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Etape: The untold stories of the Tour de France's defining stages
In ETAPE, critically acclaimed author Richard Moore will take readers on a virtual Tour de France, with each chapter focusing on a single rider in a single stage that came to define the Tour’s history
In Étape, critically acclaimed author Richard Moore tells the stories behind some of the defining stages in the Tour de France’s history through the eyes of the protagonists: the heroes and villains, stars and journeymen.
Featuring exclusive new interviews with Mark Cavendish, Lance Armstrong, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond, David Millar, Chris Boardman and many other Tour riders past and present, Étape spans six decades in conveying the mystery, beauty and madness of the world’s greatest bike race.
The book includes Boardman’s famous debut in 1994, Cavendish’s best and worst stages, an emotionally charged win for Armstrong in Limoges in 1995 and his dramatic, drug-fuelled victory eight years later at Luz Ardiden, as well as iconic stages featuring giants of the sport: Merckx’s toughest Tour, Hinault’s journey through hell, LeMond’s return from near-death, and the tragic Marco Pantani’s domination of the most controversial race in Tour history, among others.
From the Alps to the Pyrenees, the sun-soaked plains of the midi to the rain-lashed cobbles of the north, Étape takes the reader on a virtual Tour. Along the way, in shedding new light on familiar events, unravelling mysteries and exploring untold stories, it confirms the Tour de France as unrivalled in its creation of myths and legends, and as a stage for courage, scandal, skill, and drama.
In Étape, critically acclaimed author Richard Moore tells the stories behind some of the defining stages in the Tour de France’s history through the eyes of the protagonists: the heroes and villains, stars and journeymen.
Featuring exclusive new interviews with Mark Cavendish, Lance Armstrong, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond, David Millar, Chris Boardman and many other Tour riders past and present, Étape spans six decades in conveying the mystery, beauty and madness of the world’s greatest bike race.
The book includes Boardman’s famous debut in 1994, Cavendish’s best and worst stages, an emotionally charged win for Armstrong in Limoges in 1995 and his dramatic, drug-fuelled victory eight years later at Luz Ardiden, as well as iconic stages featuring giants of the sport: Merckx’s toughest Tour, Hinault’s journey through hell, LeMond’s return from near-death, and the tragic Marco Pantani’s domination of the most controversial race in Tour history, among others.
From the Alps to the Pyrenees, the sun-soaked plains of the midi to the rain-lashed cobbles of the north, Étape takes the reader on a virtual Tour. Along the way, in shedding new light on familiar events, unravelling mysteries and exploring untold stories, it confirms the Tour de France as unrivalled in its creation of myths and legends, and as a stage for courage, scandal, skill, and drama.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2014
70 people are currently reading
460 people want to read
About the author
Richard Moore
17 books67 followersRichard Moore is a freelance journalist and author. His first book, In Search of Robert Millar (HarperSport), won Best Biography at the 2008 British Sports Book Awards. His second book, Heroes, Villains & Velodromes (HarperSport), was long-listed for the 2008 William Hill Sports Book of the Year.
He is also the author of Slaying the Badger: LeMond, Hinault and the Greatest Ever Tour de France (Yellow Jersey, May 2011), and Sky’s the Limit: British Cycling’s Quest to Conquer the Tour de France (HarperSport, June 2011).
His latest book, The Dirtiest Race in History: Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis and the 1988 Olympic 100m final, will be published by Wisden Sports Writing in June, 2012.
He is also a former racing cyclist who represented Scotland at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and Great Britain at the 1998 Tour de Langkawi.
He is also the author of Slaying the Badger: LeMond, Hinault and the Greatest Ever Tour de France (Yellow Jersey, May 2011), and Sky’s the Limit: British Cycling’s Quest to Conquer the Tour de France (HarperSport, June 2011).
His latest book, The Dirtiest Race in History: Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis and the 1988 Olympic 100m final, will be published by Wisden Sports Writing in June, 2012.
