March 2017 | 23
Book Review
Le Tour Race Log
Author Claire Beaumont Publisher Laurence King Date 2 / 5 / 16 Format Paperback Pages 128 ISBN 9781856699860 Price £ 12.95 Review by Richard Peploe
A
lot of books about the Tour de France have been coming out this year , but first out of the blocks by a long way was this one : Le Tour Race Log devotes a few pages to every stage , covering the main results , the jersey wearers , the weather conditions , and any relevant incidents .
The catch is of course that none of these stages has been completed yet , because as a log ( or journal ) the purpose of the
book is to help you to record the events of the day in an orderly manner as the race unfolds . If you are diligent you should end up with a nicely presented summary of the race in your own fair hand : it won ’ t tell you anything that a few minutes on the internet could not do equally well , but that is to miss the point of the book .
There are a few pages of explanation about the race , but this is not going to be your race guide book : it won ’ t tell you about the teams , the riders , the dates , or even the race route . There will be many other publications that will give that information closer to the time , and you will still need one of those by your side . In fact , the book has so little information that is specific to the 2016 event that it could be used for any year , guess that ’ s the idea from a sales point of view – although the ‘ rest day ’ pages might not be in quite the right place . We did enjoy the illustrations by Neil Stevens .
This book will probably appeal to a limited audience , but in the right hands it could add a new dimension for anyone following the race obsessively .