Anquetil, Alone

A wonderful little book about a great man'Tim Krabbé, author of The Rider'If you don't know Fournel, then you're missing out, if you don't know Anquetil, then you don't know cycling. 'David MillarI don't love the bike, the bike loves me. It's going to pay for it. For the young Paul Fournel, Jacques Anquetil was the only rider that mattered: arrogant, iconoclastic, elegant and victorious. His aristocratic demeanour and relaxed attitude to rules, his womanising and frank admissions of doping appalled 1960s French society, even as his five Tour de France wins enthralled it. In this stunningly original biography, Fournel blends the story of Anquetil's life with scenes from his own, with the passion of a fan and the eye of a poet. It is a classic of cycling literature. Anquetil, Alone is translated by Nick Caistor. 'An unconventional take on a fascinating character. This is not your standard cycling biography - and all the better for it. 'Gary Imlach