He is also a former racing cyclist who represented Scotland at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and Great Britain at the 1998 Tour de Langkawi.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
January 7, 2023
Although I have a bike and use it most days for popping to the shops, I wouldn't really consider myself a cyclist, but I do like most sports and I wanted a break from fiction, so saw this book was being sold off by my local library with its transparent jacket and bar code, and snapped it up.
Really glad that I did. Although it is a niche subject this would be accessible to anyone, due to the fact that The Tour is so epic, unique and global in stature. This book has a high rating compared to most books on GoodReads and I can see why. The chapters are all self-contained and a good length. All of the big cycling personalities I can remember are in there - Indurain, Armstrong, Cavendish, Boardman, although the time frame of the book doesn't include the (amazing) number of recent British winnners (including Cavendish, 1, Wiggins, 1 and Froome, 4). The chapter on Cavendish is, like every chapter, merely a stage win.
It introduced me to some names I wasn't so familiar with too - Pantani, Merckx and Hinault, LeMond.
It has made me wonder if I can see what Richard Moore has been describing on YouTube, so it definitely whetted the appetite. And I would hope one day to be in France and witness a stage, which has never been on my (non-existent) bucket list before!
Which chapter did I enjoy the most? Probably Marco Pantani or Chiappucci - absolutely epic achievements. The book really underlines just how difficult it is to win a stage of the Tour de France.
Why not 5 stars? Something missing in the structure, I think more could have been made of the interviews that he managed to secure years later with the perspective that this allows. Somehow (apart from Lance Armstrong) you feel opportunities were missed because the whole concept is a cracking idea. I wonder if this would work better as a Podcast?
Now excuse me, I am off to scour YouTube ......
Really glad that I did. Although it is a niche subject this would be accessible to anyone, due to the fact that The Tour is so epic, unique and global in stature. This book has a high rating compared to most books on GoodReads and I can see why. The chapters are all self-contained and a good length. All of the big cycling personalities I can remember are in there - Indurain, Armstrong, Cavendish, Boardman, although the time frame of the book doesn't include the (amazing) number of recent British winnners (including Cavendish, 1, Wiggins, 1 and Froome, 4). The chapter on Cavendish is, like every chapter, merely a stage win.
It introduced me to some names I wasn't so familiar with too - Pantani, Merckx and Hinault, LeMond.
It has made me wonder if I can see what Richard Moore has been describing on YouTube, so it definitely whetted the appetite. And I would hope one day to be in France and witness a stage, which has never been on my (non-existent) bucket list before!
Which chapter did I enjoy the most? Probably Marco Pantani or Chiappucci - absolutely epic achievements. The book really underlines just how difficult it is to win a stage of the Tour de France.
Why not 5 stars? Something missing in the structure, I think more could have been made of the interviews that he managed to secure years later with the perspective that this allows. Somehow (apart from Lance Armstrong) you feel opportunities were missed because the whole concept is a cracking idea. I wonder if this would work better as a Podcast?
Now excuse me, I am off to scour YouTube ......
January 30, 2019
Unfinished at 36%
The content is what makes this book worth the read. Moore went out of his way to find some of the most notorious riders of the Tour through the ages, reminiscing on their greatest and not-so-great moments. The book gave a lot of insight on the history of the Tour, and the exclusive interviews with the riders, as well as a look into where they are now, made the whole account interesting.
The writing style is what ruined this book for me. Having written about some of the defining stages of the Tour, Moore had the opportunity to turn each rider's successes and failures into compelling stories with moments of suspense. This would have kept my interest, but the book lacked a lot in this and out of what I read, there were only about 2 paragraphs where I felt this enough to be fully immersed in what I was reading. Rather, the stories were presented as simply an account of the events, making the writing quite black and white and a little bleak for my liking.
Unfortunately, I am not a great enough fan of the Tour to keep reading just for the content. However, if cycling and the Tour is something that is of great interest to you, then this book would definitely be worth the read.
