Overview

Bernard 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. In The Badger, bestselling author William Fotheringham finally gets to the bottom of this fascinating character and explores the reasons why France, the nation that considers itself cycling's home, has found it so hard to produce a successor. Hinault was 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. Hinault's battles with teammates Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond provide some of the greatest moments in Tour history, and here they are made vivid once again.

Reviews

"As Fotheringham writes in this fleet, personality-drenched book, Hinault was a throwback to Breton cycling at its most elemental and ferocious. The author is also fascinating on the rise of cycling as a sport in the period after World War II." —Kirkus Reviews

"Fotheringham's biography of Bernard Hinault not only allows us to remember what it was all like when Hinault was in his prime, but also to dream of what it might be like if the French renaissance delivers all it promises." —Podium Café

"Cycling fans will love this book and will be glued to it like their saddles." —Outside Ohio 

"an enjoyable read with tantalizing detail. For all libraries wanting to update their cycling and sports collections." —Library Journal