Catriona McCabe, 28, only ever known as Cat, is trying to improve her career as a sports journalist and move on from a failed relationship. What better way to do both than follow the Tour de France one Summer? 

          From Provence to Paris, up the Pyrenees and over the Alps, Cat and an entourage of podium girls, anxious wives, autocratic team directors and seasoned hacks pursue the ruthless riders. With sex, drugs, lashings of lycra, glistening thighs, large bulges and larger egos, the soap opera that is the Tour de France unfolds with Cat’s life frequently mirroring the peaks, perils and pace of the race.