It started to take on the elephantine proportions that it has done because the political and cultural landscape of June 30, 1923, was absolutely fascinating. I am not a historian but I started to behave like a historian and tentatively started to reach a loose conclusion that actually that summer was the ‘end’ of the First World War, the afterglow of that conflict. Boulting made his darts commentary debut at the 2020 Masters after being a long term pundit for ITV Sport PDC events. [10] Pidd, Helen (26 May 2011). "Review: How I Won The Yellow Jumper by Ned Boulting - Helen Pidd". The Guardian.

What it is: The clown prince of cycling commentary wipes off the greasepaint after acquiring a Pathé newsreel from the 1923 Tour and sets off on a voyage of discovery Now with the ability to examine the film minutely, the author displays impressive research skills as he launches into what is a truly obsessive pursuit. In a world so narrowed by the pandemic, his desk becomes the nerve centre of this project as he goes through the film second-by-second. one of the most intelligent sporting books i have come across...the writing is compulsive, eloquently conveying the twists and turns of the story as it unfolds...excellent -- thewashingmachinepost Witty, discursive, and tons of fun, Ned Boulting has the Tour de France under his skin, and you will too by the time you've read this”— Al Murray, comedian, author and presenter of history podcast, We Have Ways of Making You TalkFollowing on from the success of his Bikeology tour, in 2018 Ned announced his newly revamped 'Tour de Ned'. A one-man theatrical cycling roadshow that tours the UK in conjunction with the Tour de France from 28 September - 17 November. [9] Cycling is full of half-remembered forgotten heroes. Take my good friend Teddy Hale, the Irishman who wasn’t. I and others have tried to research and write about his story, have buried ourselves in the archives and spoken to his descendants and still we know little about this Englishman who won the 1896 Madison Square Garden International Six Day Race while pretending to be an Irishman.

GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (CO/IL/IN/KS/KY/LA/MD/MI/NJ/OH/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY), (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Ned's captivating book explores one man's obsession with this magnificent event and casts an intriguing light on a tiny fragment of a race long gone by”— Alexei Sayle Please Gamble Responsibly. Call 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), or visit OPGR.org (OR) or www.1800gambler.net (WV). Jump forward to July 8 and across France Boulting finds news of a four-year-old boy killed in Argenteuil, a plane crashing and killing its pilot in Le Havre, and a woman committing suicide in Nantes. On The Road Bike: The Search For A Nation’s Cycling Soul ( Yellow Jersey Press, 2013) ISBN 978-0224083362 [12]

Ned set about learning everything he could about the sequence – studying each frame, face and building – until he had squeezed the meaning from it. It sets him off in fascinating directions, encompassing travelogue, history, mystery story – to explain, to go deeper into this moment in time, captured on his little film.