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Tour Climbs: The Complete Guide to Every Mountain Stage on the Tour De France

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Author: Chris Sidwells
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book

List Price: ~~Ł25.00~~
Buy New: Ł12.45
You Save: Ł12.55 (50%)

New (22) Used (7) from Ł10.37

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

6 reviews
Sales Rank: 78

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.9
Dimensions (in): 11 x 10.1 x 1.2

ISBN: 0007259018
EAN: 9780007259014
ASIN: 0007259018

Publication Date: June 2, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book, in stock and dispatched from the UK. Freepost returns.

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Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Christmas sorted! July 23, 2008
This is the ideal present for all those armchair cyclists out there. Its a been a brilliant reference book during the TDF, detailing all the climbs the TDF has ever been over. As well as all the facts and figures about the individual climbs it provides details of the historic battles that have taken place on the slopes. Despite the errors highlighted by previous reviewers it wins the polka dot jersey for me. It`s a brilliant coffee table book to dip in and out of and use as a reference guide and to while away those long winter nights when the sunshine of the TDF seems so far away. This is the ideal Christmas present for any cycling fanatic.

2 out of 5 stars

Stumbling in the foothills June 26, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

The previous four reviwers have picked up about 20 major deficiencies and it's hard to contest any of them. Many sentences have to be re-read to extract the meaning intended - can the editor be blamed for all this? The squiggle "maps", the lack of profile and any aids to locate the climbs really mitigate against the usefulness of such a book. Average and maximum gradient do not characterise a climb. The Tour system of categories could have easily been provided. The photos are mostly good but the summits of climbs don't feature. Signs, buildings, plaques reveal much and is what you want to see when you get to the top. For the record the highest road in Europe (page 230) is "a road in Spain's Sierra Nevada", more specifically Pico Valeta. Height of at least 3402m (Michelin map of Spain) makes the book in error by 1000ft. Finally the sleave suggests that the book will help you to climb the roads yourself and fit them into itineraries. I feel this is outside the scope of a coffee table book, but any case there is not much help offered. Weather trends, best maps, support, the bike itself, feeding stations, escape routes are more useful than dangerous romantic notions.
The climb star ratings (where given) and index are both well done and useful.

2 out of 5 stars

No profiles, v.poor maps, v. poor tour history June 17, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Hmmmmm!!! Yes this book does list all of the Tour climbs and gives some nice anecdotes on each ones history and some nice pictures but it should have been so, so much more.

The "maps" advertised on the back of the book are no more than simple diagrams, the history of the climb is almost non-existent and worst of all there are no climb profiles!!

Bring out a book with decent maps, profiles, a list of stages/tours they featured in, their category and who won on them (mountain top finishes) and perhaps then you'd have a book work shelling 25 out for - disappointing....

3 out of 5 stars

Useful but could be a lot better June 10, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I would have to agree with the earlier reviewer ... yes the book is littered with spelling mistakes and it's practicality is severely let down by the lack of maps. It's still a ressonably useful resource but could've been so much better. You can find better maps and photographs in a very similar french book "Grands Cols"

2 out of 5 stars

Rather disappointing June 6, 2008
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

First, I have never seen such a badly-edited book from a mainstream publisher. The copy-editor should simply be fired. There is barely a page without a spelling mistake, punctuation howler or stylistic blunder. I was resigned to this by the time I arrived at page 21 to find a cross-head instruction remaining on the page, but the mistakes just kept mounting up. Perhaps other readers will be less sensitive. The author has been let down by his editor, presumably to ensure the book is out in time for this year's Tour.

Second, the squiggles that pass for 'maps' are pointless. It would have been much better to pay the copyright fee and use maps like the one on the back of the dustjacket (which is a little misleading: don't expect more of these inside).

Third, regional maps with a numbered key to the climbs in each chapter would have helped the reader locate each climb on a regional road map.

Fourth, the heavy, coffee-table format and glossy production work are not in keeping with the practical aspects of the text. There are masses of photographs, a lot of them beautiful but a lot of them pointless. Many of these could have been discarded and a smaller, lighter book would have been the result. Touring cyclists will not be able to pack this book for the journey.

The author evidently knows his stuff, but has been let down by the publisher. A clearer focus on what this book was intended for could have made it of much more practical value.