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Aurum Press has signed a book on cyclist Dieter Wiedermann, an East German sports star who defected to the west.
Senior commissioning editor Robin Harvie signed the untitled project by historian Herbie Sykes in a deal for world rights with David Luxton Associates.
Wiedermann was a hero of East German cycling, who fell in love with Sylvia Hermann—from the west. In 1964, when he was allowed to compete in the west for an Olympic qualification, he took his chance to defect, to the anger of the Soviets.
Aurum said: "Part cycling story, part cold war love story, this is Ben MacIntyre meets 'The Great Escape', a sporting equivalent of Anna Funder's seminal Stasiland." The book will be published in spring 2015.