High Road, Chasing the Yellow Jersey
Kurt Dufour, a charismatic nineteen year-old, grew up in a world of wealth and privilege. But his life lurched out of bounds when he was accused of murdering a beautiful and promiscuous young woman. The second chance he needs comes in the form of an unusual opportunity to channel his gifted athletic talent into a spot on a fledgling Tour de France team directed by Otto Warner, an aging ex-teammate of Kurt’s father who desperately needs to find an American superstar.
Five years after joining the team Dufour has become the undisputed challenger to the arrogant Frenchman, Jacques Poulain, ordained to be the first professional cyclist to win the Tour an unprecedented six times.
When Dufour convincingly takes over the Yellow Jersey of Tour leadership on the toughest Alpine stage, he suddenly realizes that winning the Tour is much more than being the best cyclist and his chance at victory becomes a bizarre game of deceit, manipulation and examination of his own character.
Filled with unforgettable teammates, an American television crew assigned to cover a bizarre sport, an attractive young producer and a French team owner and his subordinates who diabolically plot to stop Dufour, High Road is a fast-paced story from the underbelly of one of the World’s most bizarre sporting events.
Author comment:
Few would argue that professional cycling at the Tour de France offers a fitting backdrop for tales of intrigue, bizarre personalities and tests of character.
In fact, the sport’s recent widely publicized doping scandals revealed true stories that could easily be labeled “stranger than fiction.” The inspiration behind my first novel, High Road, Chasing the Yellow Jersey is to create and develop fictional characters who must make choices about the road to take when faced with tough ethical decisions, pressure from cohorts and the overwhelming desire to win.
The story is less about what we know has happened in cycling than what could happen when greed, drive, love and honor spin through the Tour de France.
~David Chauner