# Cycling books: recommendation and avoid - Racing only



## Noodley (17 Nov 2011)

Thought it might be good to start a pre-Christmas Racing thread, only for books related to Racing - none of the other stuff, if you have "other stuff" post it where people post about "other stuff":

I'll kick of with my most recent 'good reads':

Nicolas Roche - Inside the Peloton: interesting insight into living in the shadow of his dad, a nice reflection on his family life, the pressures of being a pro, the 'normal' life of a pro cyclist aspiring to great things and the part played by the team. Quite a bit is the day by day accounts of Grand Tour diaries published in an Irish newspaper but well worth a read. A 'human' account.

Richard Moore - Slaying the Badger: I have just started reading this, but even after the first few chapters (100 pages or so) I anticipate this is gonna be a great read. Covers Hinault and Le Mond and is a fascinating insight into 2 of cycling's "greats" 

And really crap books to avoid:

Manuela Ronchi - Man on the Run: The life and death of Marco Pantani; a lot of total tosh, self serving rubbish and IMO just written to make more money out of her relationship with Pantani. If you want a great book on Pantani then read Matt Rendell's book! Which I would have added to my good book list but wanted to keep it to 2 of each...hey ho! Only worth a read if you have read Rendell's book just to reinforce jusy how bad it is!!

Pablo Munoz - Miguel Indurain: A life on wheels; competing with the book by Ronchi as the biggest load of cock ever written...do not even think of it. Seriously.


Feel free to debate views...


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## StuAff (17 Nov 2011)

+1 for Slaying the Badger. Read it last week. Brilliant book. The story of the '86 Tour was new to me and Moore brought it brilliantly to life.

Also thoroughly enjoyed, though with more than a tinge of sadness at the passing of its author, Laurent Fignon's 'When We Were Young and Carefree'.


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## Flying_Monkey (17 Nov 2011)

Noodley said:


> If you want a great book on Pantani then read Matt Rendell's book!



Matt Rendell is just excellent all round. His book on Colombian cyclists in the 1980s, _Kings of the Mountains_, is my fav.


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## YahudaMoon (17 Nov 2011)

:Avoid:

'Bradley Wiggins In Persuit Of Glory'

This came out sometime in 2009 and considering he was only half way through his career I thought I give it go anyway. I'm not a lover of autobiography's especially when the person is only in the 20's

Anyway it started of OK for about the first 30 pages or so going on about his youth as a child and his father's racing days and how his dad left him and his mother.

After that it kinda went down hill as it was all about me, me, me and racing. 

Got bored before I got half way through it and ditched it.

Recommend:

'Lance Armstrong It's Not About The Bike'

I never liked Lance Armstrong, mainly for the reson he was the guy from across the pond taking most the credit in the big race

Im sure anyone who's read it won't be saying 'avoid'

'Brian Smailes LEJOG'

OK I suppose though I wouldn't do LEJOG on this book alone ! though for £2.00 of Amazon it's worth a read for his knowledge if your going to give LEJOG a shot.

As for a normal book read with no intention of doing LEJOG it's a pointless read really .


Didnt read the OP again. You mean new books. Not read any new ones


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## Noodley (17 Nov 2011)

Flying_Monkey said:


> Matt Rendell is just excellent all round. His book on Colombian cyclists in the 1980s, _Kings of the Mountains_, is my fav.



Yep, a briliant book.


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## rich p (18 Nov 2011)

I, personally, found Matt Rendell's book a bit too dry and full of numbers for my tastes. I'm not keen on his style of writing and ended up speed reading passages but each to his own.

The David Millar book, _Racing Through the Dark,_ is a great insight into why and how riders can end up doping. An honest appraisal of his own failings.

I recently read _Shay Elliot, the life and death of Ireland's yellow jersey_ by Graham Healy which was just above average as a read although not great literature. It was a bit of a revelation to me how much he had achieved long before Kelly and Roche.


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## lukesdad (18 Nov 2011)

Halfway through Fignon s book and its not the greatest read to be honest, I prefer a Biography really.


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## Milemuncher (18 Nov 2011)

rich p said:


> The David Millar book, _Racing Through the Dark,_ is a great insight into why and how riders can end up doping. An honest appraisal of his own failings.



Agreed. I didn't expect to enjoy it, but it carried me along. A dark story well told.

I think Tim Krabbe's _The Rider_ is brilliant. Its a fictional account of a road race, but very evocative. It's also dirt cheap from Amazon (that would be the Scot in me coming out!)


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## ColinJ (18 Nov 2011)

Milemuncher said:


> I think Tim Krabbe's _The Rider_ is brilliant. Its a fictional account of a road race, but very evocative. It's also dirt cheap from Amazon (that would be the Scot in me coming out!)


You beat me to it! There aren't many books that I read once every couple of years, but that is one of them.


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## iLB (18 Nov 2011)

Le Metier, Michael Barry. Class.


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## threebikesmcginty (18 Nov 2011)

lukesdad said:


> Halfway through Fignon s book and its not the greatest read to be honest, I prefer a Biography really.



I enjoyed Fignon's book - ok it's one guys personal angle on things so everyone might not agree on the content but it was very readable and enjoyable.


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## Smokin Joe (18 Nov 2011)

Noodley said:


> Manuela Ronchi - Man on the Run: The life and death of Marco Pantani; a lot of total tosh, self serving rubbish and IMO just written to make more money out of her relationship with Pantani.


The worst cycling book I've ever read, in fact one of the worst books I've ever read full stop.

I'm another who's half way trough Fignon's book at the moment, a very good read and an honest account of the (largely ineffective) doping and the race fixing that was the norm for decades.

Vin Denson's autobiography was excellent, as was Put Me Back on My Bike. I've got Wide Eyed and Legless (the story of the ANC Halfords ill fated raid on the 1997 TdF) waiting for me to start so I'll give my impressions of that another time.

And anyone who still hasn't read A Rough Ride really ought to.


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## Willo (18 Nov 2011)

Recent books I've read and enjoyed (2 of which endorse / confirm Noodley's recommendations):

- Wide Eyed and Legles, Jeff Connor. I thought it was an entertaining read. Follows the ANC Halfords team on the '87 TdF

- Slaying the Badger, Richard Moore

- Currently about half-way through Nicholas Roche, Inside the Peloton and really enjoying it. As said, parts repeat his TdF diaries in the Irish press but not having read those previously, they're really interesting for me. 

- Also enjoyed David Millar's book


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## Noodley (18 Nov 2011)

iLB said:


> Le Metier, Michael Barry. Class.



would like to read that...


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## Doseone (18 Nov 2011)

Noodley said:


> Manuela Ronchi - Man on the Run: The life and death of Marco Pantani; a lot of total tosh, self serving rubbish and IMO just written to make more money out of her relationship with Pantani. If you want a great book on Pantani then read Matt Rendell's book! Which I would have added to my good book list but wanted to keep it to 2 of each...hey ho! Only worth a read if you have read Rendell's book just to reinforce jusy how bad it is!!



Agreed. Dreadful Book. It's not even well written.

Whatever you may think of him Paul Kimmage's Rough Ride is an excellent insight in to what is hopefully a bye-gone era.


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## Flying_Monkey (19 Nov 2011)

ColinJ said:


> You beat me to it! There aren't many books that I read once every couple of years, but that is one of them.



It's the only novel I have ever come across that deals with cycling, so it's lucky it is brilliant!


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## Globalti (19 Nov 2011)

The Escape Artist by Matt Seaton. A fascinating insight into road riding lore and a shocking twist at the end.


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## Milemuncher (19 Nov 2011)

Globalti said:


> The Escape Artist by Matt Seaton. A fascinating insight into road riding lore and a shocking twist at the end.



Yes, I agree, but I had forgotten about it.

And while we are at it, Tim Hilton's _One more kilometre and we are in the showers_ is a really good read too.


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## Mista Preston (22 Nov 2011)

Globalti said:


> The Escape Artist by Matt Seaton. A fascinating insight into road riding lore and a shocking twist at the end.


 
Best read in a long while....totally recommend this book. I have given it to my wife to read


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## threebikesmcginty (23 Nov 2011)

Noodley said:


> would like to read that...


 
Someone selling that on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Le-Metier...79887?pt=UK_Books_maps_GL&hash=item19ca94020f

Cheaper than I bought it for - that's rapha for you!


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## palinurus (23 Nov 2011)

Benjo Maso's The Sweat of the Gods is a good overview of the development of continental cycling, compact and very readable.


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## MacB (23 Nov 2011)

I can only imagine how bad Man on the Run is as I thought Matt Rendells The Death of Marco Pantani was poor. I track what I've read as I do like to re-read good stuff, against the Rendell book I have put - interesting but not well written, against his A Significant Other I have the comment great detail but too much wanky writing....guess I'm not a fan.

but surely nothing could be worse than Indurain - A Tempered Passion - I couldn't physically read that again and only made it to the end via skimming.

The best reads, so far for me, have been - The Hour by Michael Hutchinson and We Might as Well Win by Johan Bruyneel.


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## Smokin Joe (23 Nov 2011)

Just finished the previously mentioned Laurent Fignon book, I'd recommend it to everyone with any interest in racing. It gives a revealing insight into the introduction of widespread EPO use in the early ninties, when donkeys were transformed into champions almost overnight.

Kimmages book from twenty years ago seems tame by comparison considering the fuss it caused at the time, being mainly about amphetamine abuse which was nothing in comparison to what came later.


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## Dayvo (23 Nov 2011)

_In Pursuit of Stardom by Tony Hewson _is an insight into the lives of three British cyclists, in the 1950s, trying to make the grade in Europe, by taking part in almost any event in order to earn enough money to survive until the next meet.

An interesting book for those interested in cycling nostalgia.


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## Dayvo (23 Nov 2011)

And there is a whole host of books to be found here: http://www.cycling-books.com/


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## Noodley (24 Nov 2011)

Update on Slaying the Badger - now finished just over a hundred pages. This is a seriously excellent book, so much more than just a story about the rivalry between Hinault and LeMond in one Tour..a fascinating insight, drawing from many sources including interviews with the main characters and others who played an important part in their careers. I have just got to a chapter where Moore interviews Paul Kochli about the development and selection of riders at La Vie Claire - very interesting, and he is very honest about why Roche did not end up at the team despite Bernard Tapie wanting him. I have read a previous book by Moore (Robery Millar) which I rated highly, but thought it might have been due to having fond memories of Millar as a lad - but this book confirms that he is a very good author and my view on the Millar book was not just due to the subject.

Get a copy!!!


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## HLaB (25 Nov 2011)

They are put away till Christmas but I've got Laurent Figon's book 'We were young and carefree' and 'Fallen Angel, the passion of Fausto Coppi' hopefully they are good. The one I'm slowly reading through just now is Geoff Thomas's 'Riding through the Storm', I got it cheap which is one reason for me buying it but its also good to have a cycling book not about a pro cycling.


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## Paul_L (25 Nov 2011)

half way through Millar's book, and after a dodgy start (i never get the bits about their family and childhood) it's turned into a great read.

Will Fotheringham's biography of Tom Simpson, Put me back on the bike is a brilliant book.

Not racing relating, but Tim Moore's French Revolution is also worth a read.


