Audiobook12 hours
End of the Road: The Festina Affair and the Tour that Almost Wrecked Cycling
Written by Alasdair Fotheringham
Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
The Tour de France is always one of the sporting calendar's most spectacular and dramatic events. But the 1998 Tour provided drama like no other. As the opening stages in Ireland unfolded, the Festina team's soigneur Willy Voet was arrested on the French–Belgian border with a car-load of drugs. Raid after police raid followed, with arrest after arrest hammering the Tour. In protest, there were riders' strikes and go-slows, with several squads withdrawing en masse and one expelled. By the time the Tour reached Paris, just 96 of the 189 starters remained. And of those 189 starters, more than a quarter were later reported to have doped. The 1998 'Tour de Farce's' status as one of the most scandal-struck sporting events in history was confirmed.
Voet's arrest was just the beginning of sport's biggest mass doping controversy – what became known as the Festina affair. It all but destroyed professional cycling as the credibility of the entire sport was called into question and the cycling family began to split apart. And yet, ironically, the 1998 Tour was also one of the best races in years.
The End of the Road is the first English-language book to provide in-depth analysis and a colorful evocation of the tumultuous events during the 1998 Tour. Alasdair Fotheringham uncovers, step by step, how the world's biggest bike race sank into a nightmarish series of scandals that left the sport on its knees. He explores its long-term consequences – and what, if any, lessons were learned.
Voet's arrest was just the beginning of sport's biggest mass doping controversy – what became known as the Festina affair. It all but destroyed professional cycling as the credibility of the entire sport was called into question and the cycling family began to split apart. And yet, ironically, the 1998 Tour was also one of the best races in years.
The End of the Road is the first English-language book to provide in-depth analysis and a colorful evocation of the tumultuous events during the 1998 Tour. Alasdair Fotheringham uncovers, step by step, how the world's biggest bike race sank into a nightmarish series of scandals that left the sport on its knees. He explores its long-term consequences – and what, if any, lessons were learned.
Author
Alasdair Fotheringham
Alasdair Fotheringham is a freelance journalist based in Spain. He has covered 22 Tours de France and 20 Tours of Spain, as well as numerous other major races. The Independent and the Independent on Sunday's correspondent on Spain and cycling, he is also a regular contributor to a number of leading cycling magazines and websites.
Related to End of the Road
Related audiobooks
Three Weeks, Eight Seconds: Greg Lemond, Laurent Fignon, and the Epic Tour de France of 1989 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tour Fever: The Armchair Cyclist's Guide to the Tour de France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Call of the Road: A Complete History of Cycle Road Racing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Icons: My Inspiration. My Motivation. My Obsession. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Slaying the Badger: Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, and the Greatest Tour de France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mechanic's Tale: Life in the Pit-Lanes of Formula One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Boy: Stirling Moss: A Life in 60 Laps Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Untold Stories From F1 During the 1990's Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Aussie Grit: My Formula One Journey Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Race with Love and Death: The Story of Richard Seaman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hard Yards: A Season in the Championship, England's Toughest League Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRush to Glory: Formula 1 Racing's Greatest Rivalry Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hanging in There: One Man and His Dad Take on the Alps in the Worlds Toughest Race Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Racing with Rich Energy: How a Rogue Sponsor Took Formula One for a Ride Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sprinting Through No Man's Land: Endurance, Tragedy, and Rebirth in the 1919 Tour de France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Draft Animals: Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Faster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ask a Pro: Deep Thoughts and Unreliable Advice from America's Foremost Cycling Sage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Obsessive Compulsive Cycling Disorder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Descent: My Epic Fall from Cycling Superstardom to Doping Dead End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shut Up, Legs!: My Wild Ride On and Off the Bike Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fast After 50: How to Race Strong for the Rest of Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ride the Revolution: The Inside Stories from Women in Cycling Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMIKE REILLY Finding My Voice: Tales From IRONMAN, the World’s Greatest Endurance Event Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Armstrong Lie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Cycling For You
Draft Animals: Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lance: The Making of the World's Greatest Champion Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Obsessive Compulsive Cycling Disorder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shut Up, Legs!: My Wild Ride On and Off the Bike Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Daring Book for Girls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ask a Pro: Deep Thoughts and Unreliable Advice from America's Foremost Cycling Sage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Road I Ride: Sometimes It Takes Losing Everything to Find Yourself Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5STAND: A Memoir on Activism. A Manual for Progress Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeath Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slaying the Badger: Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, and the Greatest Tour de France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cycling: Bicycling Made Easy: Beginner and Expert Strategies For Performing Better On Your Bike Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFeet and Wheels to Chimborazo: A unique climbing and cycling adventure to the summit of Ecuador Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Bicycle Built for Two Billion: 20th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One More Croissant for the Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cycling King Alfred's Way: A Piece of Cake? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAround the World on a Bicycle Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mountain Biking: The Ultimate Guide to Mountain Biking For Beginners MTB Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Ride: Racing 2,725 Miles to Mexico Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Saving Lucy: A Girl, a Bike, a Street Dog Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Biking Across America: My Coast-to-Coast Adventure and the People I Met Along the Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Did Not Finish: Misadventures in Running, Cycling and Swimming Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, & Resistance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miles from Nowhere: A Round the World Bicycle Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The World's Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America's First Black Sports Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for End of the Road
Rating: 4.166666666666667 out of 5 stars
4/5
6 ratings0 reviews