Listen free for 30 days
-
Wide-Eyed and Legless
- Inside the Tour de France
- Narrated by: Ben Elliot
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: History, Europe
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £10.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Vuelta Skelter
- Riding the Remarkable 1941 Tour of Spain
- By: Tim Moore
- Narrated by: Tim Moore
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julian Berrendero's victory in the 1941 Vuelta a Espana was an extraordinary exercise in sporting redemption: the Spanish cyclist had just spent 18 months in Franco's concentration camps, punishment for expressing Republican sympathies during the civil war. Seventy-nine years later, perennially over-ambitious cyclo-adventurer Tim Moore developed a fascination with Berrendero's story, and having borrowed an old road bike with the great man's name plastered all over it, set off to retrace the 4,409-km route of his 1941 triumph - in the midst of a global pandemic.
-
-
bien hecho tim
- By Matthew Kempen on 06-08-22
-
Mountains According to G
- By: Geraint Thomas
- Narrated by: Joe Leat
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cycling fans obsess about climbs and big mountains. They love reading about their tests and tribulations, and they love to ride them - a cricket lover can never bat at Lord's, or a football supporter score at Wembley, but any rider can take on the challenge of an iconic mountain. There have been fine books about the big climbs before but never from the voice of an elite GC winner, taking you inside what these climbs really feel like, where the attacks come, where the pain kicks in.
-
-
Good book poor narration!!
- By Yanto1927 on 03-01-21
-
The Rider
- By: Tim Krabbé
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With The Rider, Tim Krabbé has created a book unique in the ranks of sporting literature. He describes one 150-kilometre race in just 150 pages. In the course of the narrative, we get to know the forceful, bumbling Lebusque, the aesthete Barthelemy, the Young Turk Reilhan, and the mysterious rider from Cycles Goff'. Krabbé battles with and against each of them in turn, failing on the descents, shining on the climbs, suffering on the (false) flats.
-
-
The ultimate cycling book
- By Bruach Ⓥ on 27-03-12
-
Racing Through the Dark
- The Fall and Rise of David Millar
- By: David Millar
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By his 18th birthday David Millar was living and racing in France, sleeping in rented rooms, tipped to be the next English-speaking Tour winner. A year later he'd realised the dream and signed a professional contract. He perhaps lived the high life a little too enthusiastically - he broke his heel in a fall from a roof after too much drink and before long the pressure to succeed had tipped over into doping.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Grev on 05-07-21
-
Sean Yates: It's All About the Bike
- By: Sean Yates
- Narrated by: Clive Mantle
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Bradley Wiggins, there was Sean Yates. Behind Bradley Wiggins, there was Sean Yates. One of only five Britons to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, Sean Yates burst onto the cycling scene as the rawest pure talent this country has ever seen. After turning professional at the age of 22, he soon became known as a die-hard domestique, putting his body on the line for his teammates.
-
-
Laughably Poor Narration
- By Mr on 08-11-14
-
Magic Spanner
- The World of Cycling According to Carlton Kirby
- By: Carlton Kirby, Robbie Broughton
- Narrated by: Carlton Kirby
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a candid authority that comes from over 25 years commentating on the world's biggest cycling races, legendary Eurosport commentator Carlton Kirby isn't afraid to tell it like it really is. Witty, outrageous and often outspoken, Magic Spanner is an insider's view of life on cycling's Grand Tours, including the Tour de France, Giro D'Italia, Vuelta a España and the classics, all delivered in the inimitable style for which Carlton has become globally famous.
-
-
Masterful
- By Kate Reynolds on 26-01-20
-
Vuelta Skelter
- Riding the Remarkable 1941 Tour of Spain
- By: Tim Moore
- Narrated by: Tim Moore
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julian Berrendero's victory in the 1941 Vuelta a Espana was an extraordinary exercise in sporting redemption: the Spanish cyclist had just spent 18 months in Franco's concentration camps, punishment for expressing Republican sympathies during the civil war. Seventy-nine years later, perennially over-ambitious cyclo-adventurer Tim Moore developed a fascination with Berrendero's story, and having borrowed an old road bike with the great man's name plastered all over it, set off to retrace the 4,409-km route of his 1941 triumph - in the midst of a global pandemic.
