Search results for ""author richard moore""

In ETAPE, critically acclaimed author Richard Moore will take readers on a virtual Tour de France, with each chapter focusing on a single rider in a single stage that came to define the Tour’s history. In Étape, critically acclaimed author Richard Moore tells the stories behind some of the defining stages in the Tour de France’s history through the eyes of the protagonists: the heroes and villains, stars and journeymen.Featuring exclusive new interviews with Mark Cavendish, Lance Armstrong, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond, David Millar, Chris Boardman and many other Tour riders past and present, Étape spans six decades in conveying the mystery, beauty and madness of the world’s greatest bike race.The book includes Boardman’s famous debut in 1994, Cavendish’s best and worst stages, an emotionally charged win for Armstrong in Limoges in 1995 and his dramatic, drug-fuelled victory eight years later at Luz Ardiden, as well as iconic stages featuring giants of the sport: Merckx’s toughest Tour, Hinault’s journey through hell, LeMond’s return from near-death, and the tragic Marco Pantani’s domination of the most controversial race in Tour history, among others.From the Alps to the Pyrenees, the sun-soaked plains of the midi to the rain-lashed cobbles of the north, Étape takes the reader on a virtual Tour. Along the way, in shedding new light on familiar events, unravelling mysteries and exploring untold stories, it confirms the Tour de France as unrivalled in its creation of myths and legends, and as a stage for courage, scandal, skill, and drama.

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The compelling story of Britain’s best-ever cyclist – one of the most enigmatic, complex and contradictory athletes in any sport – and the unravelling of the puzzle surrounding his sudden and dramatic disappearance. Fully updated with new material on the enigmatic Millar. Cyclist Robert Millar came from one of Europe’s most industrialised cities, Glasgow, to excel in the most unlikely terrain – over the high mountain passes of the Pyrenees and the Alps. He was crowned King of the Mountains during the 1984 Tour de France and remains the only ever Briton to finish on the podium of the world’s toughest race. In attitude and appearance he was unconventional – the malnourished-looking young Scot with the tiny stud in his ear who could be prickly, irascible and unapproachable – but to many followers he was the epitome of cool. Flying the flag for British cycling, this one-off original became a cult hero. In Search of Robert Millar will follow the career of this other-worldly character, from his tough childhood on the streets of Glasgow in the 1960s to his move to France and success in the world’s most brutal and unforgiving races, including the controversy surrounding his positive drugs test and his enforced retirement from the sport at the age of 36. It examines what set Millar apart from all other British cyclists who tried, and failed, to make an impact in this most European of sports, describing his single-mindedness, his eccentricity and the humour and intelligence that emerged only towards the end of his career. It also proffers explanations for his subsequent disappearance, which repeated a familiar pattern: he vanished from Glasgow and never returned; he left his wife and son and his adopted country, France. Now, it appears, he has turned his back on cycling (amid rumours that he had undergone a sex-change operation). Through interviews with Millar’s friends, acquaintances, cycling colleagues and ex-classmates, author Richard Moore helps to unravel the mystery of this maverick Scotsman, arguably one of the greatest enigmas in a sport full of remarkable characters.

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'A captivating and detailed account ... it reads like a thriller, which is exactly the right tone to adopt by author Richard Moore for a story dripping with skulduggery and intrigue ... compelling' The Sunday Express The 1988 Seoul Olympics played host to what has been described by some as the dirtiest race of all time, by others as the greatest. The final of the men's 100 metres at those Olympics is certainly the most infamous in the history of athletics, and more indelibly etched into the consciousness of the sport, the Olympics, and a global audience of millions, than any other athletics event before or since. Ben Johnson's world-record time of 9.79 seconds – as thrilling as it was – was the beginning rather than the end of the story. Following the race, Johnson tested positive, news that generated as many – if not more – shockwaves as his fastest ever run. He was stripped of the title, Lewis was awarded the gold medal, Linford Christie the silver and Calvin Smith the bronze. More than two decades on, the story still hadn't ended. In 1999 Lewis was named Sportsman of the Century by the IOC, and Olympian of the Century by Sports Illustrated. Yet his reputation was damaged by revelations that he too used performance-enhancing drugs, and tested positive prior to the Seoul Olympics. Christie also tested positive in Seoul but his explanation, that the banned substance had been in ginseng tea, was accepted. Smith, now a lecturer in English literature at a Florida university, was the only athlete in the top five whose reputation remains unblemished – the others all tested positive at some stage in their careers. Containing remarkable new revelations, this book uses witness interviews - with Johnson, Lewis and Smith among others - to reconstruct the build-up to the race, the race itself, and the fallout when news of Johnson's positive test broke and he was forced into hiding. It also examines the rivalry of the two favourites going into it, and puts the race in a historical context, examining its continuing relevance on the sport today, where every new record elicits scepticism.

