|
A Peiper`s Tale
|
|
by Allan Peiper with Chris Sidwells Foreword by Sean Yates
Paperback 180 pages 8b/w and 4 colour photos
MP439395
"In all the years I’ve known Allan I’ve never ceased to be amazed by the stories he tells of his upbringing. It was a tough one compared to mine, and it definitely shaped him in later life. Hearing those stories again made me – and I am certain many of you who will read his book – realise just how lucky we have been. What I am sure you will also get from A Peiper’s Tale is a sense of the passion and feeling that Allan has for life, and for this sport of cycling." Sean Yates
‘Allan Peiper was always a little bit different - an excellent rider who could sometimes pull off a remarkable win and an awesome competitor to have riding against you. However Allan's life was a lot more complicated than it seemed. His difficult childhood, his struggles when he came to Europe and the traumas he went though after he retired are brought to life in this remarkable biography.’ Phil Liggett, MBE Cycling broadcaster
‘You won't read a more revealing, heart searching and poignant book about a professional cyclist than this one.’ Luke Evans, Cycling Journalist and Editor
This book is no ordinary sporting biography, for Allan Peiper has written A Peiper's Tale straight from the heart. His description of his difficult early years, his cycling career and his life when his career finished is remarkable and refreshingly candid. Peiper was just 16 years old when he took the extraordinary step of leaving his shattered family in Australia and moving to Belgium to become a professional cyclist. In Europe he fought prejudice and deceit, made friends and won races on the way to riding the Tour de France and becoming one of the most respected cyclists of the 1980's.
Part of the cycling culture Peiper found revolved around drug-taking, and these issues are discussed with honesty and even an optimism for the future. Each chapter revolves around one of the many varied and colourful characters he met - men like Jan 'The Papers', who gave him his first accommodation in a run-down Ghent boarding house; Peter Post who ruled the Panasonic team with a rod of iron, Eddy Planckaert, the youngest of the Flanderian cycling dynasty; and many others.
It's all here - cycling from the saddle and now from the team-car, and all the trials and tribulations in between.
|
|