The content is what makes this book worth the read. Moore went out of his way to find some of the most notorious riders of the Tour through the ages, reminiscing on their greatest and not-so-great moments. The book gave a lot of insight on the history of the Tour, and the exclusive interviews with the riders, as well as a look into where they are now, made the whole account interesting.
The writing style is what ruined this book for me. Having written about some of the defining stages of the Tour, Moore had the opportunity to turn each rider's successes and failures into compelling stories with moments of suspense. This would have kept my interest, but the book lacked a lot in this and out of what I read, there were only about 2 paragraphs where I felt this enough to be fully immersed in what I was reading. Rather, the stories were presented as simply an account of the events, making the writing quite black and white and a little bleak for my liking.
Unfortunately, I am not a great enough fan of the Tour to keep reading just for the content. However, if cycling and the Tour is something that is of great interest to you, then this book would definitely be worth the read.
January 28, 2025
I’m not a huge fan of non-fiction books, with this being my second ever non-fiction book. But I am a huge fan of cycling.
This book was brilliant. Written to be interesting, it gave just the right amount of detail so I could understand what was happening but also focused more on the riders, the emotions and the drama, which at mines got my heart beating as I was on edge as to what would happen.
Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable book!
This book was brilliant. Written to be interesting, it gave just the right amount of detail so I could understand what was happening but also focused more on the riders, the emotions and the drama, which at mines got my heart beating as I was on edge as to what would happen.
Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable book!
June 15, 2024
Brilliant
Great stories about different stages of the world's most famous and most difficult cycling road race. Some are well worth reading even if you're not really a big cycling fan
Great stories about different stages of the world's most famous and most difficult cycling road race. Some are well worth reading even if you're not really a big cycling fan
February 22, 2023
A brilliant book that should be read by everyone, whether them being fans of cycling or not.
July 17, 2024
Perfect read for the rest day. 🚲
July 30, 2023
Really good position about the best cyclist race. Every year I just check result but after this book reading I want to learn more about background story of final standings. Good to know is also that author do not want to avoid the worst problem in cycling - EPO.
August 23, 2019
This seemed an interesting concept, but its execution exceeded my expectations and I thought this was excellent. This looked at 20 individual stages of the Tour, but the interviews with the cyclists elevated this from a good idea to a genuinely original work.
Naturally, prominent Brits feature heavily, but Moore cast his net wide to include the greats like Hinault and Lemond, to cyclists I had never heard of previously. Sometimes the context seemed more important, as in the case of Millar, and in others such as Chiapucci's it was the stage itself. This stopped it being too formulaic, in a format that leant itself to this trap.
Instead Moore interviewed stage winners and other key figures to tell each story in an engaging manner, while touching on the post-cycling lives of his interviewees. Enough detail is included of the stage itself to ensure that the race was still the main feature, but it never feels like a list of timegaps, and Moore acknowledges the difficulty of piecing together the actual events before TV coverage, armed only with contrasting Chinese whispers.
The interviews add extra colour, but also allow riders' more honest thoughts to be expressed, without the emotion or team duty at the time. Armstrong unsurprisingly comes across terribly, whereas Cavendish comes off well. Millar is more of an enigma, and also part of my only criticism, which is that too much praise is put on him for admitting to doping. I should have expected this given Moore's opinions in his book on Sky, but I didn't realise this was the same author as I thought the writing in this was far superior.
You'd have to be into cycling to understand the context of each ride, and not just see a list of European names each page, but otherwise I don't know what else you could want. The 20 chapters seem ideal for reading a couple at a time, but I read it all on the same day, and after a few dud books in a row, this was a welcome tonic.
Naturally, prominent Brits feature heavily, but Moore cast his net wide to include the greats like Hinault and Lemond, to cyclists I had never heard of previously. Sometimes the context seemed more important, as in the case of Millar, and in others such as Chiapucci's it was the stage itself. This stopped it being too formulaic, in a format that leant itself to this trap.
Instead Moore interviewed stage winners and other key figures to tell each story in an engaging manner, while touching on the post-cycling lives of his interviewees. Enough detail is included of the stage itself to ensure that the race was still the main feature, but it never feels like a list of timegaps, and Moore acknowledges the difficulty of piecing together the actual events before TV coverage, armed only with contrasting Chinese whispers.
