charley bradley
Regular
- Location
- bristol
a good book that i read is the secret race by Tyler Hamilton about when he rode the tour with lance.
Cycling books: recommendation and avoid - Racing only
- Thread starter Noodley
- Start date
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dcolgan81
New Member
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
RedRider
Pulling through
- Location
- Location Embrocation
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.
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.
RedRider
Pulling through
- Location
- Location Embrocation
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.
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.
U
User169
Guest
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
Pro Tour Punditry
Guru
You should try to get a copy of "Pedalare! Pedalare! A History of Italian Cycling" by John Foot - I think you'd like it.
RedRider
Pulling through
- Location
- Location Embrocation
It looks interesting, thanks for the tip-off.
Hont
Guru
- Location
- Bromsgrove
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.
*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.
sintellinser
Regular
I've just finished reading, and would recommend The Race Against The Stasi by Herbie Sykes.
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
M'colleague has been reading this and likes it. Sounds fascinating. Must give it a go.
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.
shouldbeinbed
Rollin' along
- Location
- Manchester way
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.
U
User169
Guest
The KP book was ghosted by Walsh.
