Vuelta Skelter: Riding the Remarkable 1941 Tour of Spain

Tim Moore completed his epic trilogy of cycling's Grand Tours, retracing the 1941 route of Julian Berrendero's victory in the Vuelta a Espana. The journey was filled with heat, loneliness, glory, humiliation, and tragedy, as Tim recounted the civil war's tragedies and found the locals torn between welcoming him and bundling him into a vat of antiviral gel.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 14 July 2022
Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Tim Moore embarks on an epic and ill-advised trilogy of cycling's Grand Tours, culminating in his completion of the 1941 Vuelta a Espana. Julian Berrendero's victory in the Vuelta, after spending 18 months in Franco's concentration camps for expressing Republican sympathies during the civil war, is an extraordinary tale of sporting redemption. Seventy-nine years later, Tim Moore, an over-ambitious cyclo-adventurer, develops a fascination with Berrendero's story and sets off to retrace the 4,409km route of his 1941 triumph, amidst a global pandemic.

The journey unfolds as a tale of brutal heat and lonely roads, interspersed with moments of glory, humiliation, and even more humiliation. Tim relives the tragic events of the civil war and encounters the locals, who are torn between welcoming their nation's only foreign visitor and treating him with suspicion due to his filthy bike.

Throughout his journey, Tim encounters various challenges, including extreme weather conditions and mechanical breakdowns. He also faces the emotional toll of reliving the memories of the civil war and the struggles of the people he meets along the way. Despite the obstacles, Tim's determination and resilience propel him forward, and he ultimately completes the historic route, achieving a sense of accomplishment and connection to the past.

The 1941 Vuelta a Espana represents a remarkable chapter in cycling history, and Tim Moore's journey retracing the route brings it to life in a powerful and poignant way. Through his experiences, Tim explores the complexities of history, the resilience of the human spirit, and the enduring impact of sports on society.

Weight: 236g
Dimension: 127 x 197 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529113792