A Race for Madmen: A History of the Tour de France

No sporting event has had its past and present, its highs and lows so intricately entwined with those of a country like the Tour has with France.

The Tour de France is the biggest annual sporting event in the world, and at the same time it transcends sport. The Tour de France comes to the people. It passes their houses, it turns right in their village squares, it thunders through their suburban streets and into the hearts of their towns and cities. It is a unique event in that people don't s...