It has been called the Tour de France`s ` Hollywood climb`, & there is no doubt that Alpe d` Huez has played a starring role in cycling`s history since its first encounter with the sport back in 1952 when the legendary Fausto Coppi triumphed on the summit. Re-introduced to the Tour in 1976, Alpe d` Huez has risen to mythical status, thanks initially to a string of victories by riders from Holl&, whose exploits attracted tens of thousands of their compatriots to the climb, which has become known as ` Dutch mountain`. A snaking 13.8-kilometre ascent rising up through 21 numbered hairpins at an average gradient of 7.8%, Alpe d` Huez is the climb on which every great rider wants to win. Many of the sport`s most famous & now even infamous names have won on the Alpe, including Bernard Hinault, Joop Zoetemelk, Lucho Herrera, Marco Pantani & Lance Armstrong. As well as days of brilliance, there have controversies such as the high-speed & drug-fuelled duels of the EPO years in the 1990s & into the new millennium. In Alpe d` Huez, veteran cycling journalist Peter Cossins reveals the triumphs, passion & despair behind the great exploits on the Alpe & discloses the untold details that have led to the mountain becoming as important to the Tour as the race is to resort at its summit. It is a tale of man & machine battling against breath-taking terrain for the ultimate prize.