-
-
bien hecho tim
- By Matthew Kempen on 06-08-22
-
Mountains According to G
- By: Geraint Thomas
- Narrated by: Joe Leat
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cycling fans obsess about climbs and big mountains. They love reading about their tests and tribulations, and they love to ride them - a cricket lover can never bat at Lord's, or a football supporter score at Wembley, but any rider can take on the challenge of an iconic mountain. There have been fine books about the big climbs before but never from the voice of an elite GC winner, taking you inside what these climbs really feel like, where the attacks come, where the pain kicks in.
-
-
Good book poor narration!!
- By Yanto1927 on 03-01-21
-
The Rider
- By: Tim Krabbé
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With The Rider, Tim Krabbé has created a book unique in the ranks of sporting literature. He describes one 150-kilometre race in just 150 pages. In the course of the narrative, we get to know the forceful, bumbling Lebusque, the aesthete Barthelemy, the Young Turk Reilhan, and the mysterious rider from Cycles Goff'. Krabbé battles with and against each of them in turn, failing on the descents, shining on the climbs, suffering on the (false) flats.
-
-
The ultimate cycling book
- By Bruach Ⓥ on 27-03-12
-
Racing Through the Dark
- The Fall and Rise of David Millar
- By: David Millar
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By his 18th birthday David Millar was living and racing in France, sleeping in rented rooms, tipped to be the next English-speaking Tour winner. A year later he'd realised the dream and signed a professional contract. He perhaps lived the high life a little too enthusiastically - he broke his heel in a fall from a roof after too much drink and before long the pressure to succeed had tipped over into doping.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Grev on 05-07-21
-
Sean Yates: It's All About the Bike
- By: Sean Yates
- Narrated by: Clive Mantle
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Bradley Wiggins, there was Sean Yates. Behind Bradley Wiggins, there was Sean Yates. One of only five Britons to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, Sean Yates burst onto the cycling scene as the rawest pure talent this country has ever seen. After turning professional at the age of 22, he soon became known as a die-hard domestique, putting his body on the line for his teammates.
-
-
Laughably Poor Narration
- By Mr on 08-11-14
-
Magic Spanner
- The World of Cycling According to Carlton Kirby
- By: Carlton Kirby, Robbie Broughton
- Narrated by: Carlton Kirby
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a candid authority that comes from over 25 years commentating on the world's biggest cycling races, legendary Eurosport commentator Carlton Kirby isn't afraid to tell it like it really is. Witty, outrageous and often outspoken, Magic Spanner is an insider's view of life on cycling's Grand Tours, including the Tour de France, Giro D'Italia, Vuelta a España and the classics, all delivered in the inimitable style for which Carlton has become globally famous.
-
-
Masterful
- By Kate Reynolds on 26-01-20
-
The Secret Race
- Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs
- By: Tyler Hamilton, Daniel Coyle
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a fateful night in 2009, Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle met for dinner at a restaurant in Boulder, Colorado. The two had met five years before while Coyle was writing his best-selling book Lance Armstrong: Tour de Force. But this time, Tyler had something else on his mind. He finally wanted to come clean, about everything: the doping, the lying, his years as Lance Armstrong's teammate on U.S. Postal,, and his decade spent running from the truth. "I'm sorry," he told Coyle. "It just feels so good to be able to talk about this. I've been quiet for so many years."
-
-
Great story even if you are not a bike racing fan
- By Bettym on 19-03-13
-
Jan Ullrich
- The Best There Never Was
- By: Daniel Friebe
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world by obliterating his rivals in the first mountain stage of the Tour de France. So awesome was his display that it sent shockwaves throughout the world of cycling and invited headlines such as L’Équipe’s ‘The New Giant’. He went on to become Germany’s first ever Tour winner, storming to victory in that edition by almost 10 minutes, a result that was greeted as an era-defining changing of the guard. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich was the future of cycling.
-
-
Ruined by the narrator.
