Here is a list of past cycling book reviews. As well as the list below I’ve added a few books that I’ve read but not reviewed in case you’re looking for a read sometime. A book choice is always personal so make what you will of any opinions and reviews.
Jan Ullrich, The Best There Never Was by Daniel Friebe
Chased by Pandas by Dan Martin
Le Tour de France Côté Verso by Jean-Louis Pagès
Le Fric by Alex Duff
Al Giro d’Italia by Dino Buzzati
God Is Dead by Andy McGrath
The Art of Cycling by James Hibbard
The War on Wheels, Keirin Racing in Japan by Justin McCurry
A Cyclist’s Guide to the Pyrenees by Peter Cossins
Colombia Es Pasion by Matt Rendell
Socrates à Velo by Guillaume Martin
Where There’s a Will by Emily Chappell
One Way Ticket by Jonathan Vaughters
The Roadbook, edited by Ned Boulting
My World by Peter Sagan
The Ronde by Edward Pickering
Descent by Thomas Dekker
Mountains by Michael Blann
Ultimate Etapes by Peter Cossins
Pinpoint by Greg Milner
Triumphs and Turbulence by Chris Boardman
The Art of The Jersey by Andy Storey
Ventoux by Bert Wagendorp
Parlons Vélo with Marc Madiot
The Cycling Anthology, Volume 6
The Economics of Professional Cycling
The Yellow Jersey Club by Edward Pickering
Alpe d’Huez – Cycling’s Greatest Climb by Peter Cossins
Bernard Hinault and the Fall and Rise of French Cycling
Pantani, Debunking The Murder Myth by Andrea Rossini and Matt Rendell
Nouveau Cycle by Pierre Carrey
101 Damnations by Ned Boulting
The Bike Deconstructed by Richard Hallet
The Race Against The Stasi by Herbie Sykes
Climbs and Punishment by Felix Lowe
Merckx 69
The Climb by Chris Froome
Shadows on the Road by Michael Barry
Lanterne Rouge by Max Leonard
Faster by Michael Hutchinson
The Monuments by Peter Cossins
Ma Liberté de Rouler by David Moncoutié
At Speed by Mark Cavendish
The Cycling Anthology, Volume 3 by various writers
Project Rainbow by Rod Ellingworth
Land of Second Chances by Tim Lewis
Mountain Higher by Daniel Friebe
Mountain Kings by Giles Belbin
Domestique by Charly Wegelius
Va Va Froome by David Sharp
The Cycling Anthology, Volume 2 by various writers
Mapping the Tour by Ellis Bacon
Racing Hard by William Fotheringham
Maglia Rosa, triumph and tragedy at the Giro d’Italia by Herbie Sykes
The Death of Marco Pantani by Matt Rendell
Review: Coppi – Inside the Legend of the Campionissimo
The Cycling Professor by Marco Pinotti
The Cycling Anthology, Volume 1 by various writers
Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage
Vélo by Paul Fournel
The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle
Consumed by Jonathan Budds
Tour de France by Christopher Thomson
Riis Stages of Light and Dark by Bjarne Riis
Pedalare! Pedalare! A History of Italian Cycling by John Foot
Cyclo Cross 2011/2012 Photo Book by Bálint Hamvas
The Jersey Project by Bill Humphreys and Jerry Dunn
Eddy Merckx, The Cannibal by Daniel Friebe
Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike by William Fotheringham
The Sweat of Gods by Benjo Maso
The Competition Bicycle by Jan Heine
Mountain High by Daniel Friebe
Racing Through the Dark by David Millar
The Rider by Tim Krabbé
We Were Young And Carefree by Laurent Fignon
As well as the reviews above, here are a few more books that I’ve read and enjoyed but never got around to writing a review. Perhaps I will soon.
In Search of Robert Millar
Arguably Britain’s best cyclist until Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins started to land the big wins, Robert Millar has since retired from public life, to put it one way. Unable to interview him, writer Richard Moore sets off to write a biography and tells the tale of Millar’s life as a cyclist via anecdotes from others. The determination to succeed from the earliest days stands out.
A Dog In A Hat
Racing in Belgium as experienced by an outsider. Like the frog dropped in hot water rather than sitting in water than gradually heats up, Joey Parkin gets scolded by life in Belgium as a pro. We might revel at the toughness of the sport but Parkin covers the underside with what it feels like to lose, to watch others cheat and more. If you think pro cycling is glamorous, read this.
Worth learning French for – but there’s an English edition too
Le Tour de France Intime
Yes it is in French but this is a pictorial history of the Tour and you don’t need really need to understand French as the photos are so good by themselves. That said Philippe Brunel is one of cycling’s best writers with a deep understanding of the sport and his descriptions of the riders and the race are great. He’s choosen pictures from the race that show riders in a different light. They might be relaxing on a rest day, getting their haircut or stopped by the road to grab a drink. In fact often the shots show riders without a bike in sight. It’s here that you get a glimpse of the men involved and can look into their eyes. A superb book.
Tours de France
In French only, this is a collection of essays and articles in L’Equipe by Antoine Blondin. A playwright and author, he covered sports for fun and his observations are witty and incisive, especially as he is able to detach himself from the sport and make leaps towards other ideas, to observe the race with an artist’s eye. Here he is on the subject of doping, the words written at the time of the Apollo landings on the moon:
A whole planet where everything should be held up in contagious joy – audacity, courage, health – reveals a shady aspect which nobody talks about. It’s the dark side of the moon with its valleys of trickery, its craters of suspicion, its seas of repression.
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