Wide-Eyed and Legless: Inside the Tour de France

In 1987, the Tour was won by Irishman Stephen Roche. It was the first time the champion had hailed from outside the Continent or the States and the first time in 20 years a British team—ANC Halfords—had competed in the world's toughest and craziest race. Jeff Connor, on assignment there as a newspaper reporter, not only stayed with the British team but also found himself an unofficial team member, driving, sorting out hotel rooms, packing, and unpacking. In this long-awaited new edition of Wide-Eyed and Legless, now widely regarded as a classic of cycling literature, Connor describes in detail what it takes to compete, survive, and win during those 26 days of grueling effort in the name of sport. Alongside the heroism and athleticism, he reveals the extraordinary amounts of chicanery, from pulling riders along to illicit drug use. Time has not dimmed the impact of this eye-opening and entertaining close-up look at the supreme endurance event that is the Tour de France, and Wide-Eyed and Legless is destined to be acclaimed by a whole new generation of cycling enthusiasts.