We Were Young and Carefree
  • Published: 15 July 2010
  • ISBN: 9781407075211
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 304
Categories:

We Were Young and Carefree

The Autobiography of Laurent Fignon

Formats & editions
EBook
15 Jul 2010
Tr. Paperback
15 Jul 2010
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The international bestselling autobiography of twice-Tour-de-France-winner Laurent Fignon, one of the greatest and most charismatic cyclists of all time.

'Ah, I remember you: you're the guy who lost the Tour de France by eight seconds!'
'No monsieur, I'm the guy who won the Tour twice.
The international bestselling autobiography of the legendary French cyclist Laurent Fignon

Two-time winner of the Tour de France in the early eighties, Laurent Fignon became the star for a new generation. In the 1989 tour, he lost out to his American arch-rival, Greg LeMond, by an agonising eight seconds.

In this revealing account, the former champion spares nobody, not even himself, and pulls back the curtain on what really went on behind the scenes of this epic sport - the friendships, the rivalries, the betrayals, the parties, the girls and, of course, the performance-enhancing drugs. Fignon's story bestrides a golden age in cycling: a time when the headlines spoke of heroes, not doping, and a time when cyclists were afraid of nothing.

‘Sports book of the year: He's ruthlessly honest, about himself and about cycling, and he provides a gripping insight into an unrelenting hard world’ Independent
  • Published: 15 July 2010
  • ISBN: 9781407075211
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 304
Categories:

About the author

Laurent Fignon

Laurent Fignon was born in Paris in 1960. He won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. In June 2009, Fignon revealed that he was being treated for advanced intestinal cancer and he died in August 2010.

Praise for We Were Young and Carefree

Sports book of the year: magnificent, baffling, wonderful

Sunday Herald

Sports book of the year: He's ruthlessly honest, about himself and about cycling, and he provides a gripping insight into an unrelenting hard world

Independent

A fine account of a professional sport on the verge of fundamental change

Times Literary Supplement

A fine account of a sparkling career in the saddle

Sunday Business Post

A gripping insight into an unrelenting hard world

Independent

A revealing account of friendships, rivalries and doping scandals from one of the giants of modern cycling

Cycling Weekly

A stylish, whimsical and ultimately tragic jaunt through one of cycling’s golden ages

Daniel Friebe, Outdoor Fitness

Astonishing. The twice winner of the Tour de France bares his soul, exploring the ups and downs of life as a champion, the world of competitive cycling, and his own failings

Libération

Full of marvellous anecdotes about aching leg muscles, the drive to win, defeat and pride - the essence of competitive cycling

le Monde

In this sympathetic portrait he comes across as clever, warm and witty man

Independent on Sunday

Laurent Fignon gives cycling fans a fascinating glimpse of what really went on behind the scenes of this epic sport

Cycle Sport

Often touching and, above all, very funny

L'Equipe

The most poignant sports book of the year

Metro

This book is both a poignant farewell and as well as a rare glimpse of Fignon and his world in his own words

London Cyclist

William Fotheringham's translation is, like Fignon himself, elegant and vivid

Guardian
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