{"title":"Books by William Fotheringham","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780224074513","title":"Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat makes a man the greatest of all time? \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eEddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pelé to football: quite simply, the best there has ever been. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMerckx was a machine. It wasn't just the number of victories (445); it was his remorseless domination that created the legend. He didn't just beat his opponents, he crushed them. But his triumphs only tell half a story that includes horrific injury, a doping controversy and tragedy. He was nicknamed 'The Cannibal' for his insatiable appetite for victory, but the moniker did scant justice to a man who was handsome, sensitive and surprisingly anxious. Britain's leading cycling writer, William Fotheringham, goes back to speak to those who were there at the time and those who knew Merckx best to find out what made Eddy Merckx so invincible.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The full unvarnished of one man’s heaven, and hell, on wheels' \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43206028394674,"sku":"9780224074513","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780224074513_fcb7be95-2c31-4f36-a1ec-8f6b62f2e6c2.jpg?v=1786012947"},{"product_id":"9780224092050","title":"The Badger","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBernard Hinault is one of the greatest cyclists of all time. He is a five-time winner of the Tour de France and the only man to have won each of the Grand Tours on more than one occasion. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHinault is the last ‘old-school’ champion: a larger-than-life character from a working-class background, capable of winning on all terrains, in major Tours and one-day Classics. Nicknamed the ‘Badger’  for his combative style, he led a cyclists’ strike in his first Tour and instigated a legendary punch-up with demonstrators in 1982 while in the middle of a race. His battles with teammates Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond in the 1986 Tour resulted in one of the greatest races of all time. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThree decades on from his retirement, Hinault remains the last French winner of the Tour de France. Here, William Fotheringham shows that while France may one day find a new champion, there will never be another Bernard Hinault.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56227165700469,"sku":"9780224092050","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780224092050_c3f9148d-6896-4392-ad46-ba0103567ab2.jpg?v=1786012162"},{"product_id":"9780224080187","title":"Put Me Back on My Bike","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDiscover the story of Britain’s ultimate cyclist and his ill-fated race during the 1967 Tour de France, from the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHalf Man Half Bike\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTom Simpson was an Olympic medallist, world champion and the first Briton to wear the fabled yellow jersey of the Tour de France. He died a tragic early death during the 1967 Tour. A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs, and was accused of fixing races, yet the dapper 'Major Tom' inspired awe and affection for the obsessive will to win which was ultimately to cost him his life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ePut Me Back on My Bike\u003c\/i\u003e revisits the places and people associated with Simpson to produce the definitive story of Britain's greatest ever cyclist. The fully revised and updated edition of William Fotheringham's classic biography features a new foreword and postscript further exploring the truth behind the legend.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e‘\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe best cycling biography ever written' \u003ci\u003eVelo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e ‘A beautiful explanation of why Simpson's legend still exerts such a powerful hold’\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56227729801589,"sku":"9780224080187","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780224080187_94e051cb-1acd-46a6-97e9-703730e2d835.jpg?v=1786012119"},{"product_id":"9780224074506","title":"Fallen Angel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA remarkable biography of one of history's greatest cyclists—a man who lived a tumultous life, and was voted the most popular Italian sportsman of the 20th century\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFausto Angelo Coppi was the campionissimo, or champion of champions, and this is the tragic story of his life and death, and how a man who became the symbol of a nation's rebirth after the disasters of war died reviled and heartbroken. The greatest cyclist of the immediate post-war years, he was the first man to win cycling's great double, the Tour de France and Tour of Italy, in the same year—and he did it twice. He achieved mythical status for his crushing solo victories, world titles and world records. But his significance extends far beyond his sport. Coppi's scandalous divorce and controversial early death convulsed a conservative, staunchly Roman Catholic Italy in the 1950s. At a time when adultery was still illegal, Coppi and his lover were dragged from their bed in the middle of the night, excommunicated, and forced to face a clamorous legal battle, the ramifications of which are still being felt today. Told with insight and intelligence, this is a unique portrait of Italy and Italian sport at a time of tumultuous change.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56228013441397,"sku":"9780224074506","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780224074506_9c330c12-ec12-44a2-9b1e-84892889b225.jpg?v=1786012946"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-william-fotheringham.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}