..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

chasing the rainbow. the story of road cycling's world championship. giles belbin. aurum press hardback. illus. 303pp £20

if i were actually interested, it would be interesting to survey the world's various professional sporting activities to ascertain just how their governing bodies attempt to select an annual champion from amongst the more prolific or successful (or both) participants. formula one motor sport, in company with its lesser siblings, seems content to see how its combatives fare over the course of a year, by way of costing them a fortune to travel to all manner of unlikely countries and their pristine race circuits.

i am insufficiently well-acquainted with the minutiae of motor sport to know whether there is an upper limit on the number of teams allowed to partake of the average grand prix series, but i dare say there are only so many teams of two cars that can be safely fitted on even the most extensive racing circuit. however, the world champion in flameproof overalls receives his annual accolades by way of accumulated points throughout the season, a situation that cycling's overlords in aigle have allegedly attempted to emulate with the current world tour series.

however, though it may well be possible to appoint a world champion in this manner, a touch of randomness is inherent in such a system. though the rules and regulations of the world tour demand that the 18 designated first division teams have no option but to participate in each race, there is no sub-section that indicates each team must consist of the same riders. ever willing to offer the benefit of the doubt, the iniquities of cycle-racing means different races suit some riders better than others. paris-roubaix might be the equivalent of tom boonen's sitting room and not chris froome's, but rare are the occasions when the former has led across the finish-line atop the galibier.

i seriously doubt that a formula one ferrari is quite so fickle.

thus, professional (and amateur) cycling chooses the wearer of its rainbow bands by way of an annual one-day race across a wide-range of circuits worldwide. the downside to this situation is the date of this yearly event; several of the world's finest competitors frequently decide to give it a miss, either for reasons of a hard preceding season or because the parcours does not suit their professed strengths. and is it just me, or have more recent world championships seemed more to suit the sprinting fraternity than those with grimpeur on their business cards?

either way, the annual cycling world championships, both male and female, restrict victory and its associated plaudits to a single day, with competition featuring national teams rather than the rest of the season's trade teams. in the age of increasing salary demands, can you see the potential problems?

author giles belbin has written a comprehensive history of the world championships, from their professional inception at germany's nurburgring motor race circuit in 1927, to (oddly enough) the opening chapter, where belbin's narrative centres around last year's controversial race in the sweltering climate of doha. that first event in 1927 was sanctioned by the uci, allowing both pros and amateurs to mix it up in germany, minus a french contingent who deemed the race surplus to seasonal requirements and hardly the ideal way to choose a champion.

1927 was an entirely italian affair, with the french domiciled alfredo binda demonstrably wresting victory from the original campionissimo, costante girardengo.

"Once he had attacked no-one could go with him and in the space of 6 kilometres Binda opened a gap of more than two minutes. The race was over. Binda's winning margin over Girardengo was more than seven minutes."

belbin's opening chapter celebrates a second straight win for peter sagan, partially recounted on page 242. in between, it is posisble to relive, at varying length, every intervening world championship race, including the women's world championship events since their introduction in reims, france in 1958. were you to helpfully point out that this surely would struggle to fulfil the requirements for an interesting read, i would, initially, have tended to agree with you. however, i have so far failed to mention chasing the rainbow's unique selling point: interviews.

commencing by way of a superb interview with the grandson of 1938 winner marcel kint, belbin has spoken with other luminaries such as barry hoban, nicole cooke ("We were doing ridiculous things in training and going on the course at silly times."), felice gimondi, keetie van oosten-hage and even stephen roche ("British Cycling wasn't what it is now. [...] you had to give the jerseys back - washed.") amongst others.

from my point of view, it's these interviews that shine brighter than the recounting of each race for the rainbow jersey. at the culmination of the book, there's a brief discussion of the world's time-trial event seguing into a comprehensive listing of the first three places for each elite men's world championship race, elite women's and time-trial results. the heavy-lifting at the back of the book is further enhanced with footnotes to accompany each chapter plus a comprehensive index, affording flakey media types such as myself, the ability to impress you with our faux knowledge of the rainbow jersey well into the future.

there's no real denying that the annual quest for a rainbow jersey is a continued expression of cycle-racing's professed eccentricity, but it is no less exciting for all that. belbin's well-paced and researched history of the event is every bit as inviting, with enough time to read cover to cover before this year's race begins in bergen on sunday 24 september.

chasing the rainbow by giles belbin is published by aurum press on wednesday 16 august.

tuesday 15 august 2017