1923

WINNER OF THE SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2024 CYCLING BOOK OF THE YEAR
A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023: SPORT
NOMINATED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

'An absorbing mix of historical sleuthing and travel writing' - The Telegraph

'[a] fascinating and often touching book… Wonderful' - The Times

When cycling commentator Ned Boulting bought a length of Pathé news film featuring a stage of the Tour de France from 1923, he set about learning everything he could about it. This begins an intriguing journey that encompasses travelogue, history, and detective story.

In the autumn of 2020, Ned Boulting (ITV head cycling commentator and Tour de France obsessive) bought a length of Pathé news film from a London auction house. All he knew was it was film from the Tour de France, a long time ago. Once restored, it became clear it was a short sequence of shots from stage 4 of the 1923 Tour de France. No longer than 2.5 minutes long, it featured half a dozen sequences, including a lone rider crossing a bridge.

Ned set about learning everything he could about the sequence — studying each frame, face, and building — until he had squeezed the meaning from it. It sets him off in fascinating directions, encompassing travelogue, history, and mystery story, to explain and delve deeper into this moment in time captured on his little film.

Join him as he explores the history of cycling and France just five years after WWI.