IN BIKE RACING, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE HEAD AND THE LEGS.

One hundred years ago, bicycle races were ridden on single-speed bikes and won by margins of hours, with mid-stage stops for naps and wine amid grueling tests of will. Today, contests pedaled on featherlight, high-tech bikes are won by minutes, seconds, or a mere tire width. But how the race is won still demands tactical know-how and physical strength.

Leading cycling journalist Peter Cossins looks back at the tactics and outright dominance of legends like Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, and Eddy Merckx, and he illuminates new strategies that emerged with the rise of con-temporary heroes, bringing the racing to life with vivid action and frank, first-hand accounts. The riders, managers, and directors who have shaped the sport share their insights on the measured pacesetting of Team Sky; the improvisation and calculated tactics of breakaway artists such as Jens Voigt or Thomas De Gendt; and the differences, at 40 miles per hour, between the leadout trains of Mario Cipollini, Mark Cavendish, and Marcel Kittel.

How the Race Was Won reveals the stealth racing tactics used by the sport's brightest minds and most talented finishers to navigate the invisible undercurrent that sweeps top riders across the line.