Roule Britannia

Presents the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of a Briton first completing the Tour, and the half-century of cultural exchange and British cycling's fight for recognition that followed. This book, through interviews with and profiles of all those who have competed, gives the record of their achievement, from those first stumbling efforts.

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Fifty years ago, ten Britons crossed the Channel and made history. For the first time, a team of British cyclists took part in the Tour de France, the most gruelling event in all of sport. Only two of those riders completed that 1955 race; only one British newspaper bothered to send a correspondent. Today, the Tour has become part of the British sporting calendar. Men such as Tom Simpson, Robert Millar and Chris Boardman have written their names into the record books alongside the sport's acknowledged greats. In Roule Britannia, William Fotheringham, acclaimed biographer of Tom Simson, gives us the definitive account of British cycling's achievements in the Tour, through exclusive interviews with and profiles of all those who have completed the event. From Brian Robinson to David Millar, Roule Britannia celebrates a nation's half-century-long affair with the greatest race of all...