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## bicyclos (27 Nov 2011)

I picked up a decent book from a discount book shop in Southport. Chris Hoy the autobiography, got it for 3.99 and I am finding it an interesting read.


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## naffets (29 Nov 2011)

One not mentioned 'A dog in a hat' By Joe Parkin about pro racing mainly in belgium in the eighties
an easy entertaining read


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## wintonbina (2 Dec 2011)

Perhaps we should start a book exchange/swap system on here. It would rely on everyone's trust to send the books to each otherI have LC's book Every second counts if someone wants to swap!


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## Stange (4 Dec 2011)

"A Race for Madmen" is good as is "Blazing Saddles". Ned Boulting's is fun and I even enjoyed the "Sky's the Limit".


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## 2pies (4 Dec 2011)

Can anyone recommend a good book about Merckx? I'm ashamed to say that I know almost nothing about the greatest cyclist ever.

Loved Slaying the Badger. Hopefully Santa will be bringing me a retro La Vie Claire shirt. How can you not love it?


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## alecstilleyedye (11 Dec 2011)

ned boulting's _the yellow jumper_ is a great read; got it for my birthday and finished it the same weekend.

i also recommend _in search of tom simpson_, and the _death of marco pantani._

my favourite book though is the 2003 centenary book of the tour de france, which gives 4 large pages to each race, loads of brilliant photos too.


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## ColinJ (11 Dec 2011)

wintonbina said:


> Perhaps we should start a book exchange/swap system on here. It would rely on everyone's trust to send the books to each otherI have LC's book Every second counts if someone wants to swap!


We've been doing something similar on CycleChat for years, but we do it on a _'pass it on'_ basis! I've donated books and I've borrowed and passed on books.


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## Monsieur Remings (11 Dec 2011)

_A Race for Mad Men: The Extraordinary History of the Tour de France_ by Chris Sidwells.


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## wintonbina (12 Dec 2011)

+1 A Race for Madmen


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## Thompson (13 Dec 2011)

I've got one of Team Sky and a Cavendish one, but i've been wanting that race for mad men one. Hoping Santa is reading this.


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## Enigma2008 (15 Dec 2011)

Any of Greg Moody's cycling thrillers. A riveting read and ok they're fiction but they're still very good. A thriller mystery; that's about cycling! Brilliant IMO.


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## Spartak (15 Dec 2011)

Another vote here for 'The Hour' by Michael Hutchinson.


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## Noodley (16 Dec 2011)

Just about finished Sex, Lies and Handlebar tape which, although it has some quite good bits, is mostly rather dull considering the subject matter...I am currently reading the final chapters where he has a child with his step-daughter at the insistence of her mother, then starts a long-term relationship with his stepsons partner (don't worry that's not a **spoiler** as you've had plenty of time to know the result by now!  )...quite strange. But still rather dull.


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## Little yellow Brompton (16 Dec 2011)

Globalti said:


> The Escape Artist by Matt Seaton. A fascinating insight into road riding lore and a shocking twist at the end.


 +1 I cried! :-(


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## PeteT (20 Dec 2011)

Noodley said:


> I am currently reading the final chapters where he has a child with his step-daughter at the insistence of her mother, then starts a long-term relationship with his stepsons partner


 
Was he Cornish by any chance? Sounds like normal behaviour down there!


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## Noodley (20 Dec 2011)




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## kinchonwheels (22 Dec 2011)

"The hour" is a great read and well written too.
"Rough ride" is terrific and very well written. Kimmage certainly found his vocation.
"dog in a hat" is also very good and more light hearted.
"breaking the chain", willy voet was also gripping as you are following the story from conviction to today.
inside the pelotan", nicolas roche was good / ok, he looses points from me as it was ghost written. I feel more could have been put concerning his relationship with his father and other irish cyclists that he was close to...


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## ColinJ (22 Dec 2011)

Globalti said:


> The Escape Artist by Matt Seaton. A fascinating insight into road riding lore and a shocking twist at the end.


I read it when it was first published. I spotted a copy going for £2 in a bookshop in Halifax yesterday so I bought it to read again and will be donating it to the CycleChat virtual library in the New Year!


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## Scoosh (23 Dec 2011)

*'Tomorrow, we ride' - Jean Bobet* (though the original French title - "Demain, on roule", sounds so-o much more atmospheric )

The story of Jean Bobet, a professional cyclist (now leading cycling journalist) and his more famous brother, Louison - TdF Winner in 1953/4/5. Very moving at the end too.

I read it a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Want to read it again but can't find it in the house now .....


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## Aspull Velo (24 Dec 2011)

Could I suggest _Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto Coppi _by William Fotheringham? I thought it was a first rate biogarpahy. Although it's had mixed reviews I personally quite enjoyed _Bad Blood: The Secret Life of the Tour De France _by Jeremy Whittle.


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## HLaB (25 Dec 2011)

Aspull Velo said:


> Could I suggest _Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto Coppi _by William Fotheringham? I thought it was a first rate biogarpahy. Although it's had mixed reviews I personally quite enjoyed _Bad Blood: The Secret Life of the Tour De France _by Jeremy Whittle.


Got the first Coppi book for Christmas


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## Winnershsaint (26 Dec 2011)

wintonbina said:


> +1 A Race for Madmen


+2 First thing I downloaded on to the Kindle I was given yesterday. French revolution looks like it could be the second.


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## Tompinder (30 Dec 2011)

Agree with comments on David Millar's book. A great insight into the world of EPO abuse and, at times, quite a harrowing account of his cycling experience. Would personally recommend to anyone.


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## Smokin Joe (4 Jan 2012)

I found "Slaying The Badger" in my local library the other day. I'm about 3/4 of the way through it and I'd say it's one of the best, if not the best, cycling books I've ever read.

Highly recommended and gripping reading.


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## shortercranks (21 Jan 2012)

How I won the Yellow Jumper - Very entertaining account of Ned Boulting's career covering the Tour. I laughed aloud at the end.

_-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums_


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## Baggy (21 Jan 2012)

One that I'm currently enjoying, but is best read by dipping in and out of it (ideal for your Armitage Shanks' library) is: The Story of the Giro d'Italia, A Year by Year History of the Tour of Italy, Volume On: 1909-1970, by Bill and Carol McGann.

There's a lot of stuff crammed in and it's obviously been painstakingly researched, full of info about the race, the riders, the bikes and background about the history of Italy too. I was disappointed that there weren't more pictures in it though, it's a bit annoying when the author refers to interesting pictures he has and they aren't in the book!


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## mattsr (22 Jan 2012)

shortercranks said:


> How I won the Yellow Jumper - Very entertaining account of Ned Boulting's career covering the Tour. I laughed aloud at the end.


 
I've read that and I agree, it's very entertaining. And I will add another vote for _A Race for Mad Men: The Extraordinary History of the Tour de France_ by Chris Sidwells. I'm about half way through, and it's a fascinating read- and also laugh-out loud funny in places!


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## shortercranks (22 Jan 2012)

Another vote for Tomorrow We Ride by Jean Bobet. One I will read again soon. 
Another favourite that I re read often is Paul Fournel's Need For The Bike. All cyclists will identify with his short and beautifully written observations on a cycling life. The blurb on the back cover encapsulates it well: In his attention to the pleasures of cycling, to the specific 'grain' of different cycling experiences, and to the inscription of these experiences in the body's cycling memory, Fournel portrays cycling as a descriptive universe, colourful, lyrical, inclusive, exclusive, complete.

_-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums_


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## shortercranks (22 Jan 2012)

And one I could not warm to, and could not finish: Graeme Fife's The Beautiful Machine. Self indulgent and dull. Great title, shame about the rest.

_-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums_


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## Winnershsaint (23 Jan 2012)

mattsr said:


> I've read that and I agree, it's very entertaining. And I will add another vote for _A Race for Mad Men: The Extraordinary History of the Tour de France_ by Chris Sidwells. I'm about half way through, and it's a fascinating read- and also laugh-out loud funny in places!


Enjoyed A Race for Mad Men and stil reading about Ned Boulting's ironing issues. Read nothing but Cycling stuff since getting a KIndle for Xmas


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## shortercranks (26 Jan 2012)

shortercranks said:


> Another vote for Tomorrow We Ride by Jean Bobet.


 
“The voluptuous pleasure that cycling can give you is delicate, intimate and ephemeral. It arrives, it takes hold of you, sweeps you up and then leaves you again. It is for you alone. It is a combination of speed and ease, force and grace. It is pure happiness.”
http://shortcranks.wordpress.com/2010/12/13/pedalling-in-mediocrity/


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## VamP (26 Jan 2012)

Smokin Joe said:


> I found "Slaying The Badger" in my local library the other day. I'm about 3/4 of the way through it and I'd say it's one of the best, if not the best, cycling books I've ever read.
> 
> Highly recommended and gripping reading.


 
I have just finished this, and agree completely.


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## smutchin (31 Jul 2013)

For anyone who owns a Kindle and hasn't yet read David Millar's book, it's currently part of their summer sale at £1.49. Absolutely essential reading.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Racing-Thro...017941031_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1375266131&sr=1-30


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## Hill Wimp (31 Jul 2013)

Another vote for David Millars book from me and also Tyler Hamiltons book The Secret Race is pretty good and gives a close insight into his ex close team mate liar liar Armstrong.

Next on the list to read is Seven Deadly Sins and Lanced by David Walsh.


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## ColinJ (31 Jul 2013)

smutchin said:


> For anyone who owns a Kindle and hasn't yet read David Millar's book, it's currently part of their summer sale at £1.49. Absolutely essential reading.
> 
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Racing-Thro...017941031_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1375266131&sr=1-30


Thanks for that - _downloaded_! It's a book that has been on my _to-read_ list for a while, but I didn't want to pay the full price.

Incidentally - it is for everyone, Kindle owners or not - you can get free Kindle reader apps for practically every platform now - here.


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## Buddfox (31 Jul 2013)

Has anyone read the two David Walsh books "Seven Deadly Sins..." and "From Lance to Landis..." - are they any good? And am I right in thinking there is no English version of LA Confidentiel?


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## Supersuperleeds (31 Jul 2013)

I was disappointed with Seven Deadly Sins, pretty sure that I have read From Lance to Landis, obviously left an impression! I've also failed to find LA Confidentiel in English, but I have only looked for digital versions


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## Montelimar (31 Jul 2013)

I enjoyed Tyler Hamiltons Secret Race, especially the shock he gets as a clean neo pro, just arrived from the States, desperately trying to hang on to the epo fuelled peloton of '96. Not a natural story teller but an honest and poignant account.
Stephen Roche, Born to Ride also interesting.


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## oldroadman (31 Jul 2013)

Ned Boulting's books are a good read, well written and entertaining, while being insightful at times. Alos some very funny anecdotes.
I have just read HUNGER, the Sean Kelly autobiog of the hard man himself. Every aspiring rider who wants to know what it takes to be a pro should read that. He's actually a good guy when you can get him to chat, with a very dry sense of humour.


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## HF2300 (31 Jul 2013)

+ another for Racing through the Dark & The Secret Race. Wiggins' / Fotheringham's My Time is one to avoid, got it for Xmas and while there are a few interesting bits it comes across as a hastily (& badly) written cash-in


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## smutchin (31 Jul 2013)

2pies said:


> Can anyone recommend a good book about Merckx? I'm ashamed to say that I know almost nothing about the greatest cyclist ever.



