Herbie Sykes is an English journalist and writer specializing in the history of road bicycle racing

Road bicycle racing

Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...

. His first book, "The Eagle of the Canavese", a biography of Franco Balmamion

Franco Balmamion

Franco Balmamion , is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist who raced between 1960 and 1972.Balmamion was born in Nole...

 centred around his victory at the 1962 Giro d'Italia

1962 Giro d'Italia

The 1962 Giro d'Italia of cycling, 45th edition of the Corsa Rosa, was held from 19 May to 9 June 1962. It consisted of 21 stages and was won by Franco Balmamion. The 1962 Giro d'Italia did not have any time trials, and was designed to visit many tourist attractions.-Final classification:-Leaders...

, received widespread critical acclaim. Published in 2008, the work was described by Cycling Weekly

Cycling Weekly

Cycling Weekly is a British cycling magazine. It is published by IPC Media and is devoted to the sport and past-time of cycling. It is affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".-History:...

as "...brilliantly told", whilst influential commentator Phil Liggett

Phil Liggett

Phil Liggett, MBE is a British commentator and journalist who covers professional cycling. He currently commentates on the Tour de France and bike races for Versus, ITV and SBS...

 wrote "Italian cycle racing in the 60s brought to life with a refreshingly new perspective. This is a book about courage and deceit, joy and the sadness of careers that were lost. A tremendous read".'

Sykes, who lives in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

, Italy, is a regular contributor to a number of cycling publications, amongst them Rouleur

Rouleur Magazine

Rouleur is a bi-monthly British cycling magazine first published in 2006 by sportswear brand Rapha and now as a part of Rouleur Ltd. The focus is road racing but there have been excursions into areas such as cyclo-cross and Track Racing. It is edited by co-owner and founder Guy Andrews and it is...

, Procycling

Procycling

Procycling, or ProCycling, is a bicycling sport magazine owned by Future Publishing. First published in April 1999, there are 13 issues a year distributed in all countries where there are English speaking readers....

 and Bicycling Australia.

His second book, "Maglia Rosa - Triumph and tragedy at the Giro d'Italia", is an illustrated history of the Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

. The work, the first of its kind in the English language, was published by Rouleur, on 4 March 2011. Bicycling Magazine

Bicycling (magazine)

Bicycling is a cycling magazine published by Rodale, Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. It features bikes, bike gear, equipment reviews, training plans, bike maintenance how-tos, and more for cyclists of all levels.-Origin:...

described it as "...a phenomonal, entertaining and beautiful book"