Kings of the road : a journey into the heart of British cycling

British cycling has had a tumultuous history, from the bizarre ban on road racing in the first half of the 20th Century to the sport's golden era after the Second World War and on to its dramatic decline in the 1960s and beyond.

Over the past decade, however, it has undergone a dramatic resurgence in which elite British cyclists have become among the best in the world and millions of Britons have taken up the sport.

In Kings of the Road, Robert Dineen charts these developments by meeting neglected heroes from each generation of British cycling.

As he becomes immersed in the sport, he also charts his own experiences on the club scene while preparing for the Etape du Tour, the sportive regarded as the ultimate challenge for the amateur cyclist.

The result is a unique look at British cycling's past, its present and where it might be headed.