The Shattered Peloton by Graham Healy
A fascinating, mind-boggling account of young athletes in their prime destroyed in the hell of war. A mesmerizing view of cycling in its golden age, and the darkness that followed. On June 28, 1914, one hundred and forty-five riders lined up in a suburb of Paris at 3 a.m. to start the first stage of the Tour de France. The race, which had been founded just a decade earlier, had grown to become the biggest bicycle race in the world. The riders did not know it at the time, but as they raced, an event was taking place on the opposite side of Europe which would change all of their lives forever: Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, triggering World War I. While racing went on in France, a diplomatic crisis had started that would try but fail to avert war. Shortly after the finish of the race, France mobilized its troops and went to war with Germany. The organizer of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange, despite being fifty years old, enrolled in the army shortly afterwards and encouraged the cyclists to do the same. The war would see over 16 million soldiers and civilians die. Many of the riders from that Tour de France did not return, and three previous winners of the race would be among those killed in action. The Shattered Peloton tells the story of that Tour de France and what happened to the top cyclists of the day during the course of the war. A brilliant, disturbing, important book for anyone with an interest in cycling or military history.
Graham Healy is a keen cyclist, having raced and taken part in various cyclosportives including Maratone dles Dolomiti and Etape du Tour. He also writes for the Sticky Bottle website, and is the author of Shay Elliott: The Life and Death of Ireland's First Yellow Jersey. He has had an interest in cycling since he was ten years old. He got the autograph of Eddy Merckx at the very first race he saw, without having a clue as to who Merckx was. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781621240112 |
| ISBN 10 | 1621240118 |
| Title | The Shattered Peloton |
| Author | Graham Healy |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Breakaway Books |
| Year published | 2014-05-27 |
| Number of pages | 221 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |