Lanterne Rouge: The Last Man in the Tour de France

We all know the legends who win the Tour de France — Froome, Wiggins, Merckx, LeMond. But what about the riders who roll over the line dead last?

Lanterne Rouge dives into the untold stories of the Tour’s back‑of‑the‑pack heroes: the riders who finish hours down, battered, bruised, and somehow still pedalling. These are the men who turn “last place” into something unforgettable.

Inside, you’ll meet stage winners and former yellow‑jersey wearers who suddenly found themselves fighting just to make the time cut. There’s the breakaway artist who stopped for a bottle of wine and promptly got lost, the doper whose cocktail slowed him down instead of speeding him up, and the rider voted “most combative” despite finishing at the very back.

This book flips the Tour de France on its head and asks what these stories say about the rest of us — the 99% who don’t win trophies but keep showing up anyway. It’s funny, surprising, inspiring and a brilliant reminder that success isn’t always about crossing the line first.

As the Independent on Sunday put it: “A lively account of largely forgotten men… an original angle on Le Tour told in style.”