Great British Cycling Legends

Given the overwhelming popularity of the world's biggest annual sporting event, the Tour de France, it's easy to forget that there is much more to cycling than who gets to wear the coveted yellow jersey. Cycling is rich with legends and pioneers, and it is their stories which light up this compelling account of British cycling. From the first recorded race in a Paris park in 1868 to the present day, Great British Cycling Legends profiles the true originals, across all cycling disciplines. There are the Victorians, like George Pilkington Mills, who still holds the record from Land's End to John O'Groats on a penny farthing, and the significant firsts: first British road-race world champion, Dave Marsh, in 1922; one of the first female professionals and a major record-breaker in the 1950s, Eileen Sheridan; and the first Black British cycling champion in the 1970s, Maurice Burton. Great British Cycling Legends shows what makes each featured cyclist legendary, and how, in their different ways, they have helped to build British cycling, enabling the sport to develop and retain its extraordinary grip on the popular imagination.