Lanterne Rouge

<p><b><i>lanterne rouge (</i></b><b><i>French | noun)</i></b><b>: <i>The competitor who finishes last in the Tour de France</i></b><br><br> <b>Froome Wiggins Merckx &#150; we know the winners of the Tour de France but what about the men who finish last?</b><br><br><i>Lanterne Rouge</i> tells the forgotten often inspirational and occasionally absurd stories of the last-placed rider<b>.</b> We learn of stage winners and former yellow jerseys who tasted life at the other end of the bunch; the breakaway leader who stopped for a bottle of wine and then took a wrong turn; the doper whose drug cocktail accidently slowed him down and the rider who was recognised as the most combative despite finishing at the back.<br><br> Flipping the Tour de France on its head and examines what these stories tell us about ourselves the 99% who don&#146;t win the trophy <i>Lantern Rouge </i>forces us to re-examine the meaning of success failure and the very nature of sport.<br><br><b>&#145;A lively account of largely forgotten men... It&#146;s not easy to come up with an original angle on Le Tour but with this rear view Leonard has managed the feat in style&#146; <i>Independent on Sunday</i></b></p>