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The Tour is Won on the Alpe: L'Alpe d'Huez and the Classic Battles of the Tour de France
If there is one mountain climb that embodies the spirit and magic of the Tour de France, it is the Alpe d'Huez. Its twenty-one hairpin turns and average gradient of 8.1 percent over 13.1 kilometers have become legendary, changing the careers of Americans Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong, and nearly destroying Jan Ullrich and Marco Pantani. Here at last is the definitive history and unforgettable story of cycling's greatest challenge.
In The Tour is Won on the Alpe: The Classic Battles of the Tour de France, cycling historian Jean-Paul Vespini tells the story of this celebrated climb and the mountain that so often acts as the ultimate arbiter for cycling's biggest prize. Each chapter covers one ascent, starting with Fausto Coppi's astonishing victory in 1952. Cycling's most famous names are all present and accounted for: Coppi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Pedro Delgado, Miguel Indurain, Marco Pantani, and of course the American victors Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong.
Jean-Paul Vespini's riveting descriptions of each battle to the top include candid interviews with riders, new insight into epic rivalries, and little-known but fascinating facts about the climb that has become a rite of passage for every rider in the peloton.
In The Tour is Won on the Alpe: The Classic Battles of the Tour de France, cycling historian Jean-Paul Vespini tells the story of this celebrated climb and the mountain that so often acts as the ultimate arbiter for cycling's biggest prize. Each chapter covers one ascent, starting with Fausto Coppi's astonishing victory in 1952. Cycling's most famous names are all present and accounted for: Coppi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Pedro Delgado, Miguel Indurain, Marco Pantani, and of course the American victors Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong.
Jean-Paul Vespini's riveting descriptions of each battle to the top include candid interviews with riders, new insight into epic rivalries, and little-known but fascinating facts about the climb that has become a rite of passage for every rider in the peloton.
208 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 13, 2016
THE TOUR IS WON ON THE ALPE by Jean-Paul Vespinin covers the history of the Alpe D’Huez races during the Tour De France from the first time in 1952 until 2006. I received 3 cycling books for Christmas and all of them have Lance Armstrong on the cover. This is one of them, however, only the last few chapters include Lance.
This book was originally written in French and this version was translated into English by David V. Herlihy. While the book may have sounded elegant in French, the English translation does not flow well. Certain phrases such as “pretenders to the throne” seem to be used over and over again. The author often relieves the winner of the stage early in the chapter so there is often no suspense.
There appear to be at least two mistakes in the book: 1. The author writes that Armstrong announced in 1995 that he had testicular cancer, but that did not happen until 1996. 2. He also says that Armstrong won the world championship in '94 when in fact he won it in 1993. Perhaps these are translation errors. There are annoying footnotes throughout the book. These require the reader to flip to the back of the book where one might find an interesting fact or a boring reference to a newspaper story. These foot notes should have been added to the foot of the pages. Maps of the race routes would have made the book more interesting. The statistics at the end of the book are excellent.
I would rate this book 3 stars out of 5. Your time would be better spent reading some other cycling book.
This book was originally written in French and this version was translated into English by David V. Herlihy. While the book may have sounded elegant in French, the English translation does not flow well. Certain phrases such as “pretenders to the throne” seem to be used over and over again. The author often relieves the winner of the stage early in the chapter so there is often no suspense.
There appear to be at least two mistakes in the book: 1. The author writes that Armstrong announced in 1995 that he had testicular cancer, but that did not happen until 1996. 2. He also says that Armstrong won the world championship in '94 when in fact he won it in 1993. Perhaps these are translation errors. There are annoying footnotes throughout the book. These require the reader to flip to the back of the book where one might find an interesting fact or a boring reference to a newspaper story. These foot notes should have been added to the foot of the pages. Maps of the race routes would have made the book more interesting. The statistics at the end of the book are excellent.
I would rate this book 3 stars out of 5. Your time would be better spent reading some other cycling book.
December 9, 2010
Fabulous book - a history of the tour through the eyes of one person, the Alpe d''Huez.
Though not every tour included the Alpe in its repertoire, Jean-Paul Vespini gives the reader a clear history of this epic sporting event by the simple task of focusing on a great mountain. We learn about the early days of racing before distant continents began to invade the tour, the development and destructive efforts of doping and intimate portraits of some of cycling's greatest heroes: Coppi, Mercks, Hinault, Maertens, van Impe, Zoetemelk, Fignon, Herrera, LeMond, Roche, Kelly, Bugno, Indurain, Hampsten, Pantani, Ullrich and Armstrong.
The protagonist may be the Alpe but the story is the tour.
Though not every tour included the Alpe in its repertoire, Jean-Paul Vespini gives the reader a clear history of this epic sporting event by the simple task of focusing on a great mountain. We learn about the early days of racing before distant continents began to invade the tour, the development and destructive efforts of doping and intimate portraits of some of cycling's greatest heroes: Coppi, Mercks, Hinault, Maertens, van Impe, Zoetemelk, Fignon, Herrera, LeMond, Roche, Kelly, Bugno, Indurain, Hampsten, Pantani, Ullrich and Armstrong.
The protagonist may be the Alpe but the story is the tour.
Want to read
August 15, 2009Looking forward to this fine collection of stories starring the Alpe d'Huez!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews