Author:Max Leonard
lanterne rouge (French | noun): The competitor who finishes last in the Tour de France
Froome, Wiggins, Merckx – we know the winners of the Tour de France, but what about the men who finish last?
Lanterne Rouge tells the forgotten, often inspirational and occasionally absurd stories of the last-placed rider. We learn of stage winners and former yellow jerseys who tasted life at the other end of the bunch; the breakaway leader who stopped for a bottle of wine and then took a wrong turn; the doper whose drug cocktail accidently slowed him down and the rider who was recognised as the most combative despite finishing at the back.
Flipping the Tour de France on its head and examines what these stories tell us about ourselves, the 99% who don’t win the trophy, Lantern Rouge forces us to re-examine the meaning of success, failure and the very nature of sport.
‘A lively account of largely forgotten men... It’s not easy to come up with an original angle on Le Tour, but with this rear view Leonard has managed the feat in style’ Independent on Sunday
Excellent ... compulsive reading...redresses the balance with considerable literary style and panache.
—— The Washing Machine PostDon't be surprised if you fall in love with Max Leonard's book. A glorious celebration of coming last.
—— Brendan Gallagher , thetour.co.ukThoughtful, properly researched and consistently entertaining
—— Tim Moore[A] lively account of largely forgotten men... It’s not easy to come up with an original angle on Le Tour, but with this rear view Leonard has managed the feat in style
—— Simon Redfern , Independent on SundayBrilliant... The stories of the lanternes rouges that Leonard picks out have real value, because the race's rear view can tell you much more than the angle we're all familiar with
—— Michael Hutchinson , IndependentMakes for oddly inspiring reading. There is an art to losing
—— Jon Day , London Review of BooksAn elegant book... Surprising and illuminating
—— Ian Bell , HeraldThis is a valuable book with some great stories. Deeply-researched and well-written, it’s an enjoyable read that shouldn’t be rushed
—— The Inner RingFascinating… Without losers, there are no winners
—— London CyclistThoughtful, witty
—— Times Literary SupplementIn 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
—— Simon Redfern , Independent on SundayLeonard 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
—— Tim Lewis , ObserverCelebratory and hilarious in equal measures, The Last Man revels in the travails of the underdog
—— Ben East , MetroThis book does a great job of revealing some of the less well known stories from le Tour: well written, entertaining, and informative
—— Richard Peploe , RoadThis 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
—— Bike RadarWe 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
—— Miss DinkyMatt's work is the most impressive West Ham book of the year, a genuine and sincere attempt to get to the root of the man. It is an excellent, thought-provoking book
—— Knees Up Mother BrownA compelling and complete account
—— SportIn The Man in Full, acclaimed football writer Matt Dickinson traces the journey of this Essex boy, peeling away the layers of legend and looking at Moore’s life from all sides – in triumph, in failure, in full
—— Bert Wright , NudgeOutstanding... this excellent biography comes very close to describing the real Bobby Moore
—— PostAn exquisitely written study of light in the works of various poets and painters.
—— Daily TelegraphA wonderful literary meditation… This book is suffused with vivid personal memory and precise, delicate observation of Nature. Wroe’s feeling for landscape is both sensitive and acute; her style is lyrical and precise.
—— Hugo Davenport , Resurgence and EcologistA book for winter.
—— Honor Clerk , Spectator, Books of the YearPeople of faith talk a great deal about light, and we would do well to learn more about it from Wroe’s quick-eyed love of it.
—— Mark Oakley , Church TimesWroe passes her elusive subject, light itself, through the prism of her dazzlingly well-read mind, and the resulting rainbows fairly dance across the page… An utterly original book that will leave you, in every sense of the word, enlightened.
—— Claire Lowdon , Sunday Times, Book of the YearAnn Wroe’s Six Facets of Light is a fascinating and original meditation [on light]. Six Facets of Light is an exquisite collage of relations, a prose poem to “what escaped” absolutely everyone – and to how madly, brilliantly, they tried to “be in step”.
—— Joanna Kavenna , Times Literary Supplement