Sheffielder Tony Hewson is a former champion racing cyclist who won the 1955 Tour of Britain and represented his country in the Warsaw-Berlin-Prague and the Tour de France. His first book, "In Pursuit of Stardom", told of how he and his companions faced handicap and privation in their struggle to earn a living on the European continent in the 1950s, and has been widelt acclaimed. "A Racing Cyclist's Worst Nightmare" gathers together individual but interrelated stories from different litery genres -  autobiography, biography, discourse and fiction. Whilst each piece can be enjoyed in ots own right, the work as a whole casts light on an era of UK cycling history in the aftermath of World War II that until now has been largely neglected. Some events - -for example, the tumultuous birth and demise of the rebel British League of Racing Cyclists that split the sport and framed its future - have ramificagions to this day.

From foul-mouthed Jean Robic ("I haven't enough enemies!") to aggresive Korean war veteran Reg ("Hereoes we were;fat thanks we get") via bullied National Service 'nutter' Michael ("a queer boy wi'them fancy togs n'that weird show-off bike"), the mood is one of a shared sense of grievence from real and imagined characters who see themselves as put-upons in search of recognition. The theme of the social outsider will ring bells with any reader who has ever been a committed cyclist in the British Isles and will also be of interest to many who have not.

Paperback : 239 pages + Black & White photos
Price : £12.95 + £1.00 p&p