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“… it’s a matter of knowing the right questions to ask,” snapped Sergeant Batt. “We don’t want to discover something that we can’t explain. It makes life complicated.” Knowing what happens when elf light is thrown into goblin fire is useful, but it doesn’t solve all Hob’s problems. Help comes when Seren, Queen of the Elves, rewards him with a powerful crystal. But the dragon is looking for such treasure and he’ll soon be coming after the interfering elf. Complications do arise when some of Hob’s friends become involved in the effort to save Thurmond Forest. The strange goings on attract international media interest. Alvina and Jimmy are thrust into the limelight and find it hard to keep their secrets. For those who are, or ever have been eight and a half years old.

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Greg LeMond, 'L'Americain': fresh-faced, prodigious newcomer. This is supposed to be his year.Bernard Hinault, 'The Badger': aggressive, headstrong, five-time winner of the Tour. He has pledged his unwavering support to his team mate, LeMond.The team is everything in cycling, so the world watches, stunned, as LeMond and Hinault's explosive rivalry plays out over three high-octane weeks. Slaying the Badger relives the adrenaline and agony as LeMond battles to become the first American to win the Tour, with the Badger relentlessly on the attack.Includes brand new material for the paperback.

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“Who amongst the most learned men and women in the world understands elf magic, or even knows that it exists?” Hob doesn’t know what will happen when an elf light is thrown into goblin fire, but he must risk it if he’s to have any chance of helping his friends. Hob’s quest brings him into collision with forces of opposition. It will be a life changing adventure, but he can reach his goal only by staying true to himself. This is a story of loyalty, courage, and kindness, which also shows the importance of caring for the environment and staying focused even when circumstances are difficult. For those who are, or ever have been, eight years old.

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Ireland is home to some of the world’s oldest astronomically-aligned structures, giant stone monuments erected over 5,000 years ago. Despite their apparent simplicity, these megalithic edifices were crafted by a scientifically knowledgeable community of farmers who endeavoured to enshrine their beliefs in a stellar afterlife within the very fabric of their cleverly-designed stone temples.Finally back in print, this reissued edition presents evidence suggesting the builders of monuments such as Newgrange and its Boyne Valley counterparts were adept astronomers, cunning engineers and capable surveyors. Their huge monuments are memorials in stone and earth, commemorating their creators’ perceived unity with the cosmos and enshrining a belief system which resulted from a crossover between science and spirituality.As investigation of this awe-inspiring civilisation of people continues on many levels, evidence is emerging that significant archaeological sites dating from deep in prehistory are linked – not just through mythology, archaeology and cosmology – but through an arrangement of complex, and in some cases astonishing, alignments. Some of these alignments of ancient sites stretch from one side of Ireland to another.While the accounts of the lives of some prominent Irish saints appear to be steeped in folklore and mystery, it seems from new interpretations of the literature that the cosmic world view which existed in Neolithic Ireland experienced a continuity right into the Early Christian period.Join us on this fascinating exploration of stones, stars and stories."The sheer amount of information contained within the book is mind-boggling. It is well thought out and structured… The more you read the evidence the more convinced you become." – Astronomy& Space magazine"Refreshing and fascinating . . . a wonderful magical book, sumptuously illustrated and a must for anyone who loves to delve deep into our past." – Kenny’s Irish Bookshop"A fascinating insight into Ireland’s ancient burial sites" – Irish Independent"A monument" – Drogheda Independent“It is a beautiful book and very well written. The information that you collected is outstanding.” – Barbara Carter, co-author, The Myth of the Year and The Goddess and the Bull“The authors… reach interesting and challenging conclusions about the significance of ancient astronomical knowledge. The book is jammed with colour illustrations, maps and photographs. A thoroughly interesting read!” – Archaeology Ireland"An essential book that demonstrates just how much the beliefs and practices of our ancestors were influenced by the movement of the stars, in particular those of the constellation Cygnus - the celestial swan and Northern Cross - once seen as a source of life and the destination of the soul in death. A must have tome for all those passionate about what remains of our fast disappearing ritual monuments of the prehistoric age." - Andrew Collins, author of The Cygnus Mystery