The interviews add extra colour, but also allow riders' more honest thoughts to be expressed, without the emotion or team duty at the time. Armstrong unsurprisingly comes across terribly, whereas Cavendish comes off well. Millar is more of an enigma, and also part of my only criticism, which is that too much praise is put on him for admitting to doping. I should have expected this given Moore's opinions in his book on Sky, but I didn't realise this was the same author as I thought the writing in this was far superior.
You'd have to be into cycling to understand the context of each ride, and not just see a list of European names each page, but otherwise I don't know what else you could want. The 20 chapters seem ideal for reading a couple at a time, but I read it all on the same day, and after a few dud books in a row, this was a welcome tonic.
August 16, 2018
Great book that describes some of the most defining stages of the Tour de France. Mr. Moore paints a wonderful backstory, tells what happens during the stage good, and then kind of does a where are they now segment at the end, but that usually is about 1-2 pages at most. Really good book for a cycling enthusiast, as there is a lot of lingo and talks about a lot of smaller races that a true cycling fan would know but for someone like myself who casually checks the standings at the end of July, would not. Book was fine overall though. Great prose, and flowed throughout the entire book. I would pick up if you are into cycling and not someone who is new or doesn't know much about it.
July 11, 2023
Uwielbiam kolarstwo i wielkie Toury dlatego też z wielkim entuzjazmem podeszłam do tej książki. Mój apetyt podsycał również poprzedni tom jaki czytałam czyli historia Giro d'Italia, który bardzo mi się podobał. Na fali oczywiście obecnych zawodów z cyklu wielkiej pętli w końcu sięgnęłam i po "żółtą" książkę i... trochę się rozczarowałam. Językowo jest bardzo dobrze i lekko napisana, ale wydaje mi się, że wolałabym trochę inaczej ukierunkowaną narrację. Może się czepiam, ale coś mi nie do końca pasowało w tym tytule i chyba było to zbytnie skupienie się na etapach a nie na historii Toure de France.
Jednak dla fanów kolarstwa jest to pozycja godna polecenia.
Jednak dla fanów kolarstwa jest to pozycja godna polecenia.
June 29, 2020
A fantastic book for anyone who wants to know what the greatest bicycle-stage racing that is the Tour de France, is all about.
Goes into accounts of riders from way back before WW II to the modern day greats and has some tales and stories which have never before been heard or read. The book is structured like the race - 21 chapters for the 21 stages and each explaining what was or has been the greatest episode through time on that stage.
A must read- for anyone who wants to know more about cycling and it's heroes.
Goes into accounts of riders from way back before WW II to the modern day greats and has some tales and stories which have never before been heard or read. The book is structured like the race - 21 chapters for the 21 stages and each explaining what was or has been the greatest episode through time on that stage.
A must read- for anyone who wants to know more about cycling and it's heroes.
August 21, 2020
If you want a quick fix to gaps in your historic Tour de France knowledge, here is a book that will bring you up to date with the key stages, riders and events over the last 50 years. Richard Moore not only identifies these key events but he extracts gems of unknown information by going and interviewing the riders themselves. This therefore gives a riders insider view of what really makes the race and the peloton. Read it quickly before this year’s Tour (2020) so you can be up to date on any zoom Tour de France chats you have with your cycling buddies .
December 25, 2024
This is a very readable book by Richard Moore which picks particular Stages in the Tour de France’s
history that stand out for a variety of reasons. He doesn’t just focus on Stage-winners in looking at
stages, but also at things like the grupetto of sprinters trying to make it over a mountainous stage, or
the peculiar case of the largest-ever stage-winning margin (in the modern era). I found this never dull
or boring and very engaging. The only shame is that the book came out in 2015, so doesn’t include
some of the more recent standout stages.
history that stand out for a variety of reasons. He doesn’t just focus on Stage-winners in looking at
stages, but also at things like the grupetto of sprinters trying to make it over a mountainous stage, or
the peculiar case of the largest-ever stage-winning margin (in the modern era). I found this never dull
or boring and very engaging. The only shame is that the book came out in 2015, so doesn’t include
some of the more recent standout stages.
