On November, 1973, Jorge Sandoval was arrested in front of his bewildered parents and younger brothers at his home in Tome, Chile. He was taken to the local police station where he was tortured. He was an 18 year-old student and his ‘crime’ was that he belonged to a student political party that supported ousted President, Salvador Allende. Thus began a life journey that took Jorge from the brutality and concentration camps of the Pinochet dictatorship to political refuge in New Zealand and the chance encounter with one of his torturers on the Chilean naval training ship, Esmeralda, in Wellington.

It’s an inspirational story of courage and perseverance. And it’s the story of a unique character – a man who arrived in New Zealand barely speaking a word of English and who, through sheer persistence and belief, has put road cycle racing on the New Zealand and international maps.

Jorge Sandoval lives in Wellington, his home for the past 30 years since arriving here as

a political refugee from his native Chile. He is very involved in the sport of cycling and has

been the Race Director and has conducted all 21 International Tours of Wellington, two Women's World Cups, Three Women's Tours of NZ and two Auckland to Wellington international tours.

• Extracts from the book
• About the 1973 military coup in Chile.
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