Half Man, Half Bike: The Life of Eddy Merckx, Cycling's Greatest Champion [Paperback]

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  • Category: Books (Sports &Amp; Recreation)
  • Author:  Fotheringham, William
  • Author:  Fotheringham, William
  • ISBN-10:  1613747268
  • ISBN-10:  1613747268
  • ISBN-13:  9781613747261
  • ISBN-13:  9781613747261
  • Publisher:  Chicago Review Press
  • Publisher:  Chicago Review Press
  • Pages:  320
  • Pages:  320
  • Binding:  Paperback
  • Binding:  Paperback
  • Pub Date:  01-Jul-2013
  • Pub Date:  01-Jul-2013
  • SKU:  1613747268-11-SPLV
  • SKU:  1613747268-11-SPLV
  • Item ID: 100403645
  • List Price: $19.99
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Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pele to soccer: simply the best there has ever been. Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories. Lance Armstrong, by comparison, managed fewer than 100. Merckx didn’t just beat his opponents; he crushed them.

            But his triumphs only tell half a story that includes horrific injury, a doping controversy, and tragedy. He was nicknamed “the Cannibal” for his insatiable appetite for victory, but the moniker did scant justice to a man who was handsome, sensitive, and surprisingly anxious.

            A number-one bestseller in the United Kingdom,Half Man, Half Bikeis the definitive story of a man whose fear of failure drove him to the highest pinnacles before ultimately destroying him.

Stirring.  —Graham Robb, author,The Discovery of France and Parisians, inThe Guardian
Incredible reading. . . . A fascinating account.   —Bike Radar
“Fotheringham expertly traces Merckx’s career from his early races in Belgium to his successes at the Tour de France, painting a nuanced portrait of a man best described by his wife as ‘driven on by a power that was unique to him.’ The power behind this account is Fotheringham’s skill in bringing Merckx’s races alive on the page.” —Booklist
The research is meticulous, the recapitulation of Merckx's races sweet reminiscences for those who witnessed them and things of wonder for those who did not. . . . To read about his feats is like reading of the labours of [Hercules]. . . . Marvellous.   —The New Statesman