- By Notadwarf on 26-06-22
-
C. C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race
- The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America
- By: Geoff Williams
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Newspaper and magazine journalist Geoff Williams details this historic event and the colorful cast of characters involved, based on firsthand accounts of those who were there and interviews from many living descendants. C. C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race is a classic American story so astonishing and surreal that you have to hear it to believe it.
-
Triumphs and Turbulence
- My Autobiography
- By: Chris Boardman
- Narrated by: Joe McGann
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2001, when the bible of the sport, Cycling Weekly, ran a poll to decide the greatest British cyclist, Chris Boardman's was the name that topped the list. It was Boardman's lone achievements in the '80s and '90s - Olympic track gold, the world hour record, repeatedly claiming the yellow jersey in the Tour de France - that lit the spark for modern British cycling. His endeavours both on and off the bike have made him the founding father of current golden generation - without him there would simply be no Hoy, Wiggins or Cavendish.
-
-
Boring narration
- By Richard Roydhouse on 04-03-22
-
The Art of Cycling
- By: Cadel Evans
- Narrated by: Alan King
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The autobiography of a cycling legend that will become a much-loved classic. The much-anticipated autobiography of the greatest Australian cyclist of all time. Famous in the sport for his meticulous preparation and an athlete who prided himself on his ability to leave it all on the road, Evans writes about the triumphs, the frustrations, the training, the preparation, the psychology of the sport, his contemporaries, the legends and his enduring love of cycling. A riveting and forensic account of his life on the bike....
-
-
Cadel Evans
- By Amazon Customer on 31-01-22
-
The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories
- By: Les Woodland
- Narrated by: David L. Stanley
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) is the motto of the International Olympic Committee. After listening to Les Woodland's The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories the listener might wonder if the motto should be Sillier, Loonier, Crazier.
-
The Racer
- Life on the Road as a Pro Cyclist
- By: David Millar
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is it really like to be a racer? What is it like to be swept along at 60kmh in the middle of the pack? How does it feel to be reeled in from a solo breakaway metres from the line? What happens to the body during a high-speed chute? What tactics must teams employ to win the day, the jersey, the grand tour? How does a domestique keep going to the end of a stage once his job is done and his body exhausted?
-
-
Outstanding!
- By H. Bacon on 09-11-15
-
Shut up Legs!
- My Wild Ride on and off the Bike
- By: Jens Voigt
- Narrated by: Felix Auer
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Even by the standards of a sport that requires enormous stamina and capacity for suffering, Jens Voigt is in a class on his own. Beloved by cycling fans for his madcap one-man breakaways as much as his sense of humour and quotable catchphrases, Jens is one of the most popular personalities in cycling. Jens was born near Hamburg and came up through the East German system before the Wall came down. He got into the national team through the German army before signing for his first big team.
-
-
Cod accent spoils it
- By sh100 on 29-05-17
-
The Story of the Giro d'Italia: A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy, Volume 1: 1909-1970
- By: Bill McGann, Carol McGann
- Narrated by: Wyntner Woody
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Volume 1 of The Story of the Giro d'Italia tells of Italy's most celebrated riders: Costante Girardengo, the first campionissimo, or “Champion of Champions”; Alfredo Binda, who so dominated the Giro that one year he was paid by the organizers not to enter; Gino Bartali, who looked to become the dominating rider of his era; and Fausto Coppi, a fascinating personality and Bartali's great rival, who became not only Italy's, but the world's finest rider.
-
From Light to Dark
- The Story of Blind Dave Heeley
- By: Dave Heeley
- Narrated by: Adrian Chiles
- Length: 4 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born sighted, "blind" Dave Heeley showed athletic promise from an early age, smashing his town's 1500-metre track record aged just 11 years old. However, a devastating diagnosis shattered his sporting dreams, and he hastily gave up on sporting activity. From Light to Dark charts Dave's story and how he rediscovered his boyhood talent for running and went on to undertake some of the world's toughest challenges, including 10 marathons in 10 days and the 2015 Marathon des Sables, dubbed the "toughest footrace on Earth".
