Hearts of Lions

Bike racers were America’s media darlings less than a century ago—dashing, eccentric, and very rich daredevils. Until the 1920s bike races drew larger crowds than all other American sports events, including Major League Baseball games. Prize-winning racer and journalist Peter Joffre Nye vividly re-creates this period of sports history, forgotten until now, in Hearts of Lions, a true story of courage, daring, and occasional lunacy. Revised, updated, and expanded, this second edition of Hearts of Lions is based on interviews with more than one thousand cyclists whose racing careers span from 1908 through the 2016 Rio Olympics, along with interviews with trainers and family members. Included are stories about Joseph Magnani, the lone American from southern Illinois who rode on the dusty roads of Europe in road racing’s golden era of the 1930s and 1940s; Lance Armstrong, whose rise in the mid-1990s was eclipsed in the doping era that still casts a long shadow over the sport; Kristin Armstrong, a three-time Olympic gold medalist who set new standards for women in cycling; and Evelyn “Evie” Stevens, who chucked a Wall Street career in her mid-twenties to compete in two Olympics and win several world championship gold medals.Hearts of Lions is a colorful, exciting, classic work on the art of bicycle racing over 140 years against a backdrop of social, political, and technical changes.  

"Mr. Nye's history-rich writing has the fluid pace of a peloton coursing through the French countryside. Old stories remain as captivating today as they were decades ago. Most important, he shows how the bicycle has remained a constant despite the arrival of new protagonists and technologies."—Michael Barry, Wall Street Journal, "The indispensable book on American bicycle racing history."—Leslie Reissner, PEZ Cycling News, "Hearts of Lions: The History of American Bicycle Racing is one of those books that not only gives you the colorful story of our sport in the U.S. but also serves to offer you a reference guide to so many aspects of U.S. bike racing."—Diane Jenks, Outspoken Cyclist Podcast, “If there is any one book fans of cycling and American sports should read, it’s Peter Nye’s second edition of Hearts of Lions. Updated to cover the male and female cyclists who stormed the roads of Europe in the era after Greg LeMond won three editions of the Tour de France, Nye’s latest edition of the definitive history of American cycling is a must-read.”—Mark Johnson, author of Spitting in the Soup: Inside the Dirty Game of Doping in Sport, “Hearts of Lions is the most important book on American cycling history, essential reading for everybody who wants to understand the USA’s long and important role in a global sport.”—Feargal McKay, Podium Café

Peter Joffre Nye has worked as a prize-winning author, journalist, and magazine editor in Washington, DC. He is the author of several books, including The Fast Times of Albert Champion: From Record-Setting Racer to Dashing Tycoon, an Untold Story of Speed, Success, and Betrayal. His articles have been published in a variety of venues, including the Washington Post, USA Today, and Sports Illustrated. Eric Heiden is a physician and a former long-track speed skater, road cyclist, and track cyclist. He won five individual gold medals and set four Olympic records and one world record at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games.