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The First Tour de France: Sixty Cyclists and Nineteen Days of Daring on the Road to Paris Hardcover – Illustrated, June 6, 2017

by Peter Cossins (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 108 ratings
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From its inception, the 1903 Tour de France was a colorful affair. Full of adventure, mishaps and audacious attempts at cheating, it was a race to be remembered.

Cyclists of the time weren't enthusiastic about participating in this "heroic" race on roads more suited to hooves than wheels, with bikes weighing up to thirty-five pounds, on a single fixed gear, for three full weeks. Assembling enough riders for the race meant paying unemployed amateurs from the suburbs of Paris, including a butcher, a chimney sweep and a circus acrobat. From Maurice "The White Bulldog" Garin, an Italian-born Frenchman whose parents were said to have swapped him for a round of cheese in order to smuggle him into France as a fourteen-year-old, to Hippolyte Aucouturier, who looked like a villain from a Buster Keaton movie with his jersey of horizontal stripes and handlebar moustache, the cyclists were a remarkable bunch.

Starting in the Parisian suburb of Montgeron, the route took the intrepid cyclists through Lyon, over the hills to Marseille, then on to Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Nantes, ending with great fanfare at the Parc des Princes in Paris. There was no indication that this ramshackle cycling pack would draw crowds to throng France's rutted roads and cheer the first Tour heroes. But they did; and all thanks to a marketing ruse, cycling would never be the same again.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bold Type Books
  4. Publication date
    June 6, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    5.75 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1568589840
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1568589848
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book that will entertain everyone - from those casually interested in an adventure tale to avid sports enthusiasts."―Galveston County Daily News

"Essential...The First Tour de France takes you back to the race itself. Cossins produces a deeply researched and detailed description of the race that toggles between background information on the race's organization and the individual stages, with long stretches of real-time-style stage reporting one chapter at a time.The effect of this, especially the latter, is soaring."―Chris Fontecchio, Podium Café

About the Author

Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling magazine. He has covered sixteen Tours de France, writing for the Guardian, Times, and Telegraph, and is the author of several previous books on cycling related subjects.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bold Type Books; Illustrated edition (June 6, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1568589840
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1568589848
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 108 ratings

About the author

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Peter Cossins

Peter Cossins

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‘Climbers: How the Kings of the Mountains conquered cycling’ is now available to order.

Peter Cossins is the author of the award-winning 'Full Gas' and 'The Yellow Jersey'. His other books include 'The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-day Races', 'Butcher, Blacksmith, Acrobat, Sweep: The Tale of the First Tour de France', 'A Cyclist's Guide to the Pyrenees', and 'Alpe d'Huez: The Story of Cycling's Greatest Climb'.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
108 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

kb
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book for cyclists; recommend seller.
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2022
Verified Purchase
Interesting reading on the initial TdF - the race, riders, "rules," equipment, conditions, etc. Existing encyclopedic type articles capture some of the information, but this is a worthwhile additional compilation for me. Can't imagine any of today's pros competing/completing early TdFs under the original rules/conditions. Likewise, given the habits of many early racers, not sure how many of them would be competitive today. Take each era (and each race) for what it is.
Book arrived in good condition, well packaged and when promised. Would buy again from this seller.
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M Bishop
5.0 out of 5 stars fun read, cycle cross Tour de France.
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2022
Verified Purchase
If you are a fan of competitive cycling, the Tour, or just fun reading about crazy events with crazy participants you will enjoy Peter’s account of the first brutal Tour de France. It was a different animal than what we watch early each morning now on the flat screen. Be prepared to be amazed by these racers deeds.
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Tony Z
4.0 out of 5 stars A colorful cast of turn-of-the-century cyclists
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2019
Verified Purchase
Professional cycling's premier event is the Tour de France, and "The First Tour de France" provides a comprehensive look at turn of the century biking and the birth of the race. Though the modern bicycle was still relatively new, there were already a million bikes in France by the early 20th century and racing was a popular public entertainment. Spectators crowded stands to watch track racing, and lined the roads for point-to-point races. The Tour aspired to be more than just another race, though. Newspaper editor Henri Desgrange envisioned it as a means of boosting French patriotism and highlighting the physical prowess of its citizenry; in his opinion the country was still stinging from losing a war to Prussia 30 years earlier. Desgrange's secondary motivation was to boost the sales of his struggling paper, establishing the connection between professional cycling and commerce that still exists today. The race's multi-day tour format was innovative and designed to be a spectacle. The first quarter of the book covers its initial conception and organization, and is a little slow. The actual race description fills most the rest and has a surprising level of detail.

There's enough entertaining visual imagery that I could imagine a screen adaptation being enjoyable (and possibly more engaging than the book). The riders completed an amazing physical feat with many stages longer than what riders take on today, yet the science of the race was still completely undeveloped. We hear of riders slurping broth and eating whole chickens midrace, drinking alcohol (and consuming more potent intoxicants) for pain relief, wrestling to the front of the sign-in stations set up midstage, and laying down on the side of the road for a midrace nap. There are enough hijinks to suggest that the riders might be part of the "Busytown" universe. One racer habitually twirls his moustache, while another threatens competitors with physical violence. Cheating runs rampant, despite the supposed threat of undercover race judges lurking on the course. Bike manufacturers sponsoring riders already exert influence over the outcome of the race. Spectators crowd starting and ending checkpoints on the race, despite the fact that they will only see the riders for a minute or two.

All that said, I couldn't really recommend the book to someone uninterested in the world of bike racing. The details are descriptive and interesting, but it doesn't quite transcend the subject material.
3 people found this helpful
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virginia anne feinstein
5.0 out of 5 stars As promised
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2023
Verified Purchase
Arrived timely and in good shape
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MCS1968
5.0 out of 5 stars Very detailed
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2021
Verified Purchase
I'm a big fan of "The Tour." This may have too much detail for some, but I really enjoyed it. British accent for the reader and I enjoyed the elevated vocabulary in the story telling. I bought the audio version as I like to listen to books during my commute - but others may prefer the print version for a faster read. Very interesting to see what still is part of The Tour de France from its very inception!
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Beatrix Kiddo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2022
Verified Purchase
It's a great gift for a bike lover with a incredible account of the first Tour. Arrived in great condition.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars I gave this book as a gift...
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2021
Verified Purchase
... so I can't review it until the recipient has read it. Sorry.
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Yabbadabbadoo
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice and interesting book
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
A fan of the Tour would love this, as would someone with an interest in history. . It includes a lot of information about what was happening in France at that time which makes it very interring. A nice-looking book, too
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Top reviews from other countries

susan harrold
5.0 out of 5 stars good condition for its age
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2019
Verified Purchase
its for a present and I was very pleased with the book.
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Floss
3.0 out of 5 stars From america
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
Fast for an American posting supply but finding reading it is heavy going
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