‘Magnificent’ – Matt Dickinson, The Times
‘A superlative biography as well as social and sporting history’ – Observer

In 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world by obliterating his rivals at the Tour de France and becoming Germany’s first ever winner. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich would dominate the future of cycling. But he never quite managed it.

This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny.

Acclaimed journalist Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany’s drugs programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price are you willing to pay for immortality?

In 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world by obliterating his rivals in the first mountain stage of the Tour de France. So awesome was his display that it sent shockwaves throughout the world of cycling and invited headlines such as L’Équipe‘s ‘The New Giant’. He went on to become Germany’s first ever Tour winner, storming to victory in that edition by almost ten minutes, a result that was greeted as an era-defining changing of the guard. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich was the future of cycling. He was soon also voted Germany’s most popular sportsperson of all time, and his rivalry with Lance Armstrong defined the most controversial years of the Tour de France.

Now, Daniel Friebe – who has covered twenty-one editions of the Tour de France – has gone in search of the man who was said in 1997 would go on to dominate his sport for a generation, but never quite managed it.

Just what did happen to the best who never was?

This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny.

Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany’s drugs programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price can you give sporting immortality?

‘An autobiography as gripping as any Dick Francis thriller’ YORKSHIRE POST

‘Endearingly honest? a fastpaced, funny autobiography’ COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE

Legendary jockey, Frankie Dettori, shares his remarkable life story in this astonishingly intimate autobiography.

When Lanfranco ‘Frankie’ Dettori arrived on British shores in 1985, aged just 14, he couldn’t speak a word of English. Having left school just a year earlier and following in the footsteps of his father, he was eager to become a stable boy and apprentice jockey, willing to do everything it took to make it. This was his first, but certainly not his last, leap of faith.

Despite his slight size, Frankie’s impact upon the British racing scene was immediate and significant. Brimming with confidence, charisma and personality, and with what was clearly a precocious talent, in 1990 he became the first teenager since Lester Piggot to win over 100 races in a single season. By 1996, Frankie was already established as a celebrity in the sport and an adopted national treasure, but it was his extraordinary achievement of winning all seven races in a single day at Ascot that cemented his reputation as the greatest rider of his generation.

Nearly 25 years later, and having won the Longines World’s Best Jockey for three consecutive years running, Frankie has demonstrated an unparalled level of longevity at the pinnacle of his sport. But his story is not simply one of uninterrupted success, but also of personal anguish, recovery and restoration – both in and out of the saddle.

Now, Frankie compellingly reveals the lows to his highs; the plane crash that nearly killed him, the drugs ban that nearly made him quit the sport, and the acrimonious split from Godolphin that threatened his future. But Leap of Faith is also a story of love – for the sport he continues to dominate to this day, the great horses of his era (Stradivarius, Golden Horn, and of course Enable), and most importantly for his family, who have supported him every step of the way.

Heartfelt and poignant, this is not simply a memoir, but a celebration of perseverance and defying the odds.

‘An autobiography as gripping as any Dick Francis thriller’ YORKSHIRE POST

‘Endearingly honest? a fastpaced, funny autobiography’ COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE

Legendary jockey, Frankie Dettori, shares his remarkable life story in this astonishingly intimate autobiography.

When Lanfranco ‘Frankie’ Dettori arrived on British shores in 1985, aged just 14, he couldn’t speak a word of English. Having left school just a year earlier and following in the footsteps of his father, he was eager to become a stable boy and apprentice jockey, willing to do everything it took to make it. This was his first, but certainly not his last, leap of faith.

Despite his slight size, Frankie’s impact upon the British racing scene was immediate and significant. Brimming with confidence, charisma and personality, and with what was clearly a precocious talent, in 1990 he became the first teenager since Lester Piggot to win over 100 races in a single season. By 1996, Frankie was already established as a celebrity in the sport and an adopted national treasure, but it was his extraordinary achievement of winning all seven races in a single day at Ascot that cemented his reputation as the greatest rider of his generation.