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Readers as well as listeners can now embark on a journey through the cycling year with The Cycling Podcast, which has been entertaining and informing fans since 2013. Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe share their diaries from three incident-filled Grand Tours, the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España. These take readers behind the scenes and explore the culture and landscape as well as the racing, while the ‘Lionel of Flanders’, complete with beer recommendations, does the same for the Classics in Belgium.There are appearances, too, by leading journalists and podcast favourites François Thomazeau, who takes responsiblity for the French Tour de France jinx, Ciro Scognamiglio, with a heartfelt love letter to cult favourite Filippo Pozzato, Fran Reyes, who pens a farewell to El Pistolero, Alberto Contador, and Orla Chennaoui, who hits the road to cover La Course in a one-woman karaoke-booth-on-wheels.Further contributions from professional riders Ashleigh Moolman Pasio and Joe Dombrowski and the voice of the Tour de France, Sebastien Piquet, as well as stunning galleries from the podcast world’s first and only dedicated photographer, Simon Gill, make this the perfect celebration of a year in cycling.

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Twenty sites were excavated on the route of a National Grid pipeline across Holderness, East Yorkshire. These included an early Mesolithic flint-working area, near Sproatley. In situ deposits of this age are rare, and the site is a significant addition to understanding of the post-glacial development of the wider region. Later phases of this site included possible Bronze Age round barrows and an Iron Age square barrow. Elsewhere on the pipeline route, diagnostic Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age flints, as well as Bronze Age pottery, provide evidence of activity in these periods. Iron Age remains were found at all of the excavation sites, fourteen of which had ring gullies, interpreted as evidence for roundhouse structures. The frequency with which these settlements occurred is an indication of the density of population in the later Iron Age and the large assemblage of hand-made pottery provides a rich resource for future study. Activity at several of these sites persisted at least into the second or early third centuries AD, while the largest excavation site, at Burton Constable, was re-occupied in the later third century. However, the pottery from the ring gullies was all hand-made, suggesting that roundhouses had ceased to be used by the later first century AD, when the earliest wheel-thrown wares appear. This has implications for understanding of the Iron Age to Roman transition in the region. Late first- or early second-century artefacts from a site at Scorborough Hill, near Weeton, are of particular interest, their nature strongly suggesting an association with the Roman military. With contributions by: Hugo Anderson-Whymark (flint), Kevin Leahy (metal, glass, worked bone), Terry Manby (earlier prehistoric pottery), Chris Cumberpatch (hand-made pottery), Rob Ixer (petrography), Derek Pitman and Roger Doonan (suface residues: ceramics and slag), Ruth Leary (Roman pottery), Felicity Wild (samian ware), Kay Hartley (mortaria), Jane Young with Peter Didsbury (post-Roman pottery), Ruth Shaffrey (worked stone), Lisa Wastling (fired clay), Jennifer Jones (surface residues: fired clay), Katie Keefe and Malin Holst (human bone), Jennifer Wood (animal bone), Don O’Meara (plant macrofossils), Tudur Burke Davies (pollen) and Matt Law (molluscs). Illustrations by: Jacqueline Churchill, Dave Watt and Susan Freebrey

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