Tom Simpson was an Olympic medalist, a world champion cyclist, and the first Briton to wear the fabled yellow jersey of the Tour de France. He died a tragic early death on the barren moonscape of the Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour, and fans continue to make the pilgrimage to the windswept memorial that marks the spot where he died. A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs and was accused of fixing races. Yet the dapper "Major Tom" inspired awe and affection for his obsessive will to win, which ultimately cost him his life. Fully updated,...

Leading cycling writer William Fotheringham presents the biography of the greatest cyclist in history, Eddy Merckx--the extraordinary man who is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing. This definitive history chronicles his life, examining both the ups and the downs. Throughout his professional career Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories and exhibited a remorseless sense of domination that created his legend. But his triumphs only tell half of a story that includes horrific injury, a doping controversy, and tragedy. To discover the background of the Belgian cyclist's former...