{"title":"Books by Daniel Friebe","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781509801572","title":"Jan Ullrich","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eJan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was \u003c\/i\u003eis the first biography of Jan Ullrich, arguably the most naturally talented cyclist of his generation, and also one of the most controversial champions of the Tour de France.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Magnificent' – Matt Dickinson, \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A superlative biography as well as social and sporting history' – \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world by obliterating his rivals at the Tour de France and becoming Germany’s first ever winner. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich would dominate the future of cycling. But he never quite managed it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcclaimed journalist Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany’s drugs programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price are you willing to pay for immortality?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685721448821,"sku":"9781509801589","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":43204544692402,"sku":"9781509801572","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781509801589.jpg?v=1792598884"},{"product_id":"9780091943165","title":"Eddy Merckx: The Cannibal","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e'The whole point of a race is to find a winner... I chose to race, so I chose to win.' \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor 14 years between 1965 and 1978, cyclist Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx simply devoured his rivals, their hopes and their careers. His legacy resides as much in the careers he ruined as the 445 victories - including five Tour de France wins and all the monument races - he amassed in his own right. So dominant had Merckx become by 1973 that he was ordered to stay away from the Tour for the good of the event.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStage 17 of the 1969 Tour de France perfectly illustrates his untouchable brilliance. Already wearing the yellow jersey on the col du Tourmalet, the Tour's most famous peak, Merckx powered clear and rode the last 140 kilometres to the finish-line in jaw-dropping solitude, eight minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMerckx's era has been called cycling's Golden Age.It was full of memorable characters who, at any other time, would all have gone on to become legends. Yet Merckx's phenomenal career overshadowed them all. How did he achieve such incredible success? And how did his rivals really feel about him? Merckx failed drug tests three times in his career - were they really stitch ups as he claimed? And what of the crash at a track meet in Blois, France that killed Merckx's pacer Fernand Wambst, which Merckx claimed deeply affected him psychologically and physically? Or the attack by a spectator in 1975?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDespite his unique achievements, we know little about the Cannibal beyond his victories. This will be the first comprehensive biography of Merckx in English, and will finally expose the truth behind this legendary man.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43400083013810,"sku":"9780091943165","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780091943165.jpg?v=1786011069"},{"product_id":"unbreakable-5","title":"Unbreakable","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe extraordinary story of Ethiopia’s cycling pioneer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTsgabu Grmay is the first Ethiopian to compete at the pinnacle of men’s professional cycling. He became a national icon in 2016 as his country’s only ever participant in the Tour de France.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the first ever English-language memoir by a Black or African elite road racer, Grmay – together with journalist Daniel Friebe – shares his incredible story: ‘I really came from nothing – no bike, no shoes, no helmet, nothing. \u003ci\u003eZero\u003c\/i\u003e.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo say that Tsgabu’s was an improbable ascent to the top of pro cycling would be an understatement as vast as the plateau upon which his home city Mekelle is perched. How could a boy growing up in Mekelle, in a two-room hut with nine siblings, one day make it to the Tour de France? From his first job aged six and a brief jail sentence aged ten to his early races, travels to Europe and ultimate arrival on the word cycling stage, Tsgabu tells how it all started with a dream.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSince retiring at the end of 2023, Tsgabu now works with cycling bodies to open new pathways into the top echelons of the sport for African riders. Through his work with Team Amani, he is passionate about truly putting African countries on the cycling world map.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerfect for cycling fans, sports readers and inspirational story seekers, \u003ci\u003eUnbreakable\u003c\/i\u003e is the extraordinary tale of passion and resilience triumphing over adversity.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57680189653365,"sku":"9781399437707","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-daniel-friebe.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}