I read Daniel Friebe's Merckx biog a few months ago and loved it. Very readable. 

William Fotheringham's one is also supposed to be good but I've not read that.


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## smutchin (31 Jul 2013)

I didn't think much of Robert Dineen's biog of Reg Harris - too salacious and not very well written either. Harris's life story might have seemed pretty scandalous 40 years ago but looks pretty tame now. I'd rather have read more about the actual cycling. 

Graeme Fife's Tour de France: The History, The Legend is another I wouldn't recommend. Packed with detail and insight but written as a rambling stream of consciousness that makes it quite impenetrable at times.


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## smutchin (31 Jul 2013)

oldroadman said:


> I have just read HUNGER, the Sean Kelly autobiog of the hard man himself.



Has he written a book? Surprised he never mentioned it in his Eurosport commentary... Well, maybe he did mention it... Just one or two times...

Actually, it's one I very much want to read. Glad to hear it gets the ORM seal of approval.


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## laurence (31 Jul 2013)

Bartali: road to valour was a good read... although it lacked a certain 'thing' as most of the main crux of the story is still secret. very interesting perspective on his lfe though. i read as i finished Coppi, Fallen Angel and thought Gino sounded like a character.

Definitely the Millar book, he's a good writer as well as it being a great story.

if you want an exellent true story that has nothing to do with cycling, then The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst is an incredible book and story. even if you have no interest in sailing it is worth reading.


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## qigong chimp (31 Jul 2013)

Millar? Hamilton? Fignon? Armstrong?
Nicole Cooke despairs of you.


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## tigger (31 Jul 2013)

Just getting into Slaying the Badger. So far so very good!


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## StuAff (31 Jul 2013)

smutchin said:


> For anyone who owns a Kindle and hasn't yet read David Millar's book, it's currently part of their summer sale at £1.49. Absolutely essential reading.
> 
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Racing-Thro...017941031_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1375266131&sr=1-30


Thanks smutchin, just bought it myself. 

Just reading Bjarne Riis's 'Stages of Light and Dark'. It had some somewhat harsh reviews- road.cc's critic reckoned 'Stages of Dull and Grey' would be more appropriate- but I've found it a good read. It is not, understandably, scathingly and unequivocally straightforward on everything. His account is detailed on many counts, and parts of it are clearly (and painfully on his part) honest, but rather more guarded and cagey when it comes to the drugs issue. Riis is straightforward enough about his own doping, but there's no naming of names a la Hamilton. He was not, after all, going to do anything to jeopardise his team and his relationships within the cycling community. Bearing that in mind, it gets a recommendation.


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## Monsieur Remings (1 Aug 2013)

_Slaying the Badger: Lemond, Hinault and the Greatest Ever Tour De France_ already mentioned, is one of the best non-fiction books I've read.


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## oldroadman (1 Aug 2013)

For those who like a bit of older history, The Full Cycle, Vin Denson's autobiog.
How an old fashioned clubman with talent made it to the top, and what's happened since. Quite moving in places, and at the time of writing (2008) stil loving riding his bike. In a way quite Kelly-esqe, a real hard man on the bike but at heart still very bit the enthusiast who likes ridng out to the cafe with the lads and lasses.


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## ColinJ (1 Aug 2013)

I have now read the first few chapters of David Millar's book and am enjoying it so I recommend you grab yourself a copy of the Kindle version while it is on special offer (see above).


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## Slaav (1 Aug 2013)

ColinJ said:


> I have now read the few chapters of David Millar's book and am enjoying it so I recommend you grab yourself a copy of the Kindle version while it is on special offer (see above).


 
Bought this on the recoimmendation at £1.49.
Now half way through (Bought on Wed - now Thurs) - OCD???

So far, seems actually quite an honest read. He seems to be happy to expose his own failings and personality issues/insecurites that appear to have caused him many issues throughout his earlier career. He certainly seems to be telling a true story without too much spin so far!

I am now getting ot the point of him havign met Sir DB proerply and heading down the Olympic route pre bust!!! But had to come to work.....

So far, agree 100% with COlin - a good read.


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## Chromatic (1 Aug 2013)

Whatever you do, do NOT bother with Indurain: A Tempered Passion.


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## Basil.B (1 Aug 2013)

Shouldn't have looked. 
Tempted to order the Sean Kelly book and Ned Boulting's latest, enjoyed his Yellow Jumper book.


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## StuAff (1 Aug 2013)

Finished Riis's book today, got through a good chunk of Mr Millar's today. A gripping read.


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## Noodley (1 Aug 2013)

Does Riis admit everything? Or just piss about?


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## StuAff (1 Aug 2013)

Noodley said:


> Does Riis admit everything? Or just **** about?


He's honest enough about his own use, says that he needed to do it as all the competition were, etc but the only names that come up in relation to others' doping are the ones in the public domain. He wasn't going to throw anyone under a bus unless there was a score to be settled, let's face it. Remorse? Nope. To him, the dope was just part of his training regime.


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## Noodley (2 Aug 2013)

StuAff said:


> He's honest enough about his own use, says that he needed to do it as all the competition were, etc but the only names that come up in relation to others' doping are the ones in the public domain. He wasn't going to throw anyone under a bus unless there was a score to be settled, let's face it. Remorse? Nope. To him, the dope was just part of his training regime.


 Which seems to be the line taken, level playing field blah de blah de blah...which just adds to me thinking that any riders when he was DS are all doped. Sastre. Voight. I am looking at you.


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## Flying_Monkey (6 Aug 2013)

Monsieur Remings said:


> _Slaying the Badger: Lemond, Hinault and the Greatest Ever Tour De France_ already mentioned, is one of the best non-fiction books I've read.


 
I just read it. It was good, and some very effective sections and a good structure, but it needed a proper editor on the job. There were several sentences repeated verbatim in different places and not for effect. It's not up to the standard of _Kings of the Mountains_, my absolute favourite non-fiction cycling book. But then Matt Rendell is a better writer than Richard Moore IMHO. I want to read _Olympic Gangster_ now...


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## User169 (6 Aug 2013)

Flying_Monkey said:


> I just read it. It was good, and some very effective sections and a good structure, but it needed a proper editor on the job. There were several sentences repeated verbatim in different places and not for effect. It's not up to the standard of _Kings of the Mountains_, my absolute favourite non-fiction cycling book. But then Matt Rendell is a better writer than Richard Moore IMHO. *I want to read Olympic Gangster now*...


 
Next on my list too!


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## al-fresco (6 Aug 2013)

"Pedalare Pedalare" a history of Italian cycling by John Foot is, I think, the most enjoyable cycling book I've ever read. It's certainly the only one that I want to re-read, and I will - once I manage to get it back off the friend I leant it to!


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## beastie (6 Aug 2013)

Flying_Monkey said:


> I just read it. It was good, and some very effective sections and a good structure, but it needed a proper editor on the job. There were several sentences repeated verbatim in different places and not for effect. It's not up to the standard of _Kings of the Mountains_, my absolute favourite non-fiction cycling book. But then Matt Rendell is a better writer than Richard Moore IMHO. I want to read _Olympic Gangster_ now...


Rendall brings knowledge and to the table. I enjoyed "The...Pantani" but it felt a bit heavy going. I much prefer Moore's style - a lot easier read.


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## J1780 (6 Aug 2013)

Read the secret race (Tyler Hamilton) a few months back was not sre about giving Tyler some of my hard earned but I found it to be very good also read Seven deadly sins by David Walsh which is generally a rehash of from Lance to Landis and his reporting in general since he initially cried foul on one Lance Armstrong still I enjoyed reading it.

I am tempted by Sean Kellys book but wondering does he actually say anything he always held his cards close to his chest and I think he still does.


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## Mattonsea (6 Aug 2013)

rich p said:


> I, personally, found Matt Rendell's book a bit too dry and full of numbers for my tastes. I'm not keen on his style of writing and ended up speed reading passages but each to his own.
> 
> The David Millar book, _Racing Through the Dark,_ is a great insight into why and how riders can end up doping. An honest appraisal of his own failings.
> 
> I recently read _Shay Elliot, the life and death of Ireland's yellow jersey_ by Graham Healy which was just above average as a read although not great literature. It was a bit of a revelation to me how much he had achieved long before Kelly and Roche.


 
David Millar's book is a good insight in to his early life , but the best I have read is Slaying the Badger. Hinault is such a character and
it really comes through in the writing. Non pro it would have to be French Revolutions , I laughed all through the book.


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## Monsieur Remings (6 Aug 2013)

Flying_Monkey said:


> I just read it. It was good, and some very effective sections and a good structure, but it needed a proper editor on the job. There were several sentences repeated verbatim in different places and not for effect. It's not up to the standard of _Kings of the Mountains_, my absolute favourite non-fiction cycling book. But then Matt Rendell is a better writer than Richard Moore IMHO. I want to read _Olympic Gangster_ now...


 

Okay, that's interesting FM I shall definitely keep an eye out for Matt Rendell's _Kings of the Mountains._

Has anyone read _ Fallen Angel: the Passion of Fausto Coppi?_


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## Noodley (6 Aug 2013)

Kings of the Mountains is a great book.
Olympic Gangster is also a great read, but very little to do with cycling after the first couple of chapters


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## Monsieur Remings (6 Aug 2013)

And the Wegelius book I nearly bought today but I've got so many to get through, it seemed ridiculous.

Any good though?


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## thom (6 Aug 2013)

"Tomorrow we ride" - the memoirs of Jean Bobet, the brother of Louison Bobet, has a timeless quality about it.
After racing, I think Jean became a journalist so had himself decent writing ability - short but very evocative of a different time.


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## Monsieur Remings (6 Aug 2013)

thom said:


> "Tomorrow we ride" - the memoirs of Jean Bobet, the brother of Louison Bobet, has a timeless quality about it.
> After racing, I think Jean became a journalist so had himself decent writing ability - short but very evocative of a different time.


 

Yes, I think both were racing men but Jean became a journalist first if I remember rightly from reading about them both, and it was Louison with the serious talent on the bike. I'll look out for that one too...


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## laurence (6 Aug 2013)

Monsieur Remings said:


> Okay, that's interesting FM I shall definitely keep an eye out for Matt Rendell's _Kings of the Mountains._
> 
> *Has anyone read *_* Fallen Angel: the Passion of Fausto Coppi*?_


 
yes... it's pretty good, but it made me want to know more about Bartali! the Coppi book seemed a bit 'detached', but not sure why. that and the Bartali book (Road to Valour) offer a great insight into Italian cycling history though - especially with the politics of the day.


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## beastie (7 Aug 2013)

For anyone yet to read it Millars autobiography is £1.50 on kindle atm


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## Monsieur Remings (11 Aug 2013)

I'm just finishing off _Merckx - Half Man, Half Bike_ which is also a very good read. Perhaps subjectively, _Slaying the Badger_ being the last cycling book I read, I enjoyed the distance that Fotheringham has of his subject - Merckx himself. Unlike with Richard Moore's title where Hinault and Lemond are interviewed at great length, Fotheringham has not the same privilege in regards to Merckx and so there are many more voices particularly in regards to the many men who worked for Merckx during his period of dominance at Molteni etc, among them Jos Bruyere for instance. Between them, these men give some interesting insights, criticisms and appraisals of Merckx's way of doing things which I like.

