Time-trialling was a uniquely British form of bike-racing, devised to avoid the hostility of police and public to groups of cyclists racing on public roads.
The ideal of time-trialling was one man or woman racing alone against the clock.
Gives the history of the sport from its origins in the 1890s to the end of the 20th Century.
Tell the story of record breakers from the Edwardian age to the Chris Boardman era.
Illustrated with 150 photographs.
Time, Speed and Truth
This is the first general history ever written of the sport of time-trialling. It tells the strange story of how that sport was born in late Victorian England, and how it developed into a form of bike-racing unique to this country. It shows how time-trialling was for many years a purely grass-roots sport, with no written rules, no governing body and no national championships. In spite of this it built a strong identity and a passionately loyal following among British cyclists. This book tells of the great riders of the past, going back to Leon Meredith before World War One, Frank Southall in the 1920s, and on to the stars of the post-war years and today, names like Ray Booty, Alf Engers, Ian Cammish and Beryl Burton. Time-trialling has often been criticised as an insular sport, out of touch with the real bike-racing that takes place in continental Europe. Yet time-trialling has constantly produced its own superb riders and superb athletic achievements. In the troubled world of modern professional bike-racing, the story of time-trialling reminds us of the essential values of amateur sport, through its devotion to its triple ideals of Time, Speed, and above all Truth.
Time, Speed and Truth is available to purchase as a digital e-book in pdf format. Price £10
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