"Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs"

Back to the sporting arena and an interesting book on the world of cycling. This comes from someone very much on the inside and in amongst the races and games that took place.

Tyler Hamilton (who has co-written this with Daniel Coyle) was a top cyclist who has competed with the best and had a great career. He was in the team with the most famous of them all, Lance Armstrong, and has a few things to say on him as well as all the antics that go on behind the scenes.

Most know there is (or was) a prevalent doping issue in the world of cycling, and that it was rife. Indeed, pretty much everyone was doing it. And if you weren't? Then you could kiss your chances goodbye. You needed a little 'help' just to compete. And of course everyone was looking for that extra lift.

Things became dicey to say the least and many took their lives in their hands - not just in the professional sense but also in the literal sense as there were people who succumbed to the extreme methods.

I didn't highlight much of the book, but we'll go with what we've got. That's no negative commentary on the book itself, as that can often be a good sign of being engrossed…

Top Takes: Highlights + My Thoughts

he always preferred bad weather—not because he loved it, but because he knew it demoralized others.

This was Tyler talking about the attitude of Lance Armstrong. Lance was - and am sure still is in some capacity - a competitive beast on the circuit and had an extreme attitude.

Bad weather for anyone is obviously bad but it gave Armstrong extra impetus as he knew others would struggle even more, giving him an edge. Bring it on he'd say!

This reminds me a bit of David Goggins and his philosophies on life and training. One way he described it was 'taking souls'. It also gives you a boost in being able to handle anything and thrive regardless.

Whatever you do, those other fuckers are doing more.

Another Armstrong mantra.

There are always people out there putting in the work, and some far more than you. You need to compete with those people and surpass them.

That's one way of taking this, but the context here was the drug use. Yes, you were involved in 'performance enhancers' but some other bugger is doing that too and a whole lot more besides!

People were always after the extra edge, and many believed that it was ok as everyone was doing it, and in some cases even more.

Source

if you can take the first ten minutes, then you can take more.

Back to Tyler and speaks for itself. If you can handle the initial pain of the endeavour (brutal cycling in this case), then you can surely do more. This quote was following a fall and injury to Hamilton, and him riding the next stage and having to push through that barrier to get it done.

avalanches are invisible. The world looks peaceful and balanced. Then—no one can predict when—one more snowflake falls, or the temperature rises half a degree, and the whole world starts to shift.

Calm, followed by a massive shift. You can't see anything amiss, but a slight change in atmosphere and boom, a major event on your hands.

Literally speaking, but also these 'avalanches' lurk in a figurative sense and Tyler had one such hanging over him in publishing this book. Not least Lance, lawsuits and backlash… from speaking openly about these 'secrets'.

Omertà

Omertà is a code of silence, a kind of oath. Of Italian origin and used by the mafia, and is a refusal to give evidence to authorities or information to outsiders.

There was such a code of honour among cyclists. Everyone knew what was going on but it was not discussed and it was buried if scrutinised. A lot became public knowledge due to this book and the subsequent fallout was significant.

pan y agua

Translated from Spanish this means bread and water. This was the term used for people racing without any 'juice' as it were. No extra lift of drugs, blood infusions and the like.

As in, literally just operating on bread and water. The basics.

Thanks Tyler! Anything Else?

A very interesting account from someone who has been there in amongst it on the front line of cycling and seen all of the shenanigans first-hand.

He worked alongside the likes of Lance Armstrong and many different trainers, cyclists and all those associated. We delve into his relationship with Armstrong and others and get a taste of what really goes on… not just theory and rumour but actual acts and processes that were part and parcel of the sport for a long time.

Obviously one for anyone interested in cycling or sport auto-bios, or for those wanting more of an insight into the more hidden aspects and all the manoeuvring that goes on, making this a more complex industry than may first meet the eye.

Paints a very different picture than a simple jolly ol' ride, winding through the streets of France!

First image my own, other linked to source

Check out the others in the series…

BookBabble #43: "The Secret Race" by Tyler Hamilton

Top Takes: Highlights + My Thoughts

Thanks Tyler! Anything Else?