Nearly 25 years later, and having won the Longines World’s Best Jockey for three consecutive years running, Frankie has demonstrated an unparalled level of longevity at the pinnacle of his sport. But his story is not simply one of uninterrupted success, but also of personal anguish, recovery and restoration – both in and out of the saddle.

Now, Frankie compellingly reveals the lows to his highs; the plane crash that nearly killed him, the drugs ban that nearly made him quit the sport, and the acrimonious split from Godolphin that threatened his future. But Leap of Faith is also a story of love – for the sport he continues to dominate to this day, the great horses of his era (Stradivarius, Golden Horn, and of course Enable), and most importantly for his family, who have supported him every step of the way.

Heartfelt and poignant, this is not simply a memoir, but a celebration of perseverance and defying the odds.

One of the Financial Times‘s ‘Fifty people who shaped the decade’

‘The biggest sports scandal the world has ever seen’

In 2015, Russia’s Anti-Doping Centre was suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following revelations of an elaborate state-sponsored doping programme at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Involving a nearly undetectable steroid delivery system known as ‘Duchesse cocktail’, tampering and switching of urine samples, and a complex state-sanctioned cover-up, the programme was masterminded by Grigory Rodchenkov.

The Rodchenkov Affair tells the full, unadulterated story that was first glimpsed in Bryan Fogel’s award-winning documentary and still continues to captivate and shock the world. Charting the author’s childhood growing up under the Iron Curtain, his first encounter with doping as a 22-year-old student athlete at Moscow State University, and his subsequent career working for the Soviet Olympic Committee, this breathtakingly candid journey reveals a rigged system of flawed individuals, brazen deceit and impossible moral choices.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH’S 2021 SPORTS BOOK AWARDS – INTERNATIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR

‘One of the best football books I’ve read for a very long time.’ – Sam Pilger, FourFourTwo Magazine

‘An extraordinary, granular depiction of a young football star’s life.’ – The Daily Mail

‘An excellent read with some incredible stories.’ – TalkSPORT Breakfast Show

Known as ‘Lord Bendtner’ to his fans and haters alike, Nicklas Bendtner has been lauded for his football skills at super clubs like Arsenal and Juventus. But his career has been haunted by his rocky behaviour and tendency to self-sabotage.

In this disarmingly honest memoir, Bendtner talks about the darker side of football and his own difficult fall from grace; about what it’s like to have so much promise that you lose touch with reality altogether.

It’s is about growing up in a working-class neighbourhood and fighting to reach the top in the worlds’ toughest league. It’s about friendship, rivalry, and the constant quest for an adrenaline kick. It’s about money and what happens when you give a troubled, overconfident teen millions to spend. It’s about an industry that has lost sight of what really matters.

A modern footballing fable, it’s a story of decline, temper, talent, great football and ultimately the tragedy of unfulfilled potential.

Not since the days of Paul McGrath’s Back From The Brink have we seen such honesty on the page of a footballer’s memoir. Fans of Paul Merson, George Best and Tony Adam’s autobiographies will also find pure fascination here in a story that has gripped international readers…

Essential reading for an astounding summer of sport; If you’ve ever wondered what makes a champion, Bounce has the answer.

What are the real secrets of sporting success, and what lessons do they offer about life? Why doesn’t Tiger Woods “choke”? Why are the best figure skaters those that have fallen over the most and why has one small street in Reading produced more top table tennis players than the rest of the country put together.

Two-time Olympian and sports writer and broadcaster Matthew Syed draws on the latest in neuroscience and psychology to uncover the secrets of our top athletes and introduces us to an extraordinary cast of characters, including the East German athlete who became a man, and her husband – and the three Hungarian sisters who are all chess grandmasters. Bounce is crammed with fascinating stories and statistics.

Looking at controversial questions such as whether talent is more important than practice, drugs in sport (and life) and whether black people really are faster runners, the mind-bending Bounce is a must-read for the hardened sports nut or brand new convert.