May 8, 2017
Fascinating account of some of the most interesting stages of the Tour over the last 30 years. I enjoyed reliving the stages I remembered as well as learning about the stages from before my time.
Moore made an interesting decision to interview Lance Armstrong and include wins from him and other confirmed dopers. I think this works - it is better to recognise and confront the sins of the past than to sweep those years under the carpet.
Moore made an interesting decision to interview Lance Armstrong and include wins from him and other confirmed dopers. I think this works - it is better to recognise and confront the sins of the past than to sweep those years under the carpet.
August 6, 2017
Each chapter pretty much stands on its own, but most are pretty insightful about both racing tactics and about the human experience of bicycle stage racing. Not every chapter is even about a stage winner, and not every stage winner in the book would go on to win the whole race--it's a nice range of experiences. Let's just finish off by saying that the pro peloton is full 'characters'.
May 11, 2025
The author Richard Moore explores different stages of the Tour de France through dynamic storytelling with action-packed moments to highlight key figures like Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, and Greg LeMond as well as lesser known cyclists. His work gives me a deeper understanding of the history of the Tour the France.
August 10, 2025
A fascinating read that not only introduces some of the cyclists who have shaped the history of the Tour de France, but also recounts the little-known stories and the protagonists' own words about their experiences. Very entertaining, with an engaging pace and well written. Highly recommended for cycling fans.
November 8, 2017
A different approach to most cycling books about Le Tour it focuses on memorable stages and the story behind the scenes that made it memorable with personal interviews with the riders as opposed to a pick and mix of previous journalists stories. An enjoyable and enlightening read
August 2, 2018
This book, surprisingly, actually went into a lot more detail than I anticipated; good if you, like me, are interested in the stories more than the facts and figures, because the stories in this book, especially those you wouldn't expect to see, make it.
January 7, 2019
I enjoyed the individual stories that brought to life some of the history of the Tour De France from a different angle. The writing style was a little different to normal but it was an enjoyable read.
February 20, 2019
War Stories! Each chapter captures a particularly meaningful stage of the TdF over the last century ... introducing us to names past and present - their story, their struggles, the rivalry - more exciting and behind-the-scenes you’d ever get as a spectator. A great read!
November 3, 2023
I've really enjoyed reading Etape. It's a wonderful collection of individual stories from individual stages of the Tour De France. Some you'll remember, some will be new to you. I guess it helps if you're a cycling fan, but if you are, this is well worth reading. A great book.
March 6, 2025
Mystique and Magic
The history of Le Tour is full of tales of heroism and tragedy. Moore’s book details some of these stories with background and context and is a very worthy read for anyone with even a passing interest in cycling.
The history of Le Tour is full of tales of heroism and tragedy. Moore’s book details some of these stories with background and context and is a very worthy read for anyone with even a passing interest in cycling.
August 17, 2025
Fun, informative and detailed canter across the broad expanse of the TdF through the eyes and mouths of some of its major and a few “minor” protagonists … no topic is too closed or sensitive to receive close scrutiny from one of cyclists most dedicated journalists.
July 25, 2017
Really good Robin on famous Tour cyclist and stages. If you're a tour man - would recommend.
August 4, 2018
A great look into past Tours. It was especially fun to read this, as I was doing so while attending the last stage of the 2018 TDF.
May 18, 2019
A different take on the Tour de France and cycling in general. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
August 26, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed the stories that made the Tour!
Cycling hero’s, athletes and extraordinary feats!
Courage, scandal, skill and drama
The thing of legends
Cycling hero’s, athletes and extraordinary feats!
Courage, scandal, skill and drama
The thing of legends
January 20, 2020
Interesting read for cycling nuts.
April 30, 2020
A good replacement for this years tour.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews