No Safe Stage

Mara Doyle has travelled to France to support her older brother Finn in one of Europe's most demanding junior cycling races. She expects five days of crowded start lines, exhausting climbs and endless conversations about gears. She does not expect a rider's brakes to fail. After reviewing footage taken before the crash, Mara spots a stranger interfering with a race bicycle. Before she can prove what she saw, her camera is stolen—and the memory card becomes the first piece of evidence in a much larger mystery. Soon, false radio instructions are disrupting team vehicles, an unauthorised service van is appearing beside the course, and prohibited medication is planted among a rider's belongings. Someone with access to the race is targeting the strongest competitors, and every new stage brings another opportunity to cause a devastating accident. As Finn climbs towards the top of the standings, he becomes impossible for the saboteur to ignore. With the help of quick-witted local cyclist Yanis, Mara must follow the evidence through guarded team areas, rain-soaked mountain roads and a convoy in which almost anyone could be hiding something. But exposing the truth means confronting her own fear of cycling after the crash that ended her racing ambitions. Across five increasingly dangerous stages, Mara and Finn must decide who they can trust—and whether protecting another rider is worth sacrificing everything they came to France to achieve. Featuring dramatic racing, mechanical sabotage, storm-lashed descents, sibling conflict and a final showdown on Grand Colombier, No Safe Stage delivers an exciting contemporary adventure without requiring readers to know anything about professional cycling. The danger is balanced with warmth and humour, including an overconfident cargo bicycle named Gertrude and Napoleon, a troublesome goat with a remarkable talent for stealing cyclists' food. Fast, suspenseful and full of heart, No Safe Stage is an action-packed illustrated novel about bravery, friendship, sporting integrity and discovering that the most important victory may not be the one recorded on the results board. Perfect for readers who enjoy sports stories, mysteries, mountain adventures and fast-moving thrillers.