Alpe d’Huez is a tough climb, a gruelling 13.1 km characterised by 21 hairpins. Its place in Tour de France history is legendary.

The Tour Is Won on the Alpe: Alpe d’Huez and the Classic Battles of the Tour de France is a new book written by cycling historian Jean-Paul Vespini that charts the history of the climb from its first inclusion in the Tour de France and the careers and races that have been shaped by the climb.

Each chapter covers one ascent, starting with Fausto Coppi’s astonishing victory in 1952. Vespini tells the story of this celebrated climb and the mountain that so often acts as the ultimate arbiter for cycling’s biggest prize.

Vespini’s riveting descriptions of each battle to the top include candid interviews with riders, new insight into epic rivalries, and little-known but fascinating facts about the climb that has become a rite of passage for every rider in the peloton.

Cycling’s most famous names are all present and accounted for: Coppi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Pedro Delgado, Miguel Indurain, Marco Pantani, and of course the American victors Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong.

The Tour Is Won on the Alpe is published by www.velopress.com and is now available in bookstores, bike shops, and online.