Something different today as this is my first book review. The reason for this is because we are rapidly approaching the holiday season and we all need something to distract us from the sun, sea and sangria - oh and the kids!
The book I have chosen is Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape by Paul Howard and is an excellent biography of the first man to win the Tour de France on five occasions - Jacques Anquetil. Obviously whilst this year's tour is in progress it is topical to chose this book but my main reason is that whilst this is a biography, Anqeutil's life reads like a DH Lawrence novel and goes to show that fact nearly always produces a better story than fiction.
The book is excellently written and researched which makes it very hard to put down as any good book should. As well as covering the motivation and dedication that took Anquetil to not just his multiple tour wins but also his successes in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana (the first to win all three of the Grand Tours), it covers his laissez-faire attitude to drug use, his relationship with his main rival Raymond Poulidor and the fact the supporters of these two riders divided not just cycling fans but the French nation.
Of course whilst this all very interesting it is his "private" life that will have you enthralled from the affair and subsequent marriage to his doctor's wife, the child with her step-daughter and then the affair and child with his stepson's wife. If it had been written as a novel it would be considered too preposterous to be taken seriously and I haven't even mentioned his dietary intake during a tour.
Hopefully, that has whetted your appetite as whilst this is a factual book it is better than fiction and well worth a read. The book was published by Mainstream Publishing in 2008 and my copy is in Hardback and I am not sure if it is yet available in paperback.
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