In Road to Valor, Aili and Andres McConnon chronicle Bartali’s journey, starting in impoverished rural Tuscany where a scrawny, mischievous boy painstakingly saves his money to buy a bicycle and before long, is racking up wins throughout the country. At the age of 24, he stuns the world by winning the Tour de France and becomes an international sports icon.

But Mussolini’s Fascists try to hijack his victory for propaganda purposes, derailing Bartali’s career, and as the Nazis occupy Italy, Bartali undertakes secret and dangerous activities to help those being targeted. He shelters a family of Jews in an apartment he financed with his cycling winnings and is able to smuggle counterfeit identity documents hidden in his bicycle past Fascist and Nazi checkpoints because the soldiers recognize him as a national hero in training.

ESPN ran an excerpt from Road to Valor last month and I find the story very interesting. Other recommendations from Amazon include Tour Climbs and Cycling, Wine, and Men: A Midlife Tour de France . After seven break-ups in seven years, the author knew it was time for a change. The cure for her dating blues? A 700-mile cycling expedition from Bordeaux to the Alps.

Tour Special

We’ve also put all of our gear on sale for 20% off through the end of July. That’s on our best-ever kit, socks, and caps.