Perhaps this is my only criticism of the book itself is that Merckx himself becomes - whether intentionally or not - even more of an untouchable, a God-like figure not brought down to Earth by the years that have passed since, by a good writer. His distance is ever present throughout the book, despite the many facts regarding his life and some very interesting background history and the priceless input of those pivotal men in the great man's racing history.


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## Noodley (21 Sep 2013)

Flying_Monkey said:


> It's not up to the standard of _Kings of the Mountains_, my absolute favourite non-fiction cycling book.


 
I gave my copy away several years ago to someone on here, no idea who as it was as it's so long ago. I have now run out of cycling books to re-read and decided today that I wanted to re-read this book - have you seen the fecking price of it!!!???


After much searching I did find a copy at a price I was willing to pay, but some of the asking prices were just bonkers!


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## RedRider (21 Sep 2013)

Picked up Eddie Merckx: The Cannibal by Daniel Friebe at the airport last September. Another that reads like it was produced too quick without enough editing. My OH likes me to read to her sometimes (even cycling books!) and I found it really hard to do with this clunky one. In Search of Robert Millar and Death of Pantani were far better.
Kings of the Mountains sounds like a good 'un based on reviews above. Cheers.


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## Pedrosanchezo (23 Sep 2013)

laurence said:


> yes... it's pretty good, but it made me want to know more about Bartali! the Coppi book seemed a bit 'detached', but not sure why. that and the Bartali book (Road to Valour) offer a great insight into Italian cycling history though - especially with the politics of the day.


I too enjoyed Fallen angel but it isn't half a depressing read, near the end. Fallen angel is quite an apt description of his short life. His family don't fair much better either.


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## laurence (23 Sep 2013)

i'm nearing the end of the Roche book... some great moments, other irritating ones - such as his rant against full zip jerseys!


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## rich p (24 Sep 2013)

My daughter has just bought me "Land of Second Chances" - The impossible rise of Rwanda's cycling team, by Tim Lewis
I'll let you know how I get on.


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## Basil.B (3 Oct 2013)

al-fresco said:


> "Pedalare Pedalare" a history of Italian cycling by John Foot is, I think, the most enjoyable cycling book I've ever read. It's certainly the only one that I want to re-read, and I will - once I manage to get it back off the friend I leant it to!


Reading this book at the moment, a jolly good read!


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## laurence (3 Oct 2013)

just finished Paris-Roubaix the Inside Story... which, much like the race, was a hard slog. very disjointed writing and hard to follow most of the time.


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## Buddfox (20 Jan 2014)

For additional entertainment, I just finished reading 'We Were Young and Carefree', 'Rough Ride' and 'Slaying the Badger' in quick succession. All excellent books in their own right (as covered above) but it was particularly enjoyable to get the very different perspectives on the same races in the three books. So Fignon's views on the 83 - 86 Tours, Kimmage's suffering on the big climbs in 86 whilst you get the coverage of the leaders in 'Slaying...', adds additional perspective to some of the greatest Tours.


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## Happiness Stan (24 Jan 2014)

oldroadman said:


> Ned Boulting's books are a good read, well written and entertaining, while being insightful at times. Alos some very funny anecdotes.
> I have just read HUNGER, the Sean Kelly autobiog of the hard man himself. Every aspiring rider who wants to know what it takes to be a pro should read that. He's actually a good guy when you can get him to chat, with a very dry sense of humour.


Does he mention the drugs he took?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (24 Jan 2014)

Just took delivery of three new cycling books today:
Pedalare! Pedalare!
Tomorrow, We Ride
Road to Valour

That should keep me out of mischief for a while.


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## Dayvo (24 Jan 2014)

Marmion said:


> Just took delivery of three new cycling books today:
> Pedalare! Pedalare!
> Tomorrow, We Ride
> Road to Valour
> ...



Oh, I don't know: depends how many pictures they have, non?


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## Pedrosanchezo (24 Jan 2014)

Since xmas i have read the following. I can expand on the books if asked too but so far as follows:

Charly Weglius - 9-10. Outstanding book. Reads like someone who loves the sport to the point of discomfort. He see's no other way to live his life. Through his career he grows to become one of the most respected domestiques in the pro peloton. I am ashamed to say i had no idea who he was prior to reading. It is my understanding that he is more famous now in retiring. 

Mark Cavendish at Speed - 7-10. Interesting reading because he is such an interesting character. Everything he does reeks of personality. Sometimes he comes across as arrogant and over confident but as a whole he reads as someone who is the biggest fan of bike racing on earth. A great read but if you dislike Cav then i wouldn't recommend. 

Va Va Froome - 8-10. I found myself not wanting to like this but is suppose in the end i did. He says some daft things throughout which makes you realise that his spat with Wiggins wasn't out of disrespect or bad taste it was merely naivety, in a big way. He has no idea at all RE cycling tactics or ethics, due to his upbringing in Kenya. At worst, in the TDF 2012, he was over eager and completely out of his depth in terms of his role - the one he signed up to Sky for. A good read but with the odd annoying line or 2. I did appreciate though that he is one of the most determined athletes in todays world. Not much seems to phase him. 

I have a few more to read and will post back.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (24 Jan 2014)

Pedrosanchezo said:


> Charly Weglius - 9-10. Outstanding book. Reads like someone who loves the sport to the point of discomfort. He see's no other way to live his life. Through his career he grows to become one of the most respected domestiques in the pro peloton. I am ashamed to say i had no idea who he was prior to reading. It is my understanding that he is more famous now in retiring.



Can't agree with this at all - IMO he completely missed an opportunity to tell more; although I am not expecting him to tell all I cannot believe he knew nothing about the doping that went on, especially as he rode with Italian teams in the 90s! He speaks highly of Di Luca as a leader, and whilst his account sounds as if he was a good "leader" in terms of motivating his team, he was a doper of the highest order. Before I read the book I held him in high regard, but now I am not so sure - I'm "confused" about my view of him now, probably because I think he's a probably a great big doper or at least a great big "apologist" but not wanting to face up to that. All in I thought the book started off well and then went downhill, and he should have just not bothered. 

And without wanting to sound like a complete dick, how could you not have heard of him!?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (24 Jan 2014)

P.S. you might be right, and I might be wrong of course


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## Pedrosanchezo (24 Jan 2014)

Marmion said:


> Can't agree with this at all - IMO he completely missed an opportunity to tell more; although I am not expecting him to tell all I cannot believe he knew nothing about the doping that went on, especially as he rode with Italian teams in the 90s! He speaks highly of Di Luca as a leader, and whilst his account sounds as if he was a good "leader" in terms of motivating his team, he was a doper of the highest order. Before I read the book I held him in high regard, but now I am not so sure - I'm "confused" about my view of him now, probably because I think he's a probably a great big doper or at least a great big "apologist" but not wanting to face up to that. All in I thought the book started off well and then went downhill, and he should have just not bothered.
> 
> And without wanting to sound like a complete dick, how could you not have heard of him!?


Hadn't heard of him because well, i hadn't heard of him. Sure that clears that up.

As for the doping stance well yes sure he said Di Luca was a great leader but he also said he was a doper. Maybe you could read into this that everyone was doping and Di Luca was merely one that got caught. Maybe you could assume he understood the pressures applied to those of limited ability, especially to those who might find themsleves out of a job. It is abundantly clear that many pro's are not much more than grown children with no real idea of what goes on in the real world - mainly due to the secluded lives they lead in order to become the thing they have dreamed of since single figures.

As for your claims that he was a doper, well do you have any evidence to suggest this was the case? Otherwise it appears no more than mudslinging because a rider was from a certain era?

Also try to remember that this is a book written from his perspective, not how you wish to perceive him.


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## Pedrosanchezo (24 Jan 2014)

Marmion said:


> P.S. you might be right, and I might be wrong of course


And vice versa.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (24 Jan 2014)

Pedrosanchezo said:


> As for your claims that he was a doper, well do you have any evidence to suggest this was the case? Otherwise it appears no more than mudslinging because a rider was from a certain era?



As I said I am confused, no claims that he WAS a doper - I said he was either a doper or an "apologist". But for someone who stated at the start of his book that he was not going to focus on doping he sure as hell went a long way to try to convince the reader that he was clean despite his high tests, his "appeal" to the <not very believable> UCI, and then to highlight how important high altitude training was...if someone is "naturally high" then I doubt this! But as I say, I am confused. I just can't accept his book as being accurate - much in the same way as I don't think Piers Morgan really did get Rolf Harris's full life story


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## Pedrosanchezo (24 Jan 2014)

Marmion said:


> As I said I am confused, no claims that he WAS a doper - I said he was either a doper or an "apologist". But for someone who stated at the start of his book that he was not going to focus on doping he sure as hell went a long way to try to convince the reader that he was clean despite his high tests, his "appeal" to the <not very believable> UCI, and then to highlight how important high altitude training was...if someone is "naturally high" then I doubt this! But as I say, I am confused. I just can't accept his book as being accurate - much in the same way as I don't think Piers Morgan really did get Rolf Harris's full life story


His blood values raised my brows also but i maintain his story is a good one. Until i hear evidence in opposition to his opinion i believe what he says. That is my opinion.


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## LimeBurn (24 Jan 2014)

Little yellow Brompton said:


> +1 I cried! :-(


Me too


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## LimeBurn (24 Jan 2014)

A little bit different to the racing books but The Man Who Cycled The World by Mark Beaumont was a good read for me.


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## al-fresco (25 Jan 2014)

LimeBurn said:


> A little bit different to the racing books but The Man Who Cycled The World by Mark Beaumont was a good read for me.



I found Beaumont's book frustrating - I couldn't see the point of going around the world and seeing so little of it. I think you're right to include it here though - it's more of a racing book than it is a travel book.


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## Dayvo (25 Jan 2014)

al-fresco said:


> I found Beaumont's book frustrating - I couldn't see the point of going around the world and seeing so little of it. I think you're right to include it here though - it's more of a racing book than it is a travel book.



I agree. If you're so desperate to go round the world as quickly as possible, why didn't he just go to the North or South Pole and do a quick 360 degrees around the top/bottom of the planet? Would only take, what, 10 seconds. Wouldn't have made for a best-selling book, though.


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## LimeBurn (26 Jan 2014)

al-fresco said:


> I found Beaumont's book frustrating - I couldn't see the point of going around the world and seeing so little of it. I think you're right to include it here though - it's more of a racing book than it is a travel book.


I quite enjoyed it - didn't frustrate me as at the end of the day he was doing it to break the world record - if it was me then yes I would have spent more time seeing the world and getting the experience but I thought it was quite well written and seemed to go at a decent pace without getting samey if you know what I mean. It was a long time ago when I read it though as I got it when I went to see his lecture for the books release.


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## PaddyMcc (27 Jan 2014)

Currently reading "The Hour, Sporting immortality the hard way" by Michael Hutchinson. Very good, very funny, enoying it enormously


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## Pro Tour Punditry (27 Jan 2014)

Marmion said:


> Just took delivery of three new cycling books today:
> Road to Valour
> That should keep me out of mischief for a while.



