Angel of the Mountains
The Curious Life of Charly Gaul, Cycling's Forgotten Superstar
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Quercus Publishing
Publishing:3rd Jul '25
£10.99
This title is due to be published on 3rd July, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

'Maunder's book is more than just a biography of the rise and fall of a complicated man . . . It is also a critique of the damage that myth-making and the media can do to an athlete; a study of what happens to a demigod when thrown from Mount Olympus' The Times
Charly Gaul is a forgotten cycling legend. Once a household name across Europe, the diminutive Luxembourger won the 1958 Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia twice. A unique rider, Gaul was supremely gifted at climbing and resilient even in the foulest weather. His pedalling style was smooth and swift, and he could set an unmatchable metronome rhythm on a mountain climb. 'Mozart on two wheels,' was how one contemporary writer described him; another dubbed him 'The Angel of the Mountains'.
At the end of his cycling career Gaul disappeared, becoming a hermit living in a forest in Luxembourg. What drove Charly Gaul into a recluse's life? In Angel of the Mountains, Paul Maunder seeks to uncover the truth about Gaul, his psychology and the circumstances of his withdrawal from society. In rediscovering Gaul's enigmatic life, we find not only an unlikely hero but also a larger truth about the nature of sporting success.
Maunder's book is more than just a biography of the rise and fall of a complicated man who was described as both generous and arrogant by those who knew him. It is also a critique of the damage that myth-making and the media can do to an athlete; a study of what happens to a demigod when thrown from Mount Olympus -- The Times
ISBN: 9781529429596
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
320 pages