-
Cycling the Earth
- A Life-Changing Race Around the World
- By: Sean Conway
- Narrated by: Stewart Clegg
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sean Conway was stuck in a dead end life of his own making when he heard about a round-the-world cycling race. He was immediately inspired - but it was a huge undertaking, and he'd hardly been on a bike in years. Could he really cycle all the way round the world, solo and unsupported? Six months later, after completing a punishing training schedule and packing up everything he owned into boxes, Sean was in Greenwich Park, on the start line of the adventure of a lifetime.
-
-
Great and inspiring read
- By Mr Paul R Hartley on 15-07-16
-
Three Weeks, Eight Seconds
- Greg Lemond, Laurent Fignon, and the Epic Tour de France of 1989
- By: Nige Tassell
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a race as long as the mighty Tour (three weeks of testing the limits of human endurance), to have the ultimate victory decided by a margin of just eight seconds almost boggles the mind. But that's exactly what happened between American legend Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon. After more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, it remains the smallest margin of victory in the Tour's 100-plus-year history.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Brian O'Donnell on 14-08-22
Editor reviews
Starting from its fabulous title, this work of nonfiction is a must. Listen to Jeff Connor's sparkling English accent chronicle the 1987 Tour de France. Almost as exciting as watching the event, this book gives insider knowledge on the ins and outs of cycling - the intrigue, the cheating, drug use, the high emotions, the physical exertion, the competition, and ecstasy of this endurance sport. Cycling enthusiasts will keep this audiobook on the most convenient shelf - funny, entertaining, and informative.
Summary
Named ‘The No. 1 Cycling Book of All Time’ by Cycle Sport, Wide-Eyed and Legless is a fast-paced, fly-on-the-wall story of courage, endurance, bungling, rows and cheating in sport's greatest marathon.
In 1987, the Tour was won by Irishman Stephen Roche. It was the first time the champion had hailed from outside the Continent or the States and the first time in 20 years a British team - ANC Halfords - had competed in the world's toughest and craziest race. Jeff Connor not only stayed with the British team but also found himself an unofficial team member.
In this new edition of Wide-Eyed and Legless, now widely regarded as a classic, Connor describes what it takes to compete, survive and win during those 26 days of gruelling effort. Alongside the heroism and athleticism, he reveals the extraordinary amounts of chicanery, from pulling riders along to illicit drug use.
Time has not dimmed the impact of this eye-opening and entertaining close-up look at the supreme endurance event, and Wide-Eyed and Legless is destined to be acclaimed by a new generation of cycling enthusiasts.
Critic reviews
“A true classic of cycling literature” ( Cycling Weekly)
“The British squad were out of their depth but Connor's documentary does not poke fun or seek to humiliate. Instead, it makes you feel like you're there with them, suffering and biting your lip” ( Cycle Sport)
“A fabulously observed diary of July 1987, when the dream of British cycling joining the European mainstream crashed catastrophically...side-splittingly funny” ( Cycling Books.Com)
More from the same
What listeners say about Wide-Eyed and Legless
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark Pack
- 21-08-14
Great book, but beware the "unabridged" claim
If you could sum up Wide-Eyed and Legless in three words, what would they be?
It's a great book, but watch out for the "unabridged" claim. The audio version is incomplete, as it misses out several of the appendices at the back of the book, even ones that are quite amenable to be read out loud.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Suzanne Lynda South
- 21-08-16
The narrators style was tedious
Would you try another book written by Jeff Connor or narrated by Ben Elliot?
My first impression is that the book may have had more to offer but was spoilt by the narration. There was no variation of tone or pace - this made the reading soporific - and boring.
What could Jeff Connor have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Not employed Ben Eliot
Would you be willing to try another one of Ben Elliot’s performances?
don't think so
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dave Coleman
- 13-03-16
British cycling in Le Tour in a more shambolic age
The story of the ANC team's first and only entry into Le Tour means both the era and the attitudes to preparation, racing and doping come from a different age.
Now primarily a historical document, its a reasonable yarn, and satisfactorily narrated although with some mangling of place names and terms from a narrator unfamiliar with the sport. Overall a reasonable listen as a piece of history, but newer books are a better guide to the sport as it is now.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- EarlyBhoy
- 02-08-22
nice listen
Don't need to be a cycling fan to enjoy this... A good insight into what life is like at Le Tour.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nathan Harrison
- 28-06-22
mixed. not for the casual listener
it's the account of 1 race in 1987 but jumps backwards and forwards in its telling. definitely fit cycling fans rather than the casual listener
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elizabeth F.
