It's time we all stopped whining and learned a thing or two from The Toughest Cyclists Ever. Including:Stephen Roche, whose cure for exhaustion was to go up a gear and fight harder, all the way to the ambulance. Eddy Merckx, who hurt himself so badly in breaking the Hour record that, he estimated, he shortened his career by a year. Beryl Burton, who crushed her (male) rival's morale with the offer of a piece of liquorice, before speeding past to victory. Nicole Cooke and E...

Rule #6: Free your mind and your legs will follow.THE VELOMINATI embrace cycling not as a pastime, but as a way of life, as obsessed with style, heritage, authenticity and wisdom as with performance.Rule #9: If you cycle in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.THE RULES is their Bible. It is an essential part of every cyclist's arsenal - whether you're grudgingly cycling to work in the rain or gearing up to be the next Bra...

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...

'Peter Cossins is an engaging writer whose conversational style makes this an effortless yet interesting read. The cosy tone delivers a great deal with a good balance of history and anecdotes. If you wish to explore cycling beyond the Grand Tours this is the book.' - Carlton KirbyAn awe-inspiring history of the five most legendary 'classic' races in world cycling.The Tour de France may provide the most obvious fame and glory, but i...

SHORTLISTED FOR CYCLING BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS'Paris-Roubaix is the best race in the world and knocks spots off the Tour de France.' Sir Bradley Wiggins.Paris-Roubaix. The Hell of the North. The ultimate monument in cycling's Classics. More than 150 miles across dusty or muddy roads, much of it puncture-inducing and bone-breaking cobblestones. Even professional riders blanche at the very mention of it. Tour de France winners (with the notable exc...

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 ...

The intimate biography of the charismatic Tour de France winner Marco Pantani, now u****pdated to include the 2014 and 2015 investigation into Pantani's death.National Sporting Club Book of the YearShortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award'An exhaustively detailed and beautiful book . . . a fitting, ambivalent tribute - to the man, and to the dark heart of the sport he loved' Independent

ONE WAY TICKET is the story of a man and modern cycling.Jonathan Vaughters is one of the leading figures in world cycling, a record-breaking mountain climber, Tour de France stage winner and former teammate to Lance Armstrong. He is now manager and influential figurehead of the renowned Education First World Tour team.In ONE-WAY TICKET: Nine Lives and Two Wheels he describes a journey from driven teenage prodigy, travelling to races in the...

*'I pulled off my glasses and wiped my eyes. "*That was perhaps the last race of my career..."'Deep down, Mark Cavendish thought he was finished. After illness, setbacks and clinical depression, the once fastest man in the world had been written off by most. And at the age of 36, even he believed his explosive cycling career would fade out with a whimper. The Manxman hadn't won a single Grand Tour stage in Italy, Spain or France since 2016.But then came his incredi...

'I have success, money, women. I've been lionised by the public and the media. The world is at my feet. I've spread my wings and here I am, soaring above everything and everyone. But in reality, the descent has already begun.'Thomas Dekker was set to become one of pro cycling’s superstars. But before long, he found himself sucked in by the lure of hedonistic highs and troubled by the intense pressure to perform.In The Descent, Dekker tells his story of hotel room b...

'Beautiful, an instant classic, a poignant voyage through Barry's love for cycling and the turmoil he lived through because of it.' DAVID MILLARIn Shadows on the Road, Michael Barry explores the dreams and passions of cycling in this moving and controversial account of life at the heart of the Peloton, from the one day classics to the Tour de France, from US Postal to Team Sky.In 2012, veteran cyclist Michael Barry announced his re...

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...