Walko: The 1956 Tour de France (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781916019720)

If you won the Tour de France, how would you feel if people said you didn't deserve it? WALKO is the story of how Roger Walkowiak raced 5000km, beat over 100 riders and apparently didn't deserve his victory. Spoiler: he did.

The 1956 Tour de France was the first post-war Tour not to feature a previous winner. Louison Bobet was injured, so the French team was riding without a leader. It was every man for themselves.

WALKO takes you to the heart of this most thrilling of Tours - a high-octane, unpredictable Tour which saw an unexpected regional rider beat the World Champion and the Giro d'Italia winner. Over 22 stages, covering 5,000km, WALKO brings the 1950s peloton to life with stories from the likes of Roger Hassenforder, Andr Darrigade and Sauveur Ducazeaux.

You'll discover how an entire team ruined its chances through doping, how cycling's most hated rider became cycling's most adored man, and how a humble man from Montlu on defied all expectations to beat over 100 riders to the line in Paris.

WALKO is a celebration of the Tour de France and of France itself. It celebrates the men - and the women - who pushed Roger Walkowiak all the way, but above all, it celebrates a victory that many wrongly believed the winning rider didn't deserve.

If you thought you knew what it meant to win la Walkowiak, think again...