Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike by William Fotheringham

Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike by William Fotheringham

What makes a man the greatest of all time?

Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pelé to football: quite simply, the best there has ever been.Throughout his professional career Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories. To put that in perspective, Bradley Wiggins has fewer than forty.

Merckx was a machine. It wasn't just the number of victories; it was his remorseless domination that created the legend. In 1969 while already comfortably leading the Tour de France, Merckx hammered a further eight-and-a-half minutes out of his nearest rivals during an 85-mile solo break in the Pyrenees. He didn't just beat his opponents, he crushed them.

But his triumphs only tell half a story that includes horrific injury, a doping controversy and tragedy.He was nicknamed 'The Cannibal' for his insatiable appetite for victory, but the moniker did scant justice to a man who was handsome, sensitive and surprisingly anxious.

For Britain's leading cycling writer, William Fotheringham, the burning question remains, why? What made Eddy Merckx so invincible? In Half Man, Half Bike, Fotheringham goes back to speak to those who were there at the time and those who knew Merckx best. The result is this extraordinary and definitive story of a man whose fear of failure would drive him to reach the highest pinnacles before ultimately destroying him.

The Cantona or Muhammad Ali of cycling, this Belgian’s story is amazing – and it’s told by one of the greatest cycling reporters around.. Top Notch * Loaded *
Remarkable and impressive…everything you want to know about Merckx and more -- Richard Abraham * Cycling Weekly *
The research is meticulous, the recapitulation of Merckx’s races sweet reminiscences for those who witnessed them and things of wonder for those that did not -- Henry Sheen * New Statesman *
Does full justice to a unique athlete * Independent on Sunday *
Excellent * Cycling Plus *

William Fotheringham writes for the Guardian and Observer on cycling and rugby. A racing cyclist and launch editor of procycling and Cycle Sport magazines, he has reported on over twenty Tours de France. He is the critically lauded author of Fallen Angel, Roule Britannia, and Put Me Back on My Bike, which Vélo magazine called 'The best cycling biography ever written.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780224074483
ISBN 10	0224074482
Title	Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike
Author	William Fotheringham
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Vintage Publishing
Year published	2012-03-22
Number of pages	320
Prizes	Short-listed for British Sports Book Publishing Awards 2013 (UK)
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.