The Maurice Burton Way cover art

The Maurice Burton Way

Britain’s first Black Cycling Champion

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Maurice Burton Way

By: Maurice Burton, Paul Jones
Narrated by: Gary McDonald
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £14.42

Buy Now for £14.42

Bloomsbury presents The Maurice Burton Way by Maurice Burton and Paul Jones, read by Gary McDonald.

'A welcome look at the life of a fascinating rider and man'
Cycling Plus

'Maurice has lived a hell of a life. The world needs to hear about it'
Ned Boulting

'This book is an inspiration to those who want to achieve in both sport and life'
Phil Liggett MBE

Maurice Burton rose above racism in British society and sport to triumph over adversity. This is the long-awaited, authorised biography of a ground-breaking British cyclist.

On a still summer’s evening at Leicester’s Saffron Lane Velodrome in June 1974, Maurice Burton defeated an elite field to become Britain’s first ever Black cycling champion. For his father, it was a moment of intense pride; Rennal arrived in 1948 from Jamaica and made his home in South London. As his 18-year-old son climbed onto the podium, boos rang out around the stadium.

The crowd’s response that day was typical of the racism and exclusion experienced by Burton. After being overlooked for Olympic selection despite beating those selected, he moved to Belgium to race professionally on the ‘six-day’ circuit across the continent, becoming the first Black six-day rider for over 75 years.

This authorised biography traces Maurice's experiences as the child of a Windrush-generation father and an English mother growing up in London, before moving across to Europe and his eventual return to South London in 1984, where he became a successful business owner and community leader. It rightly places Maurice Burton at the forefront of the British sporting narrative as a pioneer in our collective cultural history. Black Creators Cycling Sports England Belgium
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

Maurice has lived a hell of a life. The world needs to hear about it
A wonderful evocation of racing in the 1970s and 80s – I’d thoroughly recommend
The sport of cycling owes so much to the great Maurice Burton... A truly inspirational man.
An inspiration to those who want to achieve in both sport and life.
[A] well-told account of a racing career with a difference
He starts as schoolboy on a borrowed bike and ends as a towering professional contract racer, riding 250km a day, six days a week, year after year
A welcome look at the life of a fascinating rider and man
All stars
Most relevant
It was eye opening to hear what Maurice had to go through to succeed. I'd been to his shop and knew of is history but I now have even more respect for his acheivements. It was well read, I just dropped a star for bad name pronunciation, but apart from that it was great.

Great book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
a piece of history that many haven't heard of, as a casual cyclists enthusiast of Caribbean background thisbstory is profound, interesting and at time sad about the challenges faced that had little to do with his undeniable talent.

what a great but at times sad story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.