Sweat of the Gods author Benjo Maso has kindly granted us permission to publish two extracts from We Were All Gods, his book about the 1948 Tour de France.
In the first extract - A Phone Call From Rome - the Tour de France has reached its rest day and sport and politics are about to collide. As the French celebrate Bastille Day the Italians on the Tour are about to receive news from home of an assassination attempt on Italian Communist Party Leader Palmiro Togliatti. For Gino Bartali this leads to one of the strangest requests ever made of a cyclist.
In the second extract - Unbelievable News From France - the race resumes after its rest day with a 274km stage from Cannes to Briançon, including climbs of the Vars and the Izoard. For Gino Bartali, riding his first Tour in ten years, it's a make or break day, with him starting the day 21 minutes and 28 seconds behind the yellow jersey and revelation of the Tour, Louison Bobet.
Both extracts are also available for download as a single PDF document.