Tour de France Legendary Climbs 20 Hors Categorie Ascents in High-Definition Satellite Photography

Explore the thrill and intensity of the Tour de France's most challenging climbs as never before, through the breathtaking aerial photography of Google Earth. In this stunning book, 20 notorious Hors Categorie climbs from the race—ascents that are beyond classification—are captured in high-definition satellite imagery. They include the 2,715-meter ascent of Col de la Bonette, the historic Great St Bernard Pass, Col du Galibier's incredibly torturous 15 percent gradient climb, and Alpe de Huze's famous hairpins. As well as providing expertly annotated high-definition maps of these ascents, the book charts the daring Tour exploits of iconic Tour riders such as Fausto Coppi and Marco Pantani.

Chris Sidwells, the nephew of British cycling legend Tom Simpson, is a journalist, photographer, and author who has covered cycling for more than a decade. His writing and photographs feature in every issue of Cycle Sport and Cycling Weekly magazines. He also writes for 220 Triathlon magazine and has contributed to Bicycling, Cycling Plus, Running Fitness, Men's Fitness, and GQ magazines as well as broadcasting and speaking on cycling on radio and television. His books include biographies of his uncle, Mr. Tom (Mousehold Press), and of cyclist Allan Peiper, A Peiper's Tale (Mousehold Press), The Complete Bike Book (DK), Bicycle Repair Manual (DK), 7-Week Cycling for Fitness (DK), Tour Climbs (HarperCollins—a bestseller in the summer of 2008), and A Race for Madmen (HarperCollins). He lives in Devon.