Backstage at the Tour de France

As the eyes of the cycling world were set on Lance Armstrong while he pedaled his way through the Pyrenees toward another victory in the Tour de France, Johnny Green sat at the top of the mountain, listening while Sheryl Crow explained how professional cycling might just be the new rock ’n’ roll. . . .

As Green’s other book, A Riot of Our Own, did for life on the road with the Clash, Push Yourself Just a Little Bit More seeks to capture the essence of the world’s biggest bicycle race. While many members of the press watched the race on huge screens tucked away in air-conditioned halls, Green was out on the road. He basked in the twin surges of wind and adrenaline as the riders raced up and down mountains and stormed through tiny villages across France. What he sought wasn’t a dutiful account of the race, which everyone knows Armstrong dominated. He was on a quest for the intangible forces at work that keep riders and fans alike motivated and moving for 23 days and some 2,200 miles each July.