The Tour de France is the greatest bike race in the world, but it ­began as a humble promotional gimmick for a floundering newspaper. More than 100 years later the Tour still captivates the world and is broadcast to over 180 countries. How did a few men looking for some way to save their struggling business become masters of a giant, successful enterprise? Les Woodland tells the inside story of the Tour de France through the prism of the men who started it, and those who now run it. As he explores the creation and evolution of the Tour, he never runs out of those fascinating illustrative tales that make his books impossible to put down. This book was originally published in a slightly altered form in 2009 as "Tourmen: The Men Who Made the Tour de France". It has been updated to reflect the events that have happened since the original publication. About the author: Les Woodland has been cycling for 50 years and has been writing about cycling since 1965, when he wrote his first reports for the British publication "Cycling". Since then he has been a prolific contributor to newspapers, magazines and radio stations in the U.K. and Belgium. Mr. Woodland, who currently lives in France, speaks several of the languages of cycling: English, Dutch and French.