Philippe Gilbert My Year In Top Gear

Download or read book Philippe Gilbert written by Philippe Gilbert and published by Lannoo Meulenhoff - Belgium. This book was released on 2012-01-25 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How many times had Philippe repeated this sentence, as his successes, ever more prestigious, were mounting up? 'I'm benefiting from it!', like the 'carpe diem' immortalised two thousand years earlier by the Roman poet, Horace. Like the magic of the moment, the pleasures of which one savours without knowing whether they will ever be reproduced. It was with that exact mindset that the world number one, the best cyclist of the year, the most titled modern-era rider of the classics, evolved during the four seasons of the exceptional year 2011, the one of his summit and his glory, where all his dreams, or almost, came true. Phil benefitted from his form, his talent, his work, his audacity and his character to pull off 19 major successes, including the two Ardennes classics, two national titles, the first stage of the Tour De France and the distinctive jerseys that accompanied him. On the podium of the Walloon Arrow, in Huy, Bernard Hinault himself said this: 'You see kid, you've done it, and there was no reason to fear the gradient of the Wall of Huy. Benefit, benefit: when you're in such form, you have to jump on everything that moves.' And he benefitted from it, beyond, perhaps, his wildest dreams. He indulged, while offering his public emotions of rare intensity. He has brought some pages of history to Belgian cycling on a cloud that it will be good to immortalise when the time comes. But Phil did not want to wait for the archives of his memory, rightly believing that this exceptional 2011 season might never again be reproduced. Rather than postponing sine die his emotions, his memories and his anecdotes into an end-of-career book, he has... benefitted from the freshness of his feelings to recount them hard on the heels of a breathtaking adventure, in a pulsating account of his victories that he dissects with meticulousness, precision, and passion.

Download or read book Luxury Arts of the Renaissance written by Marina Belozerskaya and published by Getty Publications. This book was released on 2005-10-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today we associate the Renaissance with painting, sculpture, and architecture—the “major” arts. Yet contemporaries often held the “minor” arts—gem-studded goldwork, richly embellished armor, splendid tapestries and embroideries, music, and ephemeral multi-media spectacles—in much higher esteem. Isabella d’Este, Marchesa of Mantua, was typical of the Italian nobility: she bequeathed to her children precious stone vases mounted in gold, engraved gems, ivories, and antique bronzes and marbles; her favorite ladies-in-waiting, by contrast, received mere paintings. Renaissance patrons and observers extolled finely wrought luxury artifacts for their exquisite craftsmanship and the symbolic capital of their components; paintings and sculptures in modest materials, although discussed by some literati, were of lesser consequence. This book endeavors to return to the mainstream material long marginalized as a result of historical and ideological biases of the intervening centuries. The author analyzes how luxury arts went from being lofty markers of ascendancy and discernment in the Renaissance to being dismissed as “decorative” or “minor” arts—extravagant trinkets of the rich unworthy of the status of Art. Then, by re-examining the objects themselves and their uses in their day, she shows how sumptuous creations constructed the world and taste of Renaissance women and men.

Download or read book The Monuments written by Peter Cossins and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2014-03-13 with total page 469 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Peter Cossins is an engaging writer whose conversational style makes this an effortless yet interesting read. The cosy tone delivers a great deal with a good balance of history and anecdotes. If you wish to explore cycling beyond the Grand Tours this is the book.' - Carlton Kirby An awe-inspiring history of the five most legendary 'classic' races in world cycling. The Tour de France may provide the most obvious fame and glory, but it is cycling's one-day tests that the professional riders really prize. Toughest, longest and dirtiest of all are the so-called 'Monuments', the five legendary races that are the sport's equivalent of golf's majors or the grand slams in tennis. Milan–Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Tour of Lombardy date back more than a century, and each of them is an anomaly in modern-day sport, the cycling equivalent of the Monaco Grand Prix. Time has changed them to a degree, but they remain as brutally testing as they ever have been. They provide the sport's outstanding one-day performers – the likes of Philippe Gilbert, Fabian Cancellara, Mark Cavendish, Tom Boonen, Peter Sagan and Thor Hushovd – with a chance to measure themselves against each other and their predecessors in the most challenging tests in world cycling. From the bone-shattering bowler-hat cobbles of the Paris–Roubaix (rumoured to be Bradley Wiggins' next challenge) to the insanely steep hellingen in the Tour of Flanders, each race is as unique as the riders who push themselves through extreme exhaustion to win them and enter their epic history. Over the course of a century, only Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck have won all five races. Yet victory in a single edition of a Monument guarantees a rider lasting fame. For some, that one victory has even more cachet than success in a grand tour. Each of the Monuments has a fascinating history, featuring tales of the finest and largest characters in the sport. In The Monuments, Peter Cossins tells the tumultuous history of these extraordinary races and the riders they have immortalised.

Download or read book The Willpower Instinct written by Kelly McGonigal and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-12-31 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal's wildly popular course "The Science of Willpower," The Willpower Instinct is the first book to explain the science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity. Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters. For example, readers will learn: • Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. • Willpower is not an unlimited resource. Too much self-control can actually be bad for your health. • Temptation and stress hijack the brain's systems of self-control, but the brain can be trained for greater willpower • Guilt and shame over your setbacks lead to giving in again, but self-forgiveness and self-compassion boost self-control. • Giving up control is sometimes the only way to gain self-control. • Willpower failures are contagious—you can catch the desire to overspend or overeat from your friends­­—but you can also catch self-control from the right role models. In the groundbreaking tradition of Getting Things Done, The Willpower Instinct combines life-changing prescriptive advice and complementary exercises to help readers with goals ranging from losing weight to more patient parenting, less procrastination, better health, and greater productivity at work.

Download or read book The Spirit of Racing written by Trevor Jones and published by Kensington West Productions. This book was released on 1997 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A photographic portrait of horse racing featuring the work of acclaimed photographers Trevor Jones and George Selwyn. Text is from top racing journalists, which supports each section. The book covers every aspect of racing and is very much an international title. The images are collected together in chapters covering: The Origins of Racing, Breeding, Peaks and Troughs of Training, Flat Racing, National Hunt Racing, Betting, and Legends. The Spirit of Racing is a book of interest to anyone who enjoys horses and equestrianism. It is a collection of photographs that demonstrate that the "sport of kings" is an international sport.

Download or read book The Beast, the Emperor and the Milkman written by Harry Pearson and published by Bloomsbury Sport. This book was released on 2019-04-09 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cycling is wildly popular all over Belgium, but in the northern, Dutch-speaking half of the country it is part of the psyche. Tiny Flanders boasts a population of just 6 million, yet this small corner of northwest Europe has produced eight winners of the Tour de France, five times as many professional riders as Italy or Spain. Blending reportage, interviews, observation, biography, and history, and written with affectionate humor by a committed Belgophile, The Beast, the Emperor and the Milkman tells the story of Flanders' neurotic love affair with bike racing, from tough early heroes such as Jules Vanhevel--wounded by mortar fire in World War I and leading the world championship road race until he collided with a cow--to latter-day ironmen such as Tom Boonen, three-times winner of the Tour of Flanders and owner of a pet donkey named Kamiel.

Download or read book Skiing written by and published by . This book was released on 1980-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: