Hayles is held in great affection and is renowned for his laid back and affable charm - both of which are evident throughout his humorous and engaging memoir.

An excellent book, written in a compelling manner and a fitting tribute to one of the all but unsung heroes of British cycling. I think it fair to say that if Rob Hayles didn't exist, we'd need to invent him... Not only readable, but enticingly so.

Compelling... Hayles never gives the air of arrogance about his achievement - the surprise is how ignorant he is of his place in the vanguard of British cycling; every sport needs trailblazers who capture the imagination of the many and the respect of his peers.

An impressive collection of tales, the story of many two-wheeled greats as well as his own.

A great autobiography and a history lesson on the early days of the British Cycling Academy... he doesn't have the aloofness that befits some other riders and the story is more humbling. If I was Rob I would be bloody proud of what he has done! It is well written and has a nice easy pace (a bit like Rob himself?) A damn good story of a British lad who loved racing bicycles.

The success of track cycling began to take off after British success at the Athens 2004 Olympics, eventually to be translated into success on the road too. Rob Hayles was one of the pioneers of that breakthrough and provides a fascinating account of the reasons why British cycling became, and remains, such a success story.

An elegant book... Surprising and illuminating

This is a valuable book with some great stories. Deeply-researched and well-written, it’s an enjoyable read that shouldn’t be rushed

Fascinating… Without losers, there are no winners

Thoughtful, witty

In this lively, rear-view account of largely unsung heroes, and a few villains, Leonard has managed the difficult feat of coming up with an original angle on Le Tour

Leonard extracts the dignity that sometimes exists in sporting failure; this is not the world of Armstrong, Keane or Pietersen and all the more appealing because of that

Celebratory and hilarious in equal measures, The Last Man revels in the travails of the underdog

This book does a great job of revealing some of the less well known stories from le Tour: well written, entertaining, and informative

This book is an entertaining account taking in everyone from stage winners and former yellow jerseys who couldn’t hang on, to a breakaway leader who stopped for a bottle of wine and then took a wrong turn, to a doper whose drug cocktail backfired

We know the winners of the Tour de France, but Lanterne Rouge tells the forgotten, often inspirational and occasionally absurd stories of the last-placed rider