Sir Bradley Wiggins

[Pedrosanchezo]

Does he list other riders?

Yeh he mentions 3 or 4 that he is indebted to. Not Froome. He does thank the whole team at the very end of the book but that is just par for the course.

 

[Noodley]

Does he list other riders?

You dinnae get a mention monty, sorry

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

You dinnae get a mention monty, sorry

Not unless you are on twitter with a false name? That way you kind of get mentioned, generically speaking, as Wiggins has lots to say about people/trolls who tweet (usually about doping) hidden behind their computer.

I am sure he doesn't mention cycle chat though. He does specifically say Twitter.

 

[thom]

Struggled to put it down.
Two chapters to go. I tend to read in bed so will finish tonight.
I am sure you will enjoy.

So I'd say the book will make him a decent amount of cash and is understandably written for that but as a book goes, it could be 100 pages of interesting stuff as opposed to nearly 300. It's often aimed at people who don't know much about cycling and need to be introduced to Spring Classics, power meters and the Giro before he can talk about them.
The copy I have was passed to me having been read as a christmas present. I couldn't keep a straight face reading lines about the Vuelta team time trial that can be paraphrased as : " We finished 3rd last because we didn't go fast enough".
I was told it was a probably a bad idea to spend time reading it, after all, we all know he ends up winning the yellow jersey and the Olympics. Its not like in the book something else happens.
Anyway, I shall look at a few parts but can't spend too much time on it now to for fear of risking the piss being taken again ;-)

 

[mattsr]

So I'd say the book will make him a decent amount of cash and is understandably written for that but as a book goes, it could be 100 pages of interesting stuff as opposed to nearly 300. It's often aimed at people who don't know much about cycling and need to be introduced to Spring Classics, power meters and the Giro before he can talk about them.
The copy I have was passed to me having been read as a christmas present. I couldn't keep a straight face reading lines about the Vuelta team time trial that can be paraphrased as : " We finished 3rd last because we didn't go fast enough".
I was told it was a probably a bad idea to spend time reading it, after all, we all know he ends up winning the yellow jersey and the Olympics. Its not like in the book something else happens.
Anyway, I shall look at a few parts but can't spend too much time on it now to for fear of risking the **** being taken again ;-)

Yes, it probably is aimed at people who don't know much about cycling- because since Wiggo won the Tour and then went on to an Olympic Gold a few weeks later, many thousands of people are taking an interest in cycling who never did so before. It is absolutely right that he aims for that readership, rather than producing a book that is simply going to appeal to the long-term fan. At one stage, all of us were new to cycling and didn't know all the ins and outs....even you, Thom.

As for your point about the the fact that "we know what happens", well it's an autobiography, isn't it? Every autobiography I've ever read tends to tell the reader the actual story of the writer's life, if it didn't it would be called a novel.......

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

So I'd say the book will make him a decent amount of cash and is understandably written for that but as a book goes, it could be 100 pages of interesting stuff as opposed to nearly 300. It's often aimed at people who don't know much about cycling and need to be introduced to Spring Classics, power meters and the Giro before he can talk about them.
The copy I have was passed to me having been read as a christmas present. I couldn't keep a straight face reading lines about the Vuelta team time trial that can be paraphrased as : " We finished 3rd last because we didn't go fast enough".
I was told it was a probably a bad idea to spend time reading it, after all, we all know he ends up winning the yellow jersey and the Olympics. Its not like in the book something else happens.
Anyway, I shall look at a few parts but can't spend too much time on it now to for fear of risking the **** being taken again ;-)

We all have opinions Thom and yours is as valuable as mines i am sure. I enjoyed it. It is basic, yet IMO quite revealing as to his lifestyle and mindset. If it was aimed only at cyclists, the book would of course sell much less. This is his year and he might only ever have one like it.

Also this is written by a cyclist remember. In that respect it's similar to a footballers autobiography. It's not going to be a work of literary genius. It is going to be full of sport cliches and memories from the author.

Not all athletes posses knowledge of the science behind their equipment and performances. As wiggins confesses himself, he is not a sports science geek, he lets those guys do that job for him so he can concentrate on himself. He does a workout and simply uploads the data to training peaks. From there the coaches analyse and alter his diet/workout accordingly.

In short, if the book seems dumbed down then maybe his understanding of such things is slightly limited and he is writing the book with a layman audience in mind.

 

[thom]

As for your point about the the fact that "we know what happens", well it's an autobiography, isn't it? Every autobiography I've ever read tends to tell the reader the actual story of the writer's life, if it didn't it would be called a novel.......

In short, if the book seems dumbed down then maybe his understanding of such things is slightly limited and he is writing the book with a layman audience in mind.

I'll recant somewhat and say I didn't mean to be too disparaging about it. It is what it is, which is a set piece sports biography for christmas. A very readable take on the past year with lots of low hanging fruit. I probably would read it all but I was trying to recount the amusing scorn of a friend who pinched my Margaret Atwood book which I was finding rather heavy going as she saw my alternative.

 

[rich p]

I'll give you the value of my highly regarded () opinion when I've read it. My wife bought it for me for Xmas so I have no choice although I wouldn't have bothered otherwise unless Noodley sent me another free copy.

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

I'm now on "The secret race" by Tyler Hamilton & Daniel Coyle.

I am currently ill at the moment so can't actually ride my bike. Have to read about bike riding instead - more specifically doping and then bike riding. Hamilton's account is a very accurate one indeed. Must have a bloody good memory.

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Finished the Secret race. I have to say that it was a fantastic read. The whole thing revolves around Armstrong but told through the life of Tyler Hamilton.
Coyle (co author) was previously not so keen to tell Hamilton's story, claiming his life was too boring. His life outside of cycling may not glow red hot but, during his racing career, he certainly was part of a very interesting era in cycling. A pretty ugly one but interesting none the less.
It is obviously slightly bias as it is his point of view. Daniel Coyle though corroborates 99% of what Hamilton claims with his own findings and other witness accounts.

Another book i thoroughly recommend. Almost a must read actually.

 

[just jim]

Finished the Secret race. I have to say that it was a fantastic read. The whole thing revolves around Armstrong but told through the life of Tyler Hamilton.
Coyle (co author) was previously not so keen to tell Hamilton's story, claiming his life was too boring. His life outside of cycling may not glow red hot but, during his racing career, he certainly was part of a very interesting era in cycling. A pretty ugly one but interesting none the less.
It is obviously slightly bias as it is his point of view. Daniel Coyle though corroborates 99% of what Hamilton claims with his own findings and other witness accounts.

Another book i thoroughly recommend. Almost a must read actually.

Yes it is. "Not Normal" and "Glow-time" have now entered my personal-use-only lexicon

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Yes it is. "Not Normal" and "Glow-time" have now entered my personal-use-only lexicon

Weird how he used "not normal" so much when clearly everyone was on it. Especially Lance himself who would (allegedly) be the least "normal".