Le Tour 100: The Definitive History of the World's Greatest

by Peter Cossins

HardCover. Pub Date :2013-05-07 Pages: 288 Language: English Publisher: Cassell Illustrated Le Tour 100 is a unique and stunning reference guide to the worlds greatest race. With 100 computer-generated artworks detailing the routes of the most important stages . it relates the most dramatic moments with an exhaustively researched array of facts. figures and stories to give the reader the ultimate Tour de France resource.Published to commemorate the 100th race. the 100 seminal moments of the Tour have been chosen by the panel of authors and a double-page spread is devoted to each selection showing the route. the story of the stages. the topography. pictures from the race. statistics and features. A front section profiles the key characters that were instrumental in the Tour s story and a gazetteer section at the back details every route the tour took and the winners of all th...

Genres: Sports, Cycling, Nonfiction, History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[James]

Even as oversized, year by year rehashings of Tour history go this one is decidedly meh. Broken into three sections, each seems to repeat the same pattern: one with riders, the next with key stages, and finally the route and final GC from each year. Yet none of them manage to capture the engagement of Suzi Clemitson's book (and she didn't waste anywhere near as much space with graphics). If you're given a copy and don't already know your history given it a read, otherwise the are better books out there.

[Gareth Williams]

Beautifully presented hardback to celebrate 100 tour de france editions. A little repetitive in structure, it is probably better as a reference work than a narrative history of the great and often controversial cycle race.

[Kara]

Excellent chronological history of the first 100 years of the Tour de France, laid out clearly and succinctly. Great introduction for newbies.

[Pam Masters]

I may revisit this book in the future. It's more of a coffee table book than one you can curl up with and read.

[Don Thornton]

Informative, but if you're looking for the ultimate history of the Tour, there are better options out there.

[Serge Pierro]

For those looking for an overview of the history of the Tour de France, there is no need to look any further. This beautiful book covers 100 years of the famous bicycle race and its racers.

The opening section features a short section on the major cyclists (including: Coppi, Merckx, Anquetil, Hinault, LeMond, Indurain, etc. ). The bulk of the book follows, and features a two page spread covering a stage from that years Tour. A short article reports on what happened, and it includes several pictures highlighting the subject matter. The final section shows all of the stages on a map (Individual maps from 1903-2013), along with a brief overview, the stage distances, and the final standings.

[Doug Cornelius]

More of a book of trivia, than it's subtitle of "the definitive history of the world's greatest race."

Each two page spread has a map of one route from the tour and discusses the winner of day and some important facts about that year's race and the events that unfold on that stage.

The book provides incredible detail and facts, but at the same time feels that it is only scratching the surface.

[Lee]

This large coffee table book outlines the 100 year history of the Tour De France. A brief introduction goes over how the race started and the huge number of scandal, hint Lance Armstrong was not the first. They then have 2 pages each on what they consider the 100 greatest stages in the 100 year history. The final part has the details; jersey winners brief overview of all 100 tours.

[Aaron]

Tour de France 100 summarizes the top 100 most interesting stages of the Tour with maps and photos. This book is probably only for someone who already knows (and cares a lot) about bicycle racing - otherwise I would recommend other books with better photography.

[JDK1962]

Quick, fun read, good photos (especially of early tours), marred by fairly pedestrian writing and jumping around in chronology during the individual sections/eras. Occasionally repetitive as well, jumping ahead and referencing someone's tragic death multiple times (e.g., Pantini).

[Barry Bridges]

An informative and easy to access book about the Tour. Definitely one that will be picked up on many an occasion!

[Edna]

Celebrating 100 years of the Tour de France with captivating historical facts, stage stories and lots of actual photos and progressive route maps. Excellent reading for bike-lovers.