Slaying the Badger

Richard Moore is a freelance journalist and author. His first book, In Search of Robert Millar, won Best Biography at the 2008 British Sports Book Awards. His second book, Heroes, Villains & Velodromes, was long-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. He writes on cycling and sport and is a regular contributor to the Guardian, Sky Sports and The Scotsman. He is also a former racing cyclist who represented Scotland at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

"Moore entertainingly unravels the complexities of the relationships within the peloton during a three-week stage race, the sort of battle in which alliances can shift from one mountain peak to another and your enemy's enemy can suddenly become your most valued friend" -- Richard Williams Guardian "From the opening pages this is a book that grips. Combining great insight, interviews and anecdotes with wonderfully vivid writing, it is thoroughly researched and well written. Like the event itself, the book is so engrossing, you don't want it to end" Scotland on Sunday "As a matter of some urgency, arm yourself first with Slaying the Badger by Richard Moore and immerse yourself in the epic story of the 1986 Tour and the two greatest riders of their era. ... The race and the book builds towards a gripping page turning climax which you don't want to end" -- Bredan Gallagher Daily Telegraph "A gripping narrative of this psychological and physical three-week war... It is good to be reminded that the race used to have twice-a-day stages, that helmets didn't always obscure the riders and that technology once had little place in the Tour" Wall Street Journal "Captivating... Slaying the Badger is a mixture of clear-eyed journalistic analysis and unashamed nostalgia" Times Literary Supplement