The TOUR, A Novel by Dave Shields
by Rick Schultz
posted 2006-10-24

When I first heard about the book, I thought... not another story about the Tour de France. But as I read through the first few pages, I quickly found myself drawn into the story, so much so that I could hardly put the book down. The author, Dave Shields has put together a fascinating sequel to "The Race" that both cyclists and non-cyclist will enjoy. "The TOUR" is the continuation of the main character's professional cycling career and the intense pressure to use performance enhancing drugs that many athletes contend with today.

Now 24, Ben Barnes started the race out as a domestique (helper), but he was quickly thrust into the position of team leader as he grabs the Yellow leader Jersey on stage 10 (l'Alpe d'Huez). Suddenly, Ben was cast into the spotlight and put under the media microscope. Now, more than ever, Ben needed to forge alliances with his fellow teammates as well as members of other teams in order to hang on to the coveted Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey). Just then, Ben was involved in a crash - reminiscent of the 2003 Tour de France where Lance Armstrong was pulled down by a musette bag. Now Ben needed to quickly recover and get back into the race.

Kyle, Ben's arch-rival and former teammate sees the crash and sprints as hard as he can in order to drop Ben and set the stage for himself to be the new Tour leader. Kyle was much stronger than Ben on this stage, and rumors within the peloton and media started surfacing about Kyle's use of illegal performance enhancing drugs and masking agents. But, so far, nothing could be proven... Bad luck I guess. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time followed Ben throughout the rest of the race, both on and off the road. Ben kept thinking "will anything ever go right? Can't I even catch one break?" Ben was lucky that he had 3 people on his side that he could trust, Bridgette, Thelma and the Coach, or could he?

Enter the team owner and villain Monsieur Robidoux who understands that Professional Cycling is a business and needs to be treated that way. To Robidoux, nothing short of winning was acceptable. Profits to his other businesses increase and investors pump more money into Robidoux's empire when his cycling team wins and he will stop at nothing to continue to make that happen. Robidoux didn't like gamble, or play the odds unless he had 100% chance of winning. So Robidoux hatched a plan to get Ben to take performance enhancing drugs which would ensure Ben's continuing success with another win. Robidoux invited Bridgette, Ben's girlfriend, to a secret meeting...

The last things that a professional cyclist needs during an important race are complications and distractions, and that was exactly what happened. Bridgette became involved in a plot that started to spin out of control, possibly undermining Ben and his professional cycling career.

It was saddening to think about how closely the book had paralleled the performance enhancing drug scandal that rocked the 2006 Tour de France.

To the very last page, the story continues to pull you in many different directions, from the many interwoven character relationships to the intricacies of the race itself. "The TOUR" is a fast-paced, action packed cycling adventure from cover-to-cover with a surprising twist at the end that will definitely catch you off-guard.

The Author
Dave Shields won a number of triathlons and other endurance events over the course of his athletic career. When his first novel landed a Writers Digest Award he turned the momentum into an opportunity to merge his passions by writing about bicycle racing. The result was The Race, a story about a young American athlete forced to redefine himself when disaster strikes his team in the Tour de France. The novel received wide-spread acclaim from both inside and outside the cycling world. It became the first sports novel ever to claim the Benjamin Franklin Award for Best New Voice in Fiction and resulted in frequent analyst appearances on CNN, Fox News Channel, and Sporting News Radio. Shields has also appeared in media outlets like ESPN, ESPN Radio, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Westwood One Radio, USA Radio Network, Voice of America, network television affiliates around the country, and in countless print publications.

Fans begged for a sequel and thus The Tour was born. In the new book, the same American cyclist (now a star of the sport) finds himself under intense pressures to use performance enhancing drugs. Story research included off the record interviews with pro athletes, scientists, and medical professionals. The result is a fictional story that shines light on this volatile topic in a way we may never see from a non-fiction counterpart. Readers confront the decision to use performance enhancing drugs in the same way an elite athlete might.

The similarities between current events and Shields fiction have prompted some to theorize that the author has a working crystal ball. For Shields, the developments have fueled his commitment to drive drugs from sport (not just cycling). He works tirelessly to teach fans why the situation exists, and what can be done to control it. Shields believes that educating the public about the problem is a critical step toward eliminating it. Judging from the reactions we are receiving to The Tour, he may well be right.

So be sure to visit Dave at www.daveshields.com and check out some of his other works...