillot jaune on the top step of the podium in Paris. Froome's path into the elite ranks of road raci...

On Sunday 22 July, Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider ever to win the Tour de France. It was the culmination of years of hard work and dedication and a vision begun with the creation of Team Sky. This is the inside story of that journey to greatness.On Sunday 22 July, Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider ever to win the Tour de France. It was the culmination of years of hard work and dedication and a vision begun with the creation of Team Sky. This is the insi...

The son of a wrestler turned cycling coach called Killer Kowalski, Rob Hayles was soon winning races himself and realizing that he didn't really want to work for a living. The world of amateur club cycling in the 1990s was a long way from the millionaire sport of today though. When Rob first rode for Great Britain, it was with his own bike, one spare tyre, and a hand-me-down jersey.Yet Rob became an integral part of the amazing success story of British cycling, and has been at 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 ...

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 ...

In ETAPE, critically acclaimed author Richard Moore will take readers on a virtual Tour de France, with each chapter focusing on a single rider in a single stage that came to define the Tour’s history.In Étape, critically acclaimed author Richard Moore tells the stories behind some of the defining stages in the Tour de France’s history through the eyes of the protagonists: the heroes and villains, stars and journeymen.Featuring exclusive new interviews with Mark Cavendish, L...

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? What happens to the body during a high-speed chute? What tactics must teams employ to win the day, the jersey, the grand tour? What sacrifices must a cyclist make to reach the highest levels? What is it like on the bus? In the hotels? What camaraderie is built in the confines of a team? What rivalries? How does it feel to be constantly on the road, aw...