Book Review - Wheelman by Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell

Wheelmen : Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France, and the greatest sports conspiracy ever by Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell

New York: Gotham Books, 2014                               ISBN  9781592408887

Those few people who read my blog will know that I have an interest in cycling as a sport, and have read a few of the books  that have covered the doping scandals that have beset the sport since the '80s.

If you've been following the Lance story at all, there is not much new in Wheelmen, but it is a solid re-telling of the main points in fairly standard journalese. As a rehash of a lot of work done by others it works well, beginning with Lance's early years, and the early years of pro-cycling in the USA.

Given it's recent publication date, Wheelmen does bring the story up-to-date with the latest actions against Lance and the state of play with Floyd Landis and his suit against Armstrong.

The Lance saga is a fascinating modern morality tale - a confirmation of the idea (first elaborated by Goebbels?) that if you are going to lie, make it a big one, as that is more likely to be believed. A moral point lost on Armstrong was to not burn your co-conspirators, as they can bring you down, which is ultimately what happened. Lance's one big mistake was to help in the downfall of other cyclists such as Hamilton and Landis, to the point where they had little more to lose, and possibly something to gain, by being honest. Their testimony opened up what until then had been small repairable chinks in the Armstrong armour, and they signalled the opening of the floodgates that led to Lance finally admitting to what he had denied for so long. Unfortunately for Armstrong, his hubris had led him to deny the truth under oath, and this has come back to haunt him as well, in the loss of most of his fortune, a process that continues even now.

Of course for the big lie to work for so long, you need to have some big allies, and it seems that the UCI were complicit in Lance's flouting of doping rules - Armstrong made it clear they had a lot to lose if he went down, and they went along with that theory, until it all became too hot to handle. The UCI link to the Lance saga is touched upon in Wheelmen, but better dealt with by David Walsh, who's works are a key source for Albergotti and O'Connell.

There is bound to be more to play out in not only the Lance saga, and the story of doping in cycling. As an introduction and updated source for where it all stands today, Wheelmen is a good place to start.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

Book Review - Seven Deadly Sins : my pursuit of Lance Armstrong by David Walsh

Seven Deadly Sins : my pursuit of Lance Armstrong by David Walsh

London : Simon & Schuster, 2012                                 ISBN 9781471127533


David Walsh, or the "little Troll" as he was referred to by Lance Armstrong, has written quite a bit on both Armstrong and doping in sport - famously, he co-authored L.A. Confidentiel, which in 2004 laid out the doping case against Armstrong pretty much as has been admitted by him early this year (after both the authors and sources of that book suffered legal harassment from Armstrong for years).

Seven Deadly Sins is a more personal work by Walsh, and is the story of his journey to prove that Armstrong doped his way to his Tour De France victories. The book concludes before Armstrong's admission on the Oprah Winfrey show, but after USADA handed down it's reasoned decision - the final section of the book is a collection of quotes from many of the actors in the saga on their reactions to the "final nail in the coffin" of the doping allegations.

If you've not followed the tortured history of the Armstrong saga, this book is a good place to start, as you not only get a history of Walsh's almost obsessive interest in getting this story, but a good overview of how the evidence built up over time, owing partly to some good journalism, but mostly to the arrogance and bullying of Armstrong, which turned people who might have been willing to stay silent against him.

This is not a book for the complete novice to professional cycling, as Walsh assumes a certain amount of knowledge, and it is written in classic journalese, which means it's easy to read, well-paced, but with a certain amount of cliche, usually when Walsh is describing a new character in the story.

And the story really is a classic moral tale, of facing decisions of right and wrong, truth and lying, and in how hubris brings about a downfall. All the ingredients of a great potboiler, but with the added frisson of being true.

A good read.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

Book review - The secret race by Tyler Hamilton

The secret race : inside the hidden world of The Tour De France : doping, cover-ups, and winning at all costs by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle

New York : Bantam Books, 2012    ISBN 9780345530431


What an apt time for this book to finally turn up for me at my local library - the very day that the USADA "reasoned decision" was released to the world, outlining in hitherto unparalleled detail the fantastic, detailed, and highly organised doping engaged in by Lance Armstrong and his team over a number of years.

Tyler Hamilton was part of Lance's team for some of the glory years, and The secret race is a devastating record of the deception that occurred during this time. What Hamilton also makes clear is that it was not only Lance and the US Postal Team engaging in this practice, although they may have been the most organised and successful.

Tyler spends a short amount of time on his early years, but very soon the reader is with him on his first jaunt to Europe, where he soon realises that not everyone on his team is equal - some riders are getting "lunch bags" at the end of each race. Tyler is clear that the initiation of riders into the world of doping was actually seen by most young tyros as a sign of acceptance, that the team thought they were worth the effort and expense. It also becomes clear that as a 20-something who is so close to their dream, being advised by their seniors that what they are doing is not wrong, and that it will help them get to the top, they are placed in a very invidious position.

Another thing that becomes clear is that the Cycling authorities hardly seemed interested in stamping out any nefarious activity, merely setting maximum levels of blood hematocrit, which was pretty much seen by the peloton as permission to dope, but not to go crazy.

Of course, there is quite a bit about Lance in the book - devastating stuff, blowing the lid on any pretence that Lance was somehow above doping, and pointing out the dark side of Lance's character - vindictive, bullying and lacking empathy.

Hamilton portrays a world focussed on numbers - not as you may think, times, but levels of hematocrit, testosterone or cortisone in the blood. He describes how easy it was to avoid being caught, and how in fact most of the peloton considered those that did as stupid.

He also describes how living the secret life of a doper eventually takes its toll, for Tyler destroying his marriage, and contributing to his ongoing battle with depression.

While he is certainly no white knight, being dragged to his confessions, he has played an important part in bringing this era of cycling to light, and hopefully clearing up the cesspit of modern cycling.

If you are interested in the world of cycling, this book is probably a must-read. Thankfully, it is also actually quite readable.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell