Cycling's World Championships
The Inside Story
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Narrated by:
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David L. Stanley
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By:
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Les Woodland
About this listen
Champion of the world! For a year the World Cycling Champion gets to wear a special white jersey with rainbow stripes. And then, for the rest of his career, he can wear a jersey with rainbow cuffs and collar. Unlike the Tour de France's Yellow Jersey, which can only be worn while leading the race, the rainbow is earned for life.
For more than a century, organized cycling has been conferring that extraordinary and wonderful title, starting with the first championships held in Chicago in 1893. But it wasn't until 1927 that there was a professional world road championship race, won on the famous Nürburgring car circuit in Germany by the great Alfredo Binda.
The story of the world championships is a fascinating one, and besides the well-known road and track competitions, there are many events that even the most dedicated racing fans might not know about, such as Cycle Speedway, Bicycle Polo, and of course the World Unicycle Championships.
Join Les Woodland as he tells the whole, fun, and engrossing story of the bravery as well as the treachery and trickery in the World Championships, and the athletes who have been able wear the coveted colors of the rainbow.
Author Les Woodland has been cycling for 50 years and has been writing about cycling since 1965, when he wrote his first reports for the British publication Cycling. Since then he has been a prolific contributor to newspapers, magazines and radio stations in the UK and Belgium. Mr. Woodland, who currently lives in France, speaks several of the languages of cycling: English, Dutch, and French.
©2017 Les Woodland (P)2017 Les WoodlandListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Jeremy Schaap
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1936, against a backdrop of swastikas flying and storm troopers looming, an African-American son of sharecroppers set three world records and won an unprecedented four gold medals, single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy. The story of Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics Games is that of a high-profile athlete giving a performance that transcends sports. But it is also the intimate and complex tale of the courage of one remarkable man.
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race headwinds
- By Andy on 04-26-07
By: Jeremy Schaap
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The Art of Cycling
- By: Cadel Evans
- Narrated by: Alan King
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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The autobiography of a cycling legend that will become a much-loved classic. The much-anticipated autobiography of the greatest Australian cyclist of all time. Famous in the sport for his meticulous preparation and an athlete who prided himself on his ability to leave it all on the road, Evans writes about the triumphs, the frustrations, the training, the preparation, the psychology of the sport, his contemporaries, the legends and his enduring love of cycling. A riveting and forensic account of his life on the bike....
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A Favorite For Sure.
- By S. Gray on 04-14-21
By: Cadel Evans
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The Secret Race
- Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs
- By: Tyler Hamilton, Daniel Coyle
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is an explosive book that takes us, for the first time, deep inside a shadowy, fascinating, and surreal world of unscrupulous doctors, anything-goes team directors, and athletes so relentlessly driven to succeed that they would do anything—and take any risk, physical, mental, or moral—to gain the edge they needed to win. The Secret Race is a riveting, courageous act of witness from a man who is as determined to reveal the hard truth about his sport as he once was to win the Tour de France.
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Gripping and fascinating
- By Alan on 09-09-12
By: Tyler Hamilton, and others
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Shut Up, Legs!
- My Wild Ride on and off the Bike
- By: Jens Voigt, James Startt
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Beloved German cyclist Jens Voigt isn't a superstar in the traditional sense of the word. Although he won three stages of the Tour de France - and wore the yellow jersey twice - Voigt never claimed an overall victory. He became a star because he embodies qualities that go beyond winning and losing: sacrifice, selflessness, reliability, and devotion. European and American crowds were drawn to his aggressive riding style, outgoing nature, and refreshing realness.
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Unlike Jensie, the performance lacks
- By Brian Muncy on 03-12-19
By: Jens Voigt, and others
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Out of the Shadow of Greatness
- By: Michael Hembree
- Narrated by: Robert Sams
- Length: 2 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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The story of NASCAR's legendary racer - newly revised Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s name virtually assured that his life would not be ordinary. Over the past decade, he has fulfilled that destiny. His father, one of the most successful drivers in the history of international motorsports, gave his son more than his name. Dale Earnhardt Sr. placed Dale Jr. in position to follow the footsteps and tire tracks he had left from Darlington to Daytona, from coast to coast, from one championship to the next.
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do better research
- By David Thom on 08-05-22
By: Michael Hembree
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Aussie Grit
- My Formula One Journey
- By: Mark Webber
- Narrated by: Nicholas Osmond
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Mark Webber was at the centre of one of the most captivating chapters in the history of Formula One. In 2010, while racing for Red Bull, he and his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, went head to head for the World Championship. There could be only one winner. Since retiring from Formula One, Mark has concentrated on endurance racing, including the legendary Le Mans 24-hour race.
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this story change my perspective of Mark Webber.
- By Neb on 09-01-16
By: Mark Webber
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Hell on Two Wheels
- By: Amy Snyder
- Narrated by: Sheila Stasack
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Three-time Ironman finisher Amy Snyder takes the wraps off the best kept secret in the sports world, the Race Across America (RAAM), a bicycle race like no other. Unlike its famous cousin the Tour de France, RAAM is much crazier, more gothic, and even savage: Once the gun goes off the clock doesn't stop, and the first rider to complete the prescribed 3,000-mile route is the victor. In Hell on Two Wheels, Snyder follows a group of athletes before, during, and after the 2009 RAAM.
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A documentary of the toughest bike race
- By James on 12-19-13
By: Amy Snyder
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Jenson Button: Life to the Limit
- My Autobiography
- By: Jenson Button
- Narrated by: Jack Hawkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The full-length, in-depth and intimate autobiography from Jenson Button, one of the greatest racing drivers of his generation. His 17 years in Formula One have seen him experience everything the sport has to offer, from nursing duff cars round the track to winning world championships and everything in between. Here, Jenson tells his full story for the first time in his own honest, intelligent and eloquent style.
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Absolutely Amazing
- By Carlos C. on 05-23-18
By: Jenson Button
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Jeff Gordon
- His Dream, Drive & Destiny
- By: Joe Garner
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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The first-ever authorized biography of Jeff Gordon, the four-time champion racing legend. For over a year, Garner interviewed and observed Gordon at races, at special events, and at home. The book is based on extensive interviews with Gordon - as well as in-depth interviews with dozens of family members, friends, competitors, and colleagues, some of whom have never gone on the record before.
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Great Listen!
- By Q on 12-01-22
By: Joe Garner
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The Tour According to G
- My Journey to the Yellow Jersey
- By: Geraint Thomas
- Narrated by: Dafydd Pritchard
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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For years Geraint Thomas appeared blessed with extraordinary talent but jinxed at the greatest bike race in the world: twice an Olympic gold medallist on the track, Commonwealth champion, yet at the Tour de France a victim of crashes, bad luck and his willingness to sacrifice himself for his teammates. In the summer of 2018, that curse was blown away in spectacular fashion - from the cobbles of the north and the iconic mountain climbs of the Alps to the brutal slopes of the Pyrenees and, finally, the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
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Not a fan of GT but really enjoyed the book
- By Richy on 01-27-19
By: Geraint Thomas
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Iron War
- Dave Scott, Mark Allen, and the Greatest Race Ever Run
- By: Matt Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Seth Michael Donsky
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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The 1989 Ironman World Championship was the greatest race ever in endurance sports. In a spectacular duel that became known as the Iron War, the world's two strongest athletes raced side by side at world-record pace for a grueling 139 miles. Driven by one of the fiercest rivalries in triathlon, Dave Scott and Mark Allen raced shoulder to shoulder through Ironman’s 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike race, and 26.2-mile marathon. After 8 punishing hours, both men would demolish the previous record - and cross the finish line a mere 58 seconds apart.
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Fine Story....But the Narration!!!!
- By Gabriel on 01-15-14
By: Matt Fitzgerald
What listeners say about Cycling's World Championships
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Manitoba
- 07-28-17
Stories Galore
Would you listen to Cycling's World Championships again? Why?
I would listen again, just to hear the anecdotes once more.
Who was your favorite character and why?
There were too many characters to choose from, but one stands out: Romāns Vainšteins, from Latvia, champion with no backing, and on his own overcame all obstacles. All of the cyclists who aimed at being world champions, have that drive that made them excel, and in Tom Simpson's case, die in the trying.
Which scene was your favorite?
Eddy Mercx and his rival looking at eachother to see who would lead out first.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The champions riddled by alcoholism, drugs, who ended up dead too soon. And those that had to abandon
Any additional comments?
The stories are so varied. Some are sad, others make you laugh out loud, and others make you wonder about the ego of certain characters. There is a lot of information that I wasn't aware of, rivalry, behind-the-scenes events. The book is well written and the pace was excellent; David Stanley did a great job as the reader.
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