Cycling biographies can, let’s face it, be a bit of a bore sometimes. More often than not they’re an extended catalogue of a rider’s palmares and it can be difficult to get under the character’s skin. I’ve dutifully ploughed my way through many of those as I try to bone up on my cycling history, but it’s rare that you get an essence of the romance and poetry of bike racing.

Well, romantic and poetic are exactly the adjectives that spring to mind with this compact and concise book about Jacques Anquetil, the controversial cycling star of the 60s, told through the eyes of the novelist and cycling fan Paul Fournel.