Looks like it's going to keep me out of mischief for ages, mostly due to the print being that small that I can barely see the words!!


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## Dayvo (27 Jan 2014)

Marmion said:


> Looks like it's going to keep me out of mischief for ages, mostly due to the print being that small that I can barely see the words!!



Specsavers, mate! 

Or do you really mean that the words are too 'long' to understand?


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## PaddyMcc (3 Feb 2014)

OK, now moved on to Graeme Obree's Flying Scotsman. One chapter in and liking it


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## Basil.B (7 Feb 2014)

_Mark Cavendish At Speed_ hardback is only £4 at the moment from Amazon, bargain!


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## Pro Tour Punditry (7 Mar 2014)

This might be old news which I have missed, but I have just spotted that there is a movie documentary, Slaying the Badger (same name as the book, hence putting it here rather than starting a new thread), due to premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. 

Hopefully it will be available to view either at a cinema or DVD form sometime soon.


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## Crackle (26 Jul 2014)

Just reading Yates's book, It's All About The Bike. It's good. Lots of anecdotes about other riders such as Robert Millar being tight. He used to park his car in the short stay at the airport, fly out, come back, get a trolley push it to the in gate and fool the sensors into thinking he was a car, get a ticket which was free for twenty minutes, then get the car out. Another one about the Nissan Classic in which Roche says yates went past him downhill like he was on a suicide mission and Roche jumped on his wheel convinced they'd both die on the descent but he couldn't let him go. Yates won the stage and Roche took the jersey. There's other stuff in there about how Yate's helped model the Sky team of 2012/13 on the 7-eleven team of 1990, keeping everyone together as an A team.

I thought I might not like Yates. I thought that all the suspicion was justified, now I'm far from sure and I find I like him, a lot. There's nothing so far about doping and he sets his stall out on that right at the beginning. basically if you want to talk about, you're reading the wrong book and he's not interested in what a bunch of internet conspirators are saying anyway and I suspect he's heavily moderated his language on that one.

Half way through, so far, very good.


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## StuAff (26 Jul 2014)

Been a while since I posted in this thread, but I have done a little bit of on-topic reading...
David Walsh's _Seven Deadly Sins_ (the original hardback edition, from the library, rather than the paperback which has a few updates covering the Oprah interview etc). Excellent account of LA's doping and Walsh's dealings with him. Some (including me) read his annual Sunday Times article about Armstrong and groaned. The book makes clear, apart from just how right Walsh was all along, that he didn't want to be right, just as he didn't want to be right about Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche before him. At times it's touching (as when he recalls the death of his son John), sometimes funny, and always compelling. Lots of great anecdotes and observations- he points out that Tyler Hamilton wasn't that good at doping to get caught three times 

Currently working my way through Tim Moore's _French Revolutions. _Side-splittingly funny, witty, and probably quite a few been-there-done-that moments for most of us. After that, I have Walsh's _Inside Team Sky _and Juliet Macur's _Cycle of Lies._


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## Louch (27 Jul 2014)

I am back reading the monuments, just finished the Paris - roubaix section. good read, and some of the descriptor of conditions and kit are astonishing. 

Found walsh's seven deadly sins made me unlike him more than Armstrong. Comes over a bit too obsessed with Armstrong, and that he ignored his family in the process. Gets cringe in his love for betsy, he speaks of her like she is mother Theresa, when she was the happy wife of a doper until he stopped getting paid to ride then she became this moral crusader, who gives out information on people's hospital visits.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (27 Jul 2014)

Crackle said:


> I thought I might not like Yates. I thought that all the suspicion was justified, now I'm far from sure and I find I like him, a lot. There's nothing so far about doping and he sets his stall out on that right at the beginning. basically if you want to talk about, you're reading the wrong book and he's not interested in what a bunch of internet conspirators are saying anyway and I suspect he's heavily moderated his language on that one.



Funny that, just the other day he was blaming them for his demise at Sky...


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## Crackle (27 Jul 2014)

Marmion said:


> Funny that, just the other day he was blaming them for his demise at Sky...


He does that too. I perhaps could have phrased it differently.

Anyway I just read another chapter where at the end he defends Armstrong's right to hold on to his 7 titles and effectively says the winners of the past did what they needed to do but notes that the attitudes of today's cyclists are entirely different. So far, the only sour moment of the book.


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## fimm (28 Jul 2014)

Am I the only person who didn't find "French Revolutions" all that funny?
(Apart from the section where he tries to pee while riding his bike, and discovers that it is quite difficult if you can't ride no-handed...)

I have just finished a history of the Tour de France called "A Race for Madmen" which I thought was interesting, especially the early years. I don't know how it compares to other similar books, however.

(Edit: always re-read the thread first. "A Race for Madmen" has been mentioned and recommended several times already...)


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## HF2300 (28 Jul 2014)

The Times published extracts from Nicole Cooke's forthcoming book, Breakaway, at the weekend. Not sure what to make of them - they came across as a bit bitter and self-justifying, though that might have just been the way they were edited.

And in other news, went into the local discount bookshop the other day and they were clearing out for a refurb - fill a bag with all the books you can for a pound. Picked up 'We were young and carefree' and one or two others. There were a lot of LA books on the shelf that no-one was touching, even at 6p each...


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## jay clock (28 Jul 2014)

not read all the threads but Roule Britannia by William Fotheringham was excellent http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roule-Brita...190_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406544777&sr=1-8


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## Crackle (28 Jul 2014)

fimm said:


> Am I the only person who didn't find "French Revolutions" all that funny?
> (Apart from the section where he tries to pee while riding his bike, and discovers that it is quite difficult if you can't ride no-handed...)


No it's not you. Not only did I not find him funny but I ended up intensely disliking him. I would never read anything by him again.


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## rich p (28 Jul 2014)

Crackle said:


> No it's not you. Not only did I not find him funny but I ended up intensely disliking him. I would never read anything by him again.


It wasn't exactly a rib-tickler but I picked up a charity book bargain by him based on the premise of him visiting all the Monopoly streets in London.
Utter crap, up until I gave up on it - it's possible the latter two thirds were hilarious!


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## User169 (29 Jul 2014)

Nearly finished “Cycle of Lies – The Fall of Lance Armstrong” by Juliet Macur which I picked up in the airport yesterday. It’s a snappy read and a decent enough overview of LT’s rise and fall. She had a hard time from LT, being one of the few US journos to raise questions about him before Tygart got going, and clearly relishes sticking the boot in! 

Probably not a great deal which will be news for the aficionado – the fact that she feels the need to define peloton and domestique gives you an idea that it’s aimed at a general audience. On the other hand, she does seem to have found some new sources, JT Neal, an early mentor of Armstrong in Austin and John Hendershot, one of his soigneurs, and her skewering of Linda Armstrong’s fable of bringing up LT on her own is good. 

One thing I didn’t really like was that she falls into the trap of giving the impression that everyone was at it. Not sure if that was what she really intended, but I think that’s the way it would come over to the less well-informed reader.


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## RedRider (29 Jul 2014)

Just bought WiIlliam Fotheringham's book on Coppi and Tim Moore's 'French Revolutions'. Coppi will probably be kept for my hols so I'll report back then.


Crackle said:


> No it's not you. Not only did I not find him funny but I ended up intensely disliking him. I would never read anything by him again.


I read the first 100 pages yesterday, an extended moan about French press officers and pizzerias, but I'm finding it diverting. Don't actively dislike the bloke yet.


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## Buddfox (29 Jul 2014)

I'm going to get Michael Barry's book Shadow on the Roads, as it had decent reviews. Let's see - concerned it might be more of the same regarding doping etc.


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## smutchin (29 Jul 2014)

Buddfox said:


> I'm going to get Michael Barry's book Shadow on the Roads, as it had decent reviews. Let's see - concerned it might be more of the same regarding doping etc.



There's an interview with him in the latest issue of Cyclist magazine, which I expect covers all the salient points.


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## laurence (29 Jul 2014)

i'm almost half way though Wegelius' book and it's pretty good so far.

the Cycling Anthology series are top notch, finished number 4 the other day


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## User169 (4 Aug 2014)

Just read Emma O'Reilly's book. The first third on her time at Postal is great. Really gives a good feel of what it's like to be working for a pro-team. In the second third, she really sticks the boot onto Walsh - she feels he shafted her over LA Confidential - she was the only named source in the book, but she says this was never made clear and she only realized on publication.

The final third is reconciliation with Lance and how it's all terribly unfair that he's been singled out by USADA for harsher punishment than all the rest. It's like she has a case of Stockholm syndrome.


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## Crackle (9 Aug 2014)

Finally finished the Yates book. I enjoyed it, it gave a good insight into pro racing of his era and of his time as a ds. Very amusing in places with some excellent anecdotes often told through the eyes of someone else in a bit of a 'mates down the pub' apocryphal way but I like that style, others may not.

As for Yates, I ended up liking him and feeling some sympathy for his situation because of the his heart on sleeve, all or nothing nature. It's hard not to believe, given his cycling links, that he knew nothing of doping or that he didn't partake himself. He himself defends those who did, saying they did what was necessary. He sees no difference in what Armstrong did to what others did and believes he should be given the 7 tours back. At the least he's an apologist and perhaps more. There's also a telling chapter in the book that his wife wrote. One sentence was left hanging when she talks about divorce, saying it was good for both of them and that she no longer flinched when Sean moved suddenly. That sentence is not elaborated on.

I'd recommend it to anyone to read..


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## Dayvo (9 Aug 2014)

Crackle said:


> I'd recommend it to anyone to read..



Thank you. I'll pm you my address.


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## just jim (9 Aug 2014)

Crackle said:


> No it's not you. Not only did I not find him funny but I ended up intensely disliking him. I would never read anything by him again.



I thought the argument in the pizza restaurant was funny. Also the advice before he set off: "You probably won't die."
"Spanish Steps" is also a good read.


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## Dogtrousers (15 Aug 2014)

I've just finished Nicole Cooke's "The Breakaway". It's an incredible book.

I read quite a lot of sports autobiogs (rugby, cricket, cycling). Most of them are instantly forgettable, consisting of an interminable ghost-written list of matches or races leavened with the occasional risque anecdote, giving no insight into the individual or the sport. This one isn't.

There's a strong narrative, some excellent insights into racing tactics, along with the main theme of the general incompetence, sexism and waste of lottery money in British Cycling. It's a stunning read, even if you don't follow women's racing, or cycle racing at all.

It's up there with Graeme Obree's book, which is quite something.


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## rich p (16 Aug 2014)

I'm halfway through Christophe Bassons book and to be honest, however much you may admire his stance, it is getting repetitively tiresome. How many different ways can you say, the peloton hated me, I was clean, the others weren't, ad nauseam.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (16 Aug 2014)

rich p said:


> I'm halfway through Christophe Bassons book and to be honest, however much you may admire his stance, it is getting repetitively tiresome. How many different ways can you say, the peloton hated me, I was clean, the others weren't, ad nauseam.



A lot more important a message than "I never tested positive"...


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## charley bradley (16 Aug 2014)

a good book that i read is the secret race by Tyler Hamilton about when he rode the tour with lance.


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## dcolgan81 (18 Aug 2014)

There's a really good book called TOP Performance in 7 weeks ( BORN To Run) by Giovanni Camorani ( www.camorani.com) , but is in Italian, price is 19 euro more or less. If intersted please let me know


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## RedRider (19 Aug 2014)

Just halfway through 'Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto Coppi', which is the first I've read by William Fotheringham.

It's a great story...

Italy defeated and bombed to bits, no bridges left standing, more pothole than road, riven too by poverty and the hideous fascist v partisan civil war.

'There were no lovely girls in the windows - the windows were missing. Even the walls were missing.'

Cycling forges a new identity for the battered country as riders - paid in tortoises and pigs - show it's still possible to travel from north to south and east to west.

There's some good stuff about the racing and training.

There's soap opera...Pre-television 'cycling retained the mystique of the heroic days when no one quite knew what happened out on the road.' Journalists are free to hype-up characters and their real and imaginary exploits. Coppi and Bartali.

Coppi, popular amongst other cyclists as he never broke deals and paid up when help was bought or bartered. A sense of responsibility or a fear of others thinking badly of him? A typically perceptive question from Fotheringham.

I'm not even up to the tragic bit where Coppi and his lover are excommunicated and reviled and then Coppi dies.

Anyhow, a really good story being told well. I'm learning a lot about Italy, the pro cycling of the era and how the two affect each other. I got a sense of connection today when my friend and colleague saw me reading and said her father, a decent cyclist in his youth, knew Coppi. In her mother's flat, she says there's a pic of them together.


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## RedRider (19 Aug 2014)

Just halfway through 'Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto Coppi', which is the first I've read by William Fotheringham.

It's a great story...

Italy defeated and bombed to bits, no bridges left standing, more pothole than road, riven too by poverty and the hideous fascist v partisan civil war.

'There were no lovely girls in the windows - the windows were missing. Even the walls were missing.'

Cycling forges a new identity for the battered country as riders - paid in tortoises and pigs - show it's still possible to travel from north to south and east to west.

There's some good stuff about the racing and training.

There's soap opera...Pre-television 'cycling retained the mystique of the heroic days when no one quite knew what happened out on the road.' Journalists are free to hype-up characters and their real and imaginary exploits. Coppi and Bartali.

Coppi, popular amongst other cyclists as he never broke deals and paid up when help was bought or bartered. A sense of responsibility or a fear of others thinking badly of him? A typically perceptive question from Fotheringham.

I'm not even up to the tragic bit where Coppi and his lover are excommunicated and reviled and then Coppi dies.

Anyhow, a really good story being told well. I'm learning a lot about Italy, the pro cycling of the era and how the two affect each other. I got a sense of connection today when my friend and colleague saw me reading and said her father, a decent cyclist in his youth, knew Coppi. In her mother's flat, she says there's a pic of them together.


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## User169 (19 Aug 2014)

dcolgan81 said:


> There's a really good book called TOP Performance in 7 weeks ( BORN To Run) by Giovanni Camorani ( www.camorani.com) , but is in Italian, price is 19 euro more or less. If intersted please let me know



Never heard of Camorani, but a swift google suggests he was coach to Riccardo Ricco.

So a big fat raspberry in his general direction!!


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## rich p (19 Aug 2014)

Delftse Post said:


> Never heard of Camorani, but a swift google suggests he was coach to Riccardo Ricco.
> 
> So a big fat raspberry in his general direction!!


It might have a chapter on the best places to source the sauce though


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## Pro Tour Punditry (19 Aug 2014)

RedRider said:


> The stuff what you said.



You should try to get a copy of "Pedalare! Pedalare! A History of Italian Cycling" by John Foot - I think you'd like it.


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## RedRider (20 Aug 2014)

Marmion said:


> You should try to get a copy of "Pedalare! Pedalare! A History of Italian Cycling" by John Foot - I think you'd like it.


It looks interesting, thanks for the tip-off.


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## Hont (16 Sep 2014)

Just read Domestique by Charly Wegelius. I'll not add to the conversation further back in this thread*, but just to say that I felt I got a greater flavour of what being a pro-cyclist is like than any of the books I've read by, or about, the sport's stars. There are sections where he talks about willingly changing his place with some guy out on a Sunday morning stroll and how being a workaholic who ignores their family wouldn't be tolerated in a normal job but is positively respected in sport. And I can see why he's now a pretty good DS.

*Actually I will. His stance on doping is made pretty clear in the book. You only have to read it to understand where he's coming from.


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## sintellinser (26 Sep 2014)

I've just finished reading, and would recommend The Race Against The Stasi by Herbie Sykes.


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## smutchin (4 Nov 2014)

sintellinser said:


> I've just finished reading, and would recommend The Race Against The Stasi by Herbie Sykes.



M'colleague has been reading this and likes it. Sounds fascinating. Must give it a go.


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## resal (7 Dec 2014)

Dogtrousers said:


> I've just finished Nicole Cooke's "The Breakaway". It's an incredible book.
> 
> I read quite a lot of sports autobiogs (rugby, cricket, cycling). Most of them are instantly forgettable, consisting of an interminable ghost-written list of matches or races leavened with the occasional risque anecdote, giving no insight into the individual or the sport. This one isn't.
> 
> ...



I see in today's Sunday Times it has been promoted as their sports book of the year. Quite some sobriquet for it. 
Ahead of books about Bobby Moore, Rod Laver, Roy Keane & Harry Redknapp. 

However amongst the best sellers, Walsh is there with the Climb about Chris Froome, battling it out with Kevin Pietersen and Roy Keane. I don't often get time for books. A good friend at work has just read the KP book and he says it is like watching a car chase in a film. I won't be adding that to my wish list. 

However, I think I will add the Breakaway. In total agreement about Obree's book. The last cycling book I enjoyed.


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## shouldbeinbed (7 Dec 2014)

Lots of people love Slaying the Badger but I find it turgid and overlong. The first 100 pages could be condensed to 15 or so and you'd lose nothing of the flavour of the anecdotes.


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## User169 (7 Dec 2014)

resal said:


> I see in today's Sunday Times it has been promoted as their sports book of the year. Quite some sobriquet for it.
> Ahead of books about Bobby Moore, Rod Laver, Roy Keane & Harry Redknapp.
> 
> However amongst the best sellers, Walsh is there with the Climb about Chris Froome, battling it out with Kevin Pietersen and Roy Keane. I don't often get time for books. A good friend at work has just read the KP book and he says it is like watching a car chase in a film. I won't be adding that to my wish list.
> ...



The KP book was ghosted by Walsh.


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## wam68 (15 Dec 2014)

Milemuncher said:


> Agreed. I didn't expect to enjoy it, but it carried me along. A dark story well told.
> 
> Agreed. I enjoyed the book.


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## smutchin (14 Jan 2015)

Currently reading The Race Against The Stasi by Herbie Sykes, as mentioned earlier. Highly recommended. It's the story of East German rider Dieter Wiedmann and the Peace Race, none of which I knew the slightest thing about before reading this.

The format is a series of short snippets of first-person narratives from key figures in the story (based on interviews or contemporary news reports), interspersed with documents from the Stasi archives. It works really well and makes for a compelling read.

Wouldn't be surprised if it were a contender for the next William Hill award. (Although it probably qualified for last year's shortlist, in which case it was undeservedly overlooked.)


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## Pro Tour Punditry (25 Feb 2015)

smutchin said:


> Currently reading The Race Against The Stasi by Herbie Sykes...The format is a series of short snippets of first-person narratives from key figures in the story (based on interviews or contemporary news reports), interspersed with documents from the Stasi archives. It works really well and makes for a compelling read.



I am finding the format very annoying - the personal recollections are good, but I am finding the Stasi documents and newspaper articles a bit tedious as they break the flow of the narrative. I might get used to it. As it is I have taken a break from it to read a book about match fixing in cricket.

As an aside but still on a related subject, I bought Bobke II second hand last week and it arrived a couple of days ago - I now have Bob Roll's autograph with a personal message on the inner cover, I just have to pretend my name is Tom Geehan.


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## smutchin (26 Feb 2015)

It's the sheer monotony of the Stasi documents that I found so fascinating, showing just how deeply intrusive their surveillance was of absolutely everyone, the effect heightened by the juxtaposition of the documents and the interviews. Ultimately, I found the systematic destruction of people's lives as a futile expression of political paranoia quite upsetting.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (12 Mar 2015)

smutchin said:


> It's the sheer monotony of the Stasi documents that I found so fascinating, showing just how deeply intrusive their surveillance was of absolutely everyone, the effect heightened by the juxtaposition of the documents and the interviews. Ultimately, I found the systematic destruction of people's lives as a futile expression of political paranoia quite upsetting.



I stuck with it, and was completely underwhelmed by it as both a cycling story and a human story; I can't see what the purpose of the book was - I think most people know the Stasi were a nasty lot, much nastier than the book portrays, and didn't take too kindly to people buggering off. I thought the response to him defecting could have been a whole lot worse for him and his family he left behind. Anyway, not recommended by me; quite possibly near the foot of my list of cycling books. Nowhere near Indurain's biography or Pantani's biography by Manuela Ronchi in terms of being utter bilge, perhaps on a par with Reckless: The Life and Times of Luis Ocana as being generally dull.

The dustcover proclaims it as an "incredible story", it wasn't. If it was, it wasn't told very well.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (14 May 2015)

Spotted that this was published today so decided to order a copy


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## Pro Tour Punditry (15 May 2015)

....and it arrived today - that was very quick!


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## robertob (17 May 2015)

Just finished reading the Tyler Hamilton book "The Secret Race". Probably most on here have read it already I imagine? Really liked it. Hamilton is honest, humble and only blames himself for his doping use. Cracking read I have to say. If I compare it with David Millar's book, which I also liked - I think the Hamilton one is the better one in a photo finish. Even more intense, even deeper insights into this dark age of cycling and not as much whiny as the Hamilton piece can be in parts. Thumbs up!


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## StuAff (17 May 2015)

Marmion said:


> ....and it arrived today - that was very quick!


Should be good.....


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## Richard A Thackeray (24 May 2015)

Just finished NIcole Cookes book

A cracking read, what a tough ride (no pun) she's had

To all intents & purposes, being ignored/belittled, by the management/coaches of the BCF

As she implies, her achievements would, if brought to light by the media, would cast the gravest of doubts on the achievements of the mens teams in comparison

Eg; 2008 Beijing Olympics
Nicole Cooke = Gold 

Men, even finishing their Road-Race = 0

(Emma Pooley 'Silver' Time-Trial)




Marmion said:


> Spotted that this was published today so decided to order a copy
> View attachment 88886



Will Fotheringham was on Simon Mayo, on Radio 2, the other night (Monday?/Tuesday?) talking about the book


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## Buddfox (25 May 2015)

Richard A Thackeray said:


> Just finished NIcole Cookes book
> 
> A cracking read, what a tough ride (no pun) she's had
> 
> ...



And having read it, if you haven't already, remind yourself of this:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbNtXfjTFiA


What a great finish!


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## oldroadman (25 May 2015)

Richard A Thackeray said:


> Just finished NIcole Cookes book
> 
> A cracking read, what a tough ride (no pun) she's had
> 
> ...


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## GilesM (12 Jun 2015)

Nearly finished Shadows on the Road by Michael Barry, very good read, he really gets across the whole race thing very well.


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## Toshiba Boy (16 Jun 2015)

threebikesmcginty said:


> I enjoyed Fignon's book - ok it's one guys personal angle on things so everyone might not agree on the content but it was very readable and enjoyable.



+1. Really interesting read from a time when I was first really into pro cycling but now seems like ancient history. Great era, great riders.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (13 Oct 2015)

I can recommend Etape by Richard Moore. As with many good things it's a simple idea executed very well - select stages of the Tour and then go and speak to those involved and then write a book about them. Moore tells other peoples stories very well.


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## Louch (24 Oct 2015)

Just finished David Millars new book 'the racer'

Nothing much of note in it, very much a love letter to himself as his talents faded amd he wound down his career. Disappointed.


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## Louch (24 Oct 2015)

Marmion said:


> I can recommend Etape by Richard Moore. As with many good things it's a simple idea executed very well - select stages of the Tour and then go and speak to those involved and then write a book about them. Moore tells other peoples stories very well.


Have now read a few of moores books, really enjoy his writing. Have you read the Robert miller and slaying the badger books?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (24 Oct 2015)

Louch said:


> Have now read a few of moores books, really enjoy his writing. Have you read the Robert miller and slaying the badger books?


Aye, read both of them (a few times)


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## smutchin (26 Oct 2015)

Louch said:


> Just finished David Millars new book 'the racer'
> 
> Nothing much of note in it, very much a love letter to himself as his talents faded amd he wound down his career. Disappointed.



I'm reading it now. God, it's tedious. I may not bother finishing it. 

I'm beginning to realise how much help he must have had to write Racing Through The Dark.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (26 Oct 2015)

Louch said:


> Just finished David Millars new book 'the racer'
> 
> Nothing much of note in it, very much a love letter to himself as his talents faded amd he wound down his career. Disappointed.





smutchin said:


> I'm reading it now. God, it's tedious. I may not bother finishing it.
> 
> I'm beginning to realise how much help he must have had to write Racing Through The Dark.



I don't think I'll bother with it then.


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## smutchin (26 Oct 2015)

Marmion said:


> I don't think I'll bother with it then.



Are you sure? There's a whole chapter on why Ryder Hesjedal has the nickname Legend. 

What a guy!


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## Louch (27 Oct 2015)

Yeah Ryder, total ledge' mate


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## smutchin (1 Jun 2016)

Got a copy of Chris Boardman's new autobiography in the post yesterday and started reading it in bed last night. Even though I was totally knackered, I got nearly a third of the way through before I nodded off - not really a sign of how gripping it is, rather that it is a very easy read. Gary Imlach is credited as 'editor' and I don't know how much rewriting he had to do but he obviously has a light touch as it's very much in Boardman's own voice - so if you like his presenting style on the telly, you'll get on fine with it.

No hugely startling revelations (so far) and not much in the way of drama, but some nice stuff about his rivalry with Graeme Obree.

Here's a small excerpt to give you a flavour of the style...


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## HarryTheDog (1 Jun 2016)

I finished the Death of Marco Pantini by Matt Rendell a little while ago.
I only found the opening chapters interesting where it was about his early life and the role of the communist party in cycling, in Italy.
The rest of it was just re-enforcing that he took drugs and was a really sick character. I had to force myself to finish it.


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## Crackle (1 Jun 2016)

smutchin said:


> Got a copy of Chris Boardman's new autobiography in the post yesterday and started reading it in bed last night. Even though I was totally knackered, I got nearly a third of the way through before I nodded off - not really a sign of how gripping it is, rather that it is a very easy read. Gary Imlach is credited as 'editor' and I don't know how much rewriting he had to do but he obviously has a light touch as it's very much in Boardman's own voice - so if you like his presenting style on the telly, you'll get on fine with it.
> 
> No hugely startling revelations (so far) and not much in the way of drama, but some nice stuff about his rivalry with Graeme Obree.
> 
> ...


I might get that. He lives around here still and I see him relatively often. Last time I was sat next to him in the hairdressers which is very odd when you feel you know someone but actually, you don't. You have to resist the temptation to say hello or start a familiar sounding conversation.


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## smutchin (1 Jun 2016)

Crackle said:


> I might get that. He lives around here still and I see him relatively often. Last time I was sat next to him in the hairdressers which is very odd when you feel you know someone but actually, you don't. You have to resist the temptation to say hello or start a familiar sounding conversation.



He's a top chap. I met him recently and he seemed extremely laid back. A couple of kids came up and asked for an autograph but they clearly didn't know who he was and had been put up to it by their dad, who then came up to take a selfie. He took it all in good humour.


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## brommers (1 Jun 2016)

I'm looking for a behind the scene book about stage racing, i.e. what the cyclists eat, where they all stay, travel from day to day, what they do on a rest day, the other staff, team talks and tactics, off season, etc. etc. Any ideas?


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## Hont (2 Jun 2016)

Interestingly David Millar's book won cycling sports book of the year last night. I might see if the library has a copy and decide for myself.


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## Louch (2 Jun 2016)

It's awful,I'd avoid it


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## Hont (3 Jun 2016)

Yes, you said. But it would be difficult to decide for myself without reading it.


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## SWSteve (3 Jun 2016)

brommers said:


> I'm looking for a behind the scene book about stage racing, i.e. what the cyclists eat, where they all stay, travel from day to day, what they do on a rest day, the other staff, team talks and tactics, off season, etc. etc. Any ideas?




Search for The Secret Pro from cyclingtips. That might get you started


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## brommers (3 Jun 2016)

ItsSteveLovell said:


> Search for The Secret Pro from cyclingtips. That might get you started


Great. Thanks Steve


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## SWSteve (3 Jun 2016)

brommers said:


> Great. Thanks Steve



That's alright, also check out INRNG.com as it's probably the best site purely about racing.


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## Hont (12 Jul 2016)

Well I read "The Racer" by David Millar and I'm not quite sure why everyone else hated it. As an inside account of the last season of a pro bike racer it meets the brief just fine. It's not as good as "Racing Through the Dark", but it's a smaller canvas and, if it is a bit self-serving in places, it won't be the last autobiography to do that.

Maybe my expectations were lowered by the comments on here but I genuinely enjoyed reading it.


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## Dogtrousers (13 Jul 2016)

I don't know if this has been mentioned but on my hols I borrowed and read a copy of Faster: The Obsession, Science and Luck Behind the World's Fastest Cyclists by Michael Hutchinson. I really enjoyed it. It seems a bit of an arcane subject - talking about metabolism, muscle fibre, training methods and so forth. But he makes the subject very interesting, and it's genuinely funny at times. More sporty types might find the information in it useful too.

I might even buy my own copy.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (13 Jul 2016)

Dogtrousers said:


> More sporty types might find the information in it useful too.



Paging @rich p


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## rich p (13 Jul 2016)

Marmion said:


> Paging @rich p


 You've stopped metabolising too?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (13 Jul 2016)

rich p said:


> You've stopped metabolising too?


you wot? not sure I ever did that.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (17 Dec 2016)

Just in case anyone was daft enough to be thinking of getting the Trott/Kenny book
http://www.podiumcafe.com/2016/12/17/13994226/the-inside-track-by-laura-trott-and-jason-kenny


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## smutchin (17 Dec 2016)

I don't much like sporting autobiographies at the best of times but that sounds truly nauseating.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (17 Dec 2016)

I am just about running out of new cycling books, I am almost finished a biography about Bahmontes (not that great) and have a biography about Lapize (entitled "Lapize: now there was an Ace" which I think is a great title) sitting to be read. And then that's me out of new cycling books, and I can't think of any old books to hand that I want to re-read. But it's present time of year, so I hope that at least one book finds its way to my house. Trott/Kenny is not on my list.


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## HF2300 (19 Dec 2016)

Marmion said:


> Just in case anyone was daft enough to be thinking of getting the Trott/Kenny book
> http://www.podiumcafe.com/2016/12/17/13994226/the-inside-track-by-laura-trott-and-jason-kenny



That's the distinction between a real (auto)biography and a piece of ghostwritten puff churned out for the Christmas market. I instinctively mistrust any factual book, and particularly anything vaguely biographical, released in November or December.


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## threebikesmcginty (22 Dec 2016)

Ancient now but I picked up a copy of This Island Race, Rouleur's Year for £6 in that horrible The Works shop yesterday.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Islan...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=949F7EPFC90EFFH6Q9A7


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## Crackle (11 Feb 2017)

Nicole Cooke's The Breakaway and Boardmans's autobiography, neither were ghost written.

Cooke's book is excellent and if you want an insight into women's racing compared to men's, it's essential and compulsive reading. If I had a criticism it's its absoluteness. Cooke leaves no room for other views and whilst I'm sure that she's not lying or exaggerating, I was left feeling I'd like to read another account of the same events from a different perspective. There's also some hypocrisy in her intimation of other riders by association with only a vague acknowledgement that the same could be said of her. Nevertheless, highly recommended, especially in light of the recent Sutton and BC inquiries.

Boardman,s book was excellent, funny and insightful, especially about BC. If you want an entirely different summation of what BC have achieved than Cooke's, read it. Striking is the comparison of wages when Boardman turned professional in 92/93 with GAN, earning 90k plus bonuses. A decade later, Cooke turned professional, earning 8K and then after a successful year 20k and she had to go to court to get paid her salary. 

Boardman's tales include describing getting home after the 92 Olympic win and going to the chippy, the Dolphin, were they gave him his chips free. Only the once mind, he says. High standards in the Dolphin, one Gold medal, one portion of free chips.

Particularly enlightening was the formation of the Secret Squirrel club and what they did. Not everything is sweetness and light though. There are some heavier sides to Boardman's character, the kind that are common amongst the highly driven, people who can achieve what he has done. The latter part of the book deals with his move to commentating and the beginning of his cycle advocacy and again, it's a fascinating read. Highly recommended.

Now I just have to get through the Joey Barton biography I bought for 99p on Kindle. It started well but it's now leaving me with the impression that Barton is still a thug but a thug with affectations. Even a ghost writer can't smooth that out.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (11 Feb 2017)

Crackle said:


> Now I just have to get through the Joey Barton biography I bought for 99p on Kindle. It started well but it's now leaving me with the impression that Barton is still a thug but a thug with affectations. Even a ghost writer can't smooth that out.



I hope you enjoy his sentence on his time at Rangers. "Turned up, f*cked up, took the money, lost it all on betting, f*cked off again"


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## Crackle (11 Feb 2017)

Marmion said:


> I hope you enjoy his sentence on his time at Rangers. "Turned up, f*cked up, took the money, lost it all on betting, f*cked off again"


I'm finding it a hard read. I'm struggling with his eulogising about the estate he lived on, which I lived next to for a bit. Anything that was stolen was in that estate being fenced in the pub down the road. There's a feint waft of bullshit to some of it too.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (11 Feb 2017)

Crackle said:


> I'm finding it a hard read. I'm struggling with his eulogising about the estate he lived on, which I lived next to for a bit. Anything that was stolen was in that estate being fenced in the pub down the road. There's a feint waft of bullshit to some of it too.


Just because it's very funny:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwkUMFk4yTo


----------



## Crackle (11 Feb 2017)

Marmion said:


> Just because it's very funny:
> 
> View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwkUMFk4yTo



Jeez.....

Oh you'll love the Boardman book. He describes rooming with big Jensy.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (11 Feb 2017)

Crackle said:


> Jeez.....
> 
> big Jensy.


You mean "that pr*ck who loves to call himself Jensy"


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## Richard A Thackeray (16 Feb 2017)

Quite enjoyed the Geraint Thomas book, when I read it

In a way, I'm surprised that the Beryl Burton book_ 'Personal Best'_ isn't mentioned, but then again, it has been out of print for a while (not sure what date my copy has?)


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (16 Feb 2017)

Just finished this






Which was very enjoyable in a "t'was so much better in the good old days" way. And some great pics as one would expect from Graham Watson.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (16 Feb 2017)

Also read this one before the above book, and now re-reading it





Another "good ol' days" effort.


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## Crackle (22 Feb 2017)

In case anyone is interested. The Trott and Kenny book is on Kindle deals for 1.39 today, which is still overpriced but hey.


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## HF2300 (22 Feb 2017)

Crackle said:


> In case anyone is interested. The Trott and Kenny book is on Kindle deals for 1.39 today, which is still overpriced but hey.



Thanks for the tip - I'll be sure to avoid it.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (22 Feb 2017)

Crackle said:


> In case anyone is interested. The Trott and Kenny book is on Kindle deals for 1.39 today, which is still overpriced but hey.


Did I read somewhere that he's pregnant? Or maybe she is.


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## rich p (23 Feb 2017)

Marmion said:


> Did I read somewhere that he's pregnant? Or maybe she is.


Did Shaun Sutton tell her to fark off and have a baby?


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## GilesM (23 Feb 2017)

Hont said:


> Well I read "The Racer" by David Millar and I'm not quite sure why everyone else hated it. As an inside account of the last season of a pro bike racer it meets the brief just fine. It's not as good as "Racing Through the Dark", but it's a smaller canvas and, if it is a bit self-serving in places, it won't be the last autobiography to do that.
> 
> Maybe my expectations were lowered by the comments on here but I genuinely enjoyed reading it.



I thought it was a really good book, if your are interested in what happens in a road race, and how it all works then it's good to read about it from somebody who was there for a significant period of time, and seems to understand it better than most of his peers.


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## GilesM (23 Feb 2017)

Marmion said:


> Also read this one before the above book, and now re-reading it
> View attachment 338164
> 
> 
> Another "good ol' days" effort.



The front cover picture sells it to me straight away, something about cobbles, mud, and no helmet that makes it seem even better.I'll have to get myself a copy.


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## suzeworld (9 May 2017)

GilesM said:


> I thought it was a really good book, if your are interested in what happens in a road race, and how it all works then it's good to read about it




I totally agree - (we're talking about the Millar book here) I thought is was great and his intelligence is like a beacon which lights up his writing style for me ... it things like writing style matter to you ... they do to me.


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## themosquitoking (9 May 2017)

suzeworld said:


> I totally agree - (we're talking about the Millar book here) I thought is was great and his intelligence is like a beacon which lights up his writing style for me ... it things like writing style matter to you ... they do to me.


Finished it last week, amazingly well written. SWIMBO is now enjoying it.


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## Richard A Thackeray (2 Jul 2017)

Crackle said:


> Nicole Cooke's The Breakaway and Boardmans's autobiography, neither were ghost written.
> 
> Cooke's book is excellent and if you want an insight into women's racing compared to men's, it's essential and compulsive reading. If I had a criticism it's its absoluteness. Cooke leaves no room for other views and whilst I'm sure that she's not lying or exaggerating, I was left feeling I'd like to read another account of the same events from a different perspective. There's also some hypocrisy in her intimation of other riders by association with only a vague acknowledgement that the same could be said of her. Nevertheless, highly recommended, especially in light of the recent Sutton and BC inquiries.
> 
> ...



Read the Nicole Cooke book a while ago, when a collegue lent me it

I've got the Boardman autobiography on the go, in meal-breaks, at work, at the moment

Just got past the section, when Jen Voigt & CB, are sat in a Parisian STD clinic...................................


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## Pro Tour Punditry (3 Jul 2017)

Marmion said:


> I am just about running out of new cycling books, I am almost finished a biography about Bahmontes (not that great) and have a biography about Lapize (entitled "Lapize: now there was an Ace" which I think is a great title) sitting to be read. And then that's me out of new cycling books, and I can't think of any old books to hand that I want to re-read. But it's present time of year, so I hope that at least one book finds its way to my house. Trott/Kenny is not on my list.


The Lapize book was excellent.

I have just finished reading Herbie Sykes "The Eagle of the Canavese" about Franco Balmamion, or more exactly Balmamion, mostly the 1962 Giro and an assortment of other riders from that race - I really enjoyed it; "catching up" with the riders over 40 years later was good. The book is 10 years old now (I think) so I imagine a few of those interviewed are now no longer with us as they were "getting on"...


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## brommers (11 Jul 2017)

How can you read a book amidst all the pandemonium of the current threads?


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## Supersuperleeds (12 Jul 2017)

Richard A Thackeray said:


> Read the Nicole Cooke book a while ago, when a collegue lent me it
> 
> I've got the Boardman autobiography on the go, in meal-breaks, at work, at the moment
> 
> Just got past the section, when Jen Voigt & CB, are sat in a Parisian STD clinic...................................



Is the Boardman book any good? I've got it but not got round to reading it yet.


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## Richard A Thackeray (12 Jul 2017)

Supersuperleeds said:


> Is the Boardman book any good? I've got it but not got round to reading it yet.


Yes, quite good

It delves into the reasoning behind the science, the early attempts, Boardmans own initial scepticism, the hour record, etc....

For humour though, Geraint Thomas is top of the tree, I think, unless, you go you for;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cycling-Ca...d=1499848540&sr=8-1&keywords=cycling+cartoons


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## Pro Tour Punditry (12 Jul 2017)

Just spotted that this was released last week:






I'll let you know how it is shortly


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## ColinJ (16 Jul 2017)

Crackle said:


> Nicole Cooke's The Breakaway and Boardmans's autobiography, neither were ghost written.
> 
> Cooke's book is excellent and if you want an insight into women's racing compared to men's, it's essential and compulsive reading. If I had a criticism it's its absoluteness. Cooke leaves no room for other views and whilst I'm sure that she's not lying or exaggerating, I was left feeling I'd like to read another account of the same events from a different perspective. There's also some hypocrisy in her intimation of other riders by association with only a vague acknowledgement that the same could be said of her. Nevertheless, highly recommended, especially in light of the recent Sutton and BC inquiries.
> 
> ...


I spotted Boardman's autobiography (_Triumphs and Turbulence_) in Todmorden library on Friday afternoon and had finished it by this morning (Sunday). The fact that I read it so quickly is an indication of how much I enjoyed it. I like his sense of humour and the way he writes. There is some interesting material in the book - some of which I already knew but it was good to see it explained in more detail. There were also lots of things that I did not know. A good book for anyone interested in the recent history of British pro cycling .

I have a copy of Daniel Friebe's book '_EDDY MERCKX THE CANNIBAL'_ to read next.

I will have to read Nicole Cooke's autobiography to see what she has to say.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (27 Jul 2017)

Marmion said:


> Just spotted that this was released last week:
> View attachment 361863
> 
> 
> I'll let you know how it is shortly


Started reading this last night, the Fuentes set-up (and others who offered similar blood-storage/doping facilities) comes across as a shambles; he speaks highly of some dodgy characters, offers no judgement on others and thinks poorly of a few. He shagged a lot.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (30 Jul 2017)

Marmion said:


> Just spotted that this was released last week:
> View attachment 361863
> 
> 
> I'll let you know how it is shortly





Marmion said:


> Started reading this last night, the Fuentes set-up (and others who offered similar blood-storage/doping facilities) comes across as a shambles; he speaks highly of some dodgy characters, offers no judgement on others and thinks poorly of a few. He shagged a lot.



And he continued to shag, and drink a lot of alcohol, and use just about every means of doping he could. And then got busted so shagged a bit more and drank a lot more.

The end.

I'll go and have a closer read of it, I may have missed some of the sub-plot...


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## SpokeyDokey (31 Jul 2017)

Mark Cavendish - At Speed.

An utterly soulless read - not a hint of real emotion or of the pain and suffering that must've gone into the winning of the Green Jersey.

As a window into the man's character and into the sport itself this one is very opaque.


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## HF2300 (31 Jul 2017)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Mark Cavendish - At Speed.
> 
> An utterly soulless read - not a hint of real emotion or of the pain and suffering that must've gone into the winning of the Green Jersey.
> 
> As a window into the man's character and into the sport itself this one is very opaque.



Ghost written by Daniel Friebe.


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## SpokeyDokey (31 Jul 2017)

HF2300 said:


> Ghost written by Daniel Friebe.



@HF2300 

Thanks for that - I wasn't aware of this (reading on a Kindle). It does read very one-dimensional which is a shame as he is a heck of a rider and I wanted to know more about what made him tick.

Just started on Tour de Force which is much better - more blood, sweat and gears.


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## SpokeyDokey (19 Aug 2017)

Just finished 'Sky's the Limit: Wiggins & Cavendish: the Quest to Conquer the Tour de France' by Richard Moore.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. For someone who knows little about professional cycle racing this was a fascinating read about Sky's emergence into the tradition steeped and apparently staid world of road racing.

Translating British Cycling's success on the track to the road scene was a huge challenge for Brailsford & Co. Their 'left field' approach was not always welcome and not always successful but they shook up the establishment making friends and enemies along the way.

Interesting insights into the personalities of Wiggins & Cavendish - and Froome in the later stages of the book.

Well written in 'documentary' style and worth a read.


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## SpokeyDokey (16 Sep 2017)

Charly Weglius - Domestique.

A really first rate book. 

Ignoring some of the liberal use of profanities this is a well written tale of a dream, the dream realised and then the fading of the dream.

The harsh realities of the multi-faceted Domestique role are laid bare and as the book progresses Charly morphs from starry eyed teenager with big dreams into a husk of the man he once was by the time his career ends.

Good insight into doping tests and the problems they caused (maybe they still do?) for those athletes that have naturally high haematocrit levels.

***

David Millar up next - looks like there's a fair bit of swearing in this book too - must be a pro' cyclists thing!


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## Stockie (22 Oct 2017)

Just finished Ventoux by Jeremy Whittle. Started a little slow but really enjoyed by the end. Interesting section on team sky and Chris Frome win on Ventoux as well as well as a Tom Simpson theme throughout.


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## Crackle (22 Oct 2017)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Charly Weglius - Domestique.
> 
> A really first rate book.
> 
> ...



I've read that too, good book and of course it contains an account of the infamous worlds race where he pulled the race for the Italians whilst on the British team.


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## Buddfox (27 Oct 2018)

Just finished 'The End of the Road' by Alisdair Fotheringham (about the 1998 Tour, Festina etc.) and can recommend for anyone that wants a reminder of why some of us remain cynical about doping in cycling. The retelling of the events is well written and engaging, but the pay off is the long final chapter which examines both the immediate and ongoing impact of the scandal(s), what it meant for Armstrong and how it can still be seen to be impacting cycling today.

Recommended for anyone that doesn't understand why I think Pantani is a doping nobber :-)


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