Books

Book Review: The Economics of Professional Road Cycling

Economics of Professional Road Cycling

The Economics of Professional Road Cycling – Sports Economics, Management and Policy 11,
 edited by Daam Van Reeth and Daniel Joseph Larson

Money makes the wheels go round and this collection of academic papers is a study of the business and economics of pro cycling covering topics from revenue sharing to exploring how many, or rather how few, actually watch the sport on TV as well as the Game Theory of breakaways versus the peloton. You won’t read this for distraction and escapism yet the analytical detachment means this brings a fresh perspective on the sport that makes it a compelling if serious read and a useful reference if you want to explore this topic. Just know from the start that this an academic journal and priced high.

Read more

Book Review: The Racer

David Millar The Racer

The Racer, Life on The Road As a Pro Cyclist by David Millar

British cycling’s rise seems to have included a publishing phenomenon in its slipstream with many riders publishing their biographies. This new audience seems hungry for accounts from inside the peloton and The Racer sets out to explain plenty as David Millar recounts his final season as a pro.

Read more

Book Review: The Yellow Jersey Club

The Yellow Jersey Club book cover

The Yellow Jersey Club by Edward Pickering

The premise is simple, a look at the last 20 Tour de France winners and Lance Armstrong. Each member of the “yellow jersey club” gets a chapter dedicated to their exploits. At times the 21 winners share little more than victory in the same race such is the range of personalities and career paths.

Better still this is not 21 versions of how the Tour was won with mechanical reproductions of Rider X attacking on Stage Y to take a time advantage of N minutes. Instead this is often a look at the different types of winner, their characters, personalities, tactics and career paths rather than any shared trait that defines a Tour winner.

Read more

Book Review: Alpe d’Huez, Cycling’s Greatest Climb

Alpe d’Huez – Cycling’s Greatest Climb by Peter Cossins

Is Alpe d’Huez cycling’s most famous climb? There are many better roads to ride but the Alpe draws in the crowds like no other.

What makes Alpe d’Huez so popular? You might say the numbered hairpin bends, you could enjoy the views or maybe it’s all those famous stages of the Tour de France. But surely it’s the crowd that defines this climb, no other ascension sees such a communion between the riders and the fans? This book takes a closer look at the famous climb and how it gained it’s status and tells the story of those who suffered and shined on the way up.

Read more

Book Review: Bernard Hinault and the Fall and Rise of French Cycling

Hinault Fotheringham cover

Bernard Hinault and the Fall and Rise of French Cycling by William Fotheringham

Some say Bernard Hinault was better than Eddy Merckx. If the Belgian has a better palmarès they reckon Hinault would win if they started a fantasy race at the height of their powers. It’s amusing speculation and we’ll never know. What is more certain is that Hinault was the last rider to try and win everything, he did the Giro-Tour double but also the Worlds, Paris-Roubaix and so much more. One big factor behind this is Hinault’s forceful character.

Read more

Book Review: Pantani, Debunking The Murder Myth

“Pantani, Debunking The Murder Myth” by Andrea Rossini, translated by Matt Rendell

The Giro finishes in Madonna di Campiglio today. While we’re all interested in the climb to the finish this is the tale Marco Pantani’s fall from grace which began here, taking him from a national icon to an isolated crack addict found dead in a hotel.

Read more

Book Review: Nouveau Cycle

Nouveau Cycle Pierre Carrey Review

Nouveau Cycle by Pierre Carrey
How was last summer’s Tour de France for you? Chances are the response varies by nationality. It was supreme for many Italians and fantastique for the French with successes, drama and the crowning triumph of two compatriots on the Champs Elysées podium.

This book uses the Tour de France’s summer limelight as means to profile Jean-Christophe Péraud, Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot. It’s not the story of their race but a fuller biography where at times the Tour is almost forgotten. It’s in French but worth sharing with readers of this blog for the insights.

Read more

Book Review: 101 Damnations

101 Damnations Ned Boulting book cover

101 Damnations – Dispatches from the 101st Tour de France by Ned Boulting

The Tour de France is more than a bike race. It’s a theatre with many plays, plots and stories. Spectators enjoy the countryside, business deals are done and a lot of people work hard to make the show happen. British broadcaster Ned Boulting is among the workers as he travels around France to put the race on television. In the wake of Leeds grand départ Boulting has written up his experiences of this year’s Tour along with other anecdotes and more.

Read more

Friday Shorts

Astana have been made to wait a week in order to get their licence for 2015. You suspect Alexander Vinokourov wouldn’t sweat if you put him in a banya but even the granite-faced Astana team boss must be feeling embarrassed.

Read more

+ More