Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape: The Remarkable Life of Jacques Anquetil, the First Five-Times Winner of the Tour de France

by Paul Howard

Paper Book, 2011

Status

Available

Call number

796.62092

Publication

Mainstream Publishing (2011), Edition: 6.7.2011, Paperback, 320 pages

Description

The astonishing biography of first 5-times winner of the Tour de France, French cycling star Jacques Anquetil, revealing the truth behind the legend, the man and the cyclist. Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape is the astonishing biography of French cycling star Jacques Anquetil. For the first time since his death in 1987, it reveals the extraordinary truth behind the legend, the man and the cyclist. His list of 'firsts' alone makes him worthy of a place in the cycling pantheon- the first man to win the Tour de France five times; the first man to win all three grand tours - the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana; and the first man to win both the Tour and Vuelta in the same year. However, the extraordinary life of Anquetil does not stop at his achievements on a bike. He candidly admitted to using drugs, offended legions of fans by confessing that his only motivation for riding was financial and infamously indulged his enthusiasm for the high life. He also seduced and married his doctor's wife, had a child with her daughter and then sustained a menage trois with both wife and stepdaughter under the same roof for 12 years. When this 'family' eventually imploded, he attempted to inspire jealousy in his former lovers by having a child with his stepson's ex-wife. Containing exclusive contributions from Anquetil's family, friends, teammates and rivals, Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape untangles myth from reality and confirms that fact is definitely stranger than fiction.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member wbc3
Paul Howard pulls off a remarkable feat in this book—he makes boring the life a five-time Tour de France winner who had an affair with his doctor's wife, married her, had a child by (and an affair for twelve years with) her daughter, and finally broke up his marriage by having an affair with his
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step-son’s ex-wife who he ultimately married. While the book is full of interesting facts and controversial topics, it fails to be compelling. The reason may be that the author does not do much in the way of finding trends among the facts or of trying to reconcile competing viewpoints of the people he spoke with. Despite the flaws, I would recommend this book to anyone curious about a very different era in cycling, the 1960s.
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Awards

British Sports Book Award (Shortlist — Biography — 2009)

Language

Physical description

320 p.; 5 inches

ISBN

1845964616 / 9781845964610

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