Before he deleted it, his Twitter was followed only by his mother and UCI President David Lappartient. As well as cycling not being an interest/hobby of mine, the book also describes Beryl as an, at times, ruthless and rude competitor.

We are grateful to Beryl and the women like her who paved the way for our generation to enjoy the professionalism and recognition that she so richly deserved -- Lizzie Deignan MBE, Professional Cyclist Beryl is a worthy winner of the award, because it charts the most incredible of sporting endeavours and gradually reveals Burton to be both admirable and troubling . There's no denying her achievements and how she was a trailblazer, so if you enjoy cycling i'm sure this book is for you. She won multiple world titles, but her achievements were limited by discrimination from the cycling authorities. For anyone interested in the social history of the disability movement in Canada, this important memoir is required reading.

His book pays homage to the remarkable life of champion cyclist Beryl Burton, capturing her life through family, friends and fellow competitors to reveal an incredible story about one of the greatest cyclists of all time. What was also staggering about Beryl is that she was being internationally competitive while at the same time working manual jobs (like rhubarb farming) to support her amateur status. Wilson takes the more traditional route, using a major publisher, with the associated improvements in marketing and distribution. Beryl Burton, an almost forgotten amateur cyclist who worked on a rhubarb farm in Yorkshire, was not simply the undisputed ruler of British women's cycling for 25 years, but also broke the men's record in a 12-hour time trial.

A panel of judges from the world of sports and journalism, chaired by author and journalist Alyson Rudd, concluded a four-month judging process, whittling a record 158 entries down to the winning book.

Christmas is just around the corner, but DON’T PANIC: we’re here to provide you with the ultimate festive gifting inspiration, and remind you that books are certainly the easiest presents to wrap…! In addition, 'course conditions, notably road surfaces and traffic, throw up further possible advantages that can never be precisely measured'.

Compelling -- Isabel Best, author of Queens of Pain A beacon is a guiding light, or a warning signal. However, it also gave her core and upper body strength that most likely helped her be so internationally competitive. Her daughter was one of the people interviewed for the book and while she isn’t resentful (or not much) you can certainly tell she did not have a good relationship with her mother.With previously unseen material and through extensive interviews with family, friends, rivals and fellow sporting giants, Jeremy Wilson peels back the layers to reveal one of the most overlooked, yet compelling characters in cycling history.