Angel of the Mountains

by Paul Maunder

Charly Gaul is a forgotten cycling legend. Once a household name across Europe, the diminutive Luxembourger won the 1958 Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia twice. A unique rider, Gaul was supremely gifted at climbing and resilient even in the foulest weather. His pedalling style was smooth and swift, and he could set an unmatchable metronome rhythm on a mountain climb. 'Mozart on two wheels,' was how one contemporary writer described him; another dubbed him 'The Angel of the Mountains'.

At the end of his cycling career Gaul disappeared, becoming a hermit living in a forest in Luxembourg. What drove Charly Gaul into a recluse's life? In Angel of the Mountains , Paul Maunder seeks to uncover the truth about Gaul, his psychology and the circumstances of his withdrawal from society. In rediscovering Gaul's enigmatic life, we find not only an unlikely hero but also a larger truth about the nature of sporting success.

Genres: Cycling

320 pages, Hardcover

Published June 20, 2024

Reviews

[Ian Trevorrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real joy to read.

[Sam Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Maunder’s Angel of the Mountains is a well researched and written biography mainly about the racing career of Charly Gaul.

Maunder delves into the life of Gaul, offering readers a thorough portrait of one of the sport’s most fascinating figures.

The book is rich with detailed accounts of key races, including Gaul’s remarkable comeback in the 1958 Tour, where he overcame extreme weather conditions and fierce competition to secure his place in Cycling history.

The book also touches on Gaul’s post-racing life, which was marked by a retreat into relative obscurity. Maunder handles this aspect of Gaul’s life with sensitivity, exploring how the pressures of fame and the physical toll of professional cycling impacted him in his later years.

This is a book not just for die hard cycling fans, well worth a read.

[Will Whitmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic text, shedding light on one of the more elusive figures in cycling history. It is a fantastic addition to the corpus cycling literature.

[Steve Chilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charly Gaul was the 1958 Tour de France winner who led a curious life, well detailed in this biography. He competed in a completely different era, which makes interesting reading. He was a superb climber and his training and attitude proves how good he was. The author tries to understand a complex character who became a hermit after quitting racing..