The Call of the Road: A Complete History of Cycle Road Racing Audiobook (Free)

Eddy Merckx. Fausto Coppi. Jacques Anquetil. Bernard Hinault. Beryl Burton. Marianne Vos.

A sole cyclist battling more than a pass saturated in the mountains is one of the most romantic of sporting pictures. Before 150 years road cycling has been dominated by a series of iconic people who have redefined endurance and fortitude. Every 10 years has pushed individual limits, until limitations were extended by inhuman pharmacology. And these battles have not been fought over just one competition, but about THE DECISION of the street: AN ENTIRE History of Cycle Road Racing an annual series beginning with the Planting season Classics and then culminating in the three great tours – the Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España as well as the Tour de France – before the cyclists retire to lick their wounds and start on another winter of training.

THE DECISION of the street is the definitive story of cycle road racing, in the first race in 1868 to the present day. It is a story which has never been told as the experts experience it – as a whole energy-sapping season. It looks at the beginning and advancement of the sport, it clarifies the methods and talks about the different physical types that be successful. It points out why some countries have dominated this sport and just why, until recently, English riders possess underperformed. In addition, it looks at the way the great races had been founded and created, and the way the great riders stamped their authority with them through the ages.

Sidwells doesn’t shy from controversy: dissecting the vexed and seemingly ever-present question of doping. The final chapter brings the storyplot of road race completely up to date with insight into jiffy hand bags and salbutamol levels.

Truly international in scope, looking at road racing in North and Latin America, Australia, Africa and Asia, aswell mainly because continental Europe, The Call of the street is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the annals, tactics or personalities of cycle road racing.