The 1989 Blue Book, the first in a new series from the publishers of The Road Book, is now available, bringing together years of research and passion to comprehensively and beautifully capture one of the most remarkable years in professional cycling history.
After five years after establishing itself as the exclusive annual authority of the sport’s recent history with The Road Book Red Series, devoted cycling enthusiasts can now add to their collection with the Blue Series, a truly unique collection of the most iconic years.
Edited by Matt Rendall, the 1989 Blue Book features contributions from Sean Kelly, Edwig van Hooydonck, Ned Boulting, Pippa York, Jeff Quénet, Kathy LeMond and many more.
1989 Tour de France Blue Book
In the year the Berlin Wall fell, George Bush Senior was inaugurated as the 41st president of the United States, and a pint of milk cost as little as 27p, one of the most compelling Tours de France produced the closest-ever win, with just eight seconds separating the triumphant Gregory LeMond from Laurent Fignon. Throw in the inaugural Tour de Trump and Mario Cipollini’s first-ever stage win and you have a year of cycling that has gone down in pro peloton folklore.
Matt Rendall, 1989 Blue Book editor, comments: “The past is said to have this quality, that you never know what’s going to happen there, and that is the point of this, the first in a new series of Blue Books. You might imagine that locating race results from 1989 would be easy. You would be wrong. The world was more loosely connected in those days and definitive accounts are hard to come by. This book brings together years of research to provide a comprehensive report of a landmark year in professional cycling.”
Recalling the historic tour, legendary commentator, Phil Liggett said: “Over the years, I have often been asked which was my favourite Tour de France, and it’s always been 1989, without hesitation.”
Ned Boulting, editor of the Road Book Red Series, added: “The 1989 Tour de France lives long in the memory of many as the greatest in its long and illustrious history. There are many compelling seasons to explore in the coming editions of new Blue Book series, but none more fitting as a starting point.”
Nearly 400 pages of the Blue Book take you back 34 years with race reports, statistics and first-person accounts from winners, key personalities and leading journalists, accompanied by pictures and illustrations to bring the iconic year of cycling to life. Kathy LeMond provides an intimate memoir of her husband’s Tour de France triumph, Edwig van Hooydonck explains what it means to be one of the great Tour of Flanders champions, and Ned Boulting illustrates the experiences of several generations of cyclists as the Cold War ended.
The 1989 Blue Book is available for £40 only from www.theroadbook.co.uk. The first 750 orders will receive a signed copy by editor, Matt Rendall.