- 08-09-21
Finished this audiobook within x2 days as it was so good.
Not sure how I ended up with this in my library but so glad it was there! I love the Tour de France and this book has offered a real insight into a cycling era of 1987 which is quite honestly fantastic. The author has offered a refreshing outlook I’d never heard of before.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr. D. J. Pritchard
- 03-09-21
If you like cycling then a great listen
Fantastic insight to TDF in 1987. Excellent narration. Cycling in the 80s has it changed today you may find yourself asking.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 22-08-21
very entertaining
Good story - interesting insights into the deep dark world of Le Tour. shame it didn't have more in depth thought process of the riders mentality
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr. Carl Kamutikaoma
- 15-08-21
It Kept Me Interested
I have absolutely no interest in the tour de France, or cycling in general. My only exposure to it was through the Storyville documentary on Lance Armstrong, and indeed I only listened to this book on the titles promise of details of drug taking which have been endemic in professional cycling since the very beginning.
What I got was an extremely engaging reading of the intricacies and regimens of professional cycling. At 5 hours it does not require an extreme commitment and listening to this made for a very enjoyable weekend, quote often scoffing in disbelief at the granular and arguably petty level of the cheats and shortcuts taken in this sport (water bottle pull anyone?).
Don't get me wrong, this is not sports journalism on the par of HST; there's no deeper meaning here. But it is very accessible and entertaining on its own merits; I'm absolutely sure that I enjoyed listening to it more than I would have reading it. 7.5/10
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- k pius
- 01-08-21
Rubbish
What a dreadful book. I've lasted 15 minutes and even that was a stretch. First thing the author tells you is that to win a Grand Tour you have to be good at climbing (yes), time trialling (sort of) and sprinting (nope). Secondly, he tells us that the best sprinters are the biggest guys in the bunch. Not true! Look at Evan, Cav or Viviani.
Do yourself a favour and get a different book about cycling because this one should have never been published.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Claire
- 11-02-17
Who gave Connor this assignment?
This is an in-depth article about the Tour de France by a journalist who knows nothing about cycling and doesn't care to learn. His accounts of the hotels are more vivid than the description of the racing. The race is more like a background description of the weather in the story of one man's long and boring road trip. Skip this book.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Joe
- 31-07-14
Into the Tour de France? This is your book.
Would you listen to Wide-Eyed and Legless again? Why?
For anyone who enjoys watching cycling and especially the Tour de France, this book is one that should not be missed. It is a bit dated, but the classic nature of the book fits nicely with the traditions of the great race. A bit hard to follow at times, this books may be a bit of a bore to a regular sports fan. This is a book about cycling for cycling fans.
Who was your favorite character and why?
More than just going into the peloton, this book takes the the listener into team meetings, team cars and the dynamics of how teams are started and sustained. The characters in the book are, in fact, true characters, and the authors does an outstanding job in introducing the listener to them.
What aspect of Ben Elliot’s performance would you have changed?
The narration is good, just, apparently, a bit dated. I got used to the unclear recording in time.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
This is a short book that covers a lot of ground. It is one that requires listeners' attention. It can easily be listened to in one long setting.
Any additional comments?
If you are in to the great race, this is a must read. Wish I had listened to it long ago.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- James R Simon
- 03-01-22
1987 Tour de France
Quick audiobook following a low-tier pro team in their first TDF. Gives overall sense of the Tour, follows the team riders, issues of keeping a new tream together, while touching on the lead gc’s. More time could’ve been spent on iconic climbs, but good enough.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- L. Ajaye
- 13-12-20
Not really all that funny...
Maybe this was lost on me, but I really didn't see all that much that was enjoyable or even funny about this audiobook. Read well enough, but humor...what humor?
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- P
- 08-02-17
Insightful
Historic perspective is always good. I love how doping is terrible and unprecedented., not so much, just tested and known. The "Greats" did it and we hear little of it. It is going to be an uphill slog to clean up this great sport but efforts are worthy and just. Great read.