Cycling 70 Years: Once World Champion

Join Gordon on a journey through the world of professional cycling, from following in the footsteps of Tom Simpson on a journey to Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, to building a successful financial services business and organizing popular training camps in Mallorca, which helped make the island the top destination for serious cyclists. Along the way, discover the amusing characters and incidents that defined Gordon’s career, as well as the challenges and triumphs of sponsorship and racing with one of the top amateur clubs in the country. Experience the thrill of home and away racing in countries like South Africa, where Gordon competed in the pre-Nelson Mandela era, and Russia, where he won the world championship. With a mix of cycling adventures and tourism, this book also takes you on a hilarious four-day pilgrimage ride from Albufeira to Fatima, culminating in a unique ceremony at the famous site. Through it all, you’ll get a unique glimpse into the world of cycling and the joys and challenges that come with it.

The author, born in South Yorkshire in 1938, was an early pioneer of paid continental cycle racing. He then established a successful career in financial services. Currently, he was a reluctant rider at the outset of the professional class in the UK. Then he organised the most successful cycle training camps in Mallorca for 20 years. He became a permanent resident in France in 2005, also having winter homes in the Algarve & Mallorca, consequently having considerable travel, racing & club experiences in those & other countries including South Africa, winning a world championship in Russia.