Additional information
by Gareth Cartman (Author)
June 1926: the 20th Tour de France. A brutal 5,745km race from Evian to Paris, a Tour that will test the limits of human endurance. Thunder and rain are lashing the Pyrenees. Riders - muddied, bloodied and beaten - start to drop out of the race. Men are found shivering in cabins as night falls, and race organizer Henri Desgrange has to make a call. Does he leave them to their fate, turn a blind eye or mount a rescue operation? We Rode All Night is the story of those who took part in that fateful Tour - told in their own voices. We ride with Lucien Buysse, grieving father and erstwhile domestique as well as with two-time champion Ottavio Bottecchia. Andre Drobecq, the lantern rouge of the Tour, riding to save his bike shop while his pregnant wife wires him funds to survive. Tactician and future national team manager Marcel Bidot, riding his first Tour. And Desgrange himself, losing control over the Tour he created. This is a story of fathers and daughters, of sacrifice and salvation - of riding through the darkness until you find the light.
Author Biography
Gareth Cartman is a cycling writer and historian. We Rode All Night is his fourth book following We Rode All Day, Walko and Koblet & Kubler. He has also contributed to The Road Book cycling almanac as an essayist. He lives in Maidenhead, where he struggles over the foothills of the Chilterns on a regular basis. You will also find his name on the wall of the Ronde van Vlaanderen Museum, if you look hard enough.
