Book Reviews: Racing Through the Dark, The Secret Race
I must admit to not having read most of the cycling memoirs in the Works. I may eventually but the local public library doesn’t carry any of them and never will so I’ll have to buy them or ask Frank to tote everything he has to Hawaii. I did get off my wallet and buy these two and it was money well spent. David Millar and Tyler Hamilton have produced two excellent cycling books, parallel stories in very general terms and times. The contrast of how two people in similar straits handle the truth and the divergent roads it puts them on is compelling.
Doping in professional cycling is still secretive enough that it is best told from someone all the way on the inside. Journalists will be lied to by cyclists. Federal grand juries do better at getting the truth but we usually don’t hear it. Cyclists who lived the lie and need to unburden themselves make a good conduit. I can’t begin to explain it as well as Tyler or David did; their inner world of professional cycling is nothing we hear much about. In the 1990s it was the wild west where the law was absent. Spanish “doctors”, syringes and mini-centrifuges ruled the day. It’s such a huge subject, too interwoven with passion and pressure, so much grey area. For a person like me who likes to talk about doping in black and white, I’ve learned how institutionalized and insidious it was (past tense, I hope). It’s not so simple. It’s tragic. To feed the young ambitious athlete into a system where there is no choice but to accept the drug system is criminal. When money is at stake and the UCI is complicit, as is team management, those are some criminals.
Racing Through the Dark-by David Millar. I’ll also admit to being a long time admirer of David Millar. He has always been well- spoken and not afraid to confront, two qualities I admire and personally lack, but they make a good writer. Millar is a military brat who found his cycling talent in the 10 mile British time trial club races. He ended up living his dream, riding on the Cofidis team, France’s well- funded but dysfunctional squad. He spent his first few years with Cofidis riding clean, yet watching how others “prepared”