Bad Blood: The Secret Life of the Tour de France

Description

Shortlisted for the 2008 William Hill Sports Book of the Year - an insider's story of ten years following the Tour de France, and of how a sport has been corrupted by commercialism, scandal and drugs. Now revised and updated. Even the biggest cycling fan can one day wake up to find that he has lost his faith Bad Blood is the story of Jeremy Whittle's journey from unquestioning fan to Tour de France insider and confirmed sceptic. It's about broken friendships and a sport divided; about having to choose sides in the war against doping; about how galloping greed and corporate opportunism have led the Tour de France to the brink of destruction. Part personal memoir, part devastating expose of a sport torn apart by drugs and scandal, Bad Blood is a love letter to one man's past, and a warning to cycling's future. 'Whatever you think about doping, you must read this book ... Well-balanced, considered, compelling' Rouleur Shortlisted for the 2008 William Hill Sports Book of the Year

Jeremy Whittle has been covering professional cycling since 1993. A former editor of Procycling magazine and the Official Guide to the Tour de France, he covers cycling for The Times and the Sunday Herald. He has appeared on BBC Radio 4, Radio 5, NPR and CNN and is the author of Yellow Fever (1998) and Le Tour (2003).

Whatever you think about doping, you must read this book ... Well-balanced, considered, ...compelling * Rouleur * Deeply personal, engaging... nuanced, complicated * Scotsman * A warts-and-all portrait of a sport that has more warts than a sackful of toads * Daily Telegraph *