The Race Against the Stasi: The Incredible Story of Dieter Wiedemann, the Iron Curtain and the Greatest Cycling Race on Earth

Winner of Cycling Book of the Year at the 2015 Cross British Sports Book Awards, this is the extraordinary true story of Dieter Wiedemann — a gifted East German cyclist who risked everything for love, freedom and the chance to race on his own terms.

In the eyes of the state, Wiedemann was a model socialist athlete. In reality, he had fallen in love with Sylvia Hermann, a young woman from the other side of the Berlin Wall. Their relationship made them “class enemies”, and as a rising sporting star, Dieter lived under the constant surveillance of the Stasi, who scrutinised his every move. But he despised their ideology — and Sylvia represented his only hope of escape.

In 1964, he was sent to West Germany for a single race to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Instead of returning home, he committed the ultimate act of betrayal in the eyes of the regime: he defected. Overnight, the celebrated cyclist became an enemy of the state.

While Wiedemann went on to fulfil his dream of riding the Tour de France, the consequences of his escape were devastating. The Stasi launched a relentless campaign to “repatriate” him, with horrific repercussions for the family he left behind. For half a century, the secret police files followed him like a shadow.

Fifty years later — and twenty‑five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall — Wiedemann finally tells his story. Drawing on his testimony, interviews with those involved, and the chilling Stasi documents themselves, acclaimed author Herbie Sykes uncovers a tale of love, betrayal, Cold War paranoia and the world’s greatest bike race.

A powerful, deeply human narrative that reveals the madness at the heart of a divided world.