A Clean Break: My Story - Softcover

Bassons, Christophe; Hopquin, Benoīt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1472910389 ISBN 13: 9781472910387

Publisher: Bloomsbury Sport, 2015

Synopsis

The autobiography of cycling's Mr Clean who refused to dope or to remain silent about doping - and was exiled from the sport.

Christophe Bassons is a former professional cyclist. His career was a successful one albeit never in the full glare of the media. That all changed when, in 1998, the Festina doping scandal broke and Bassons shot to fame as one of the handful of clean riders in the peloton - and as the only professional who dared to speak openly about the topic.

Having been seen as a possible champion, his instinctive and stubborn refusal to dope saw him outstripped in physique, stamina and speed by men he'd once equalled or exceeded. His willingness to denounce the doping culture set him against the entire ethos of professional cycling: owners, management and his peers - the likes of Lance Armstrong, Richard Virenque, Christophe Moreau.

A year later, Bassons' career was over. Having clashed publicly with other riders - notably with Armstrong during the 1999 Tour de France - and written in French newspapers of his disbelief and disgust, Bassons found himself exhausted and exiled - chewed up and spat out by the sport he loved.

First published in French in 2000 and now updated following recent revelations from Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton and other high-profile figures, and translated by Peter Cossins, A Clean Break is unmissable reading for all cycling fans. It offers a unique and heartbreaking take on the subject.

About this title

About the Authors

Christophe Bassons was a professional cyclist between 1996 and 2001, racing with the likes of Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton and Richard Virenque. He now works for the French Ministry of Sport and Culture to prevent doping.

Benoīt Hopquin is a French journalist and author. He is a senior reporter for Le Monde and is based in Paris.

First drawn into the sport while a student in bike-obsessed Spain in the mid-1980s, Peter Cossins has been writing about cycling since 1993. He has covered sixteen editions of the Tour de France and spent three years as editor of Procycling magazine and the last four as contributing editor to that title. He has also contributed to the Guardian, The Times, the Sunday Telegraph, the Sunday Express and the Sunday Herald. In 2012 he collaborated with Tour de France winner Stephen Roche on his autobiography, Born to Ride.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Sport
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1472910389
• ISBN 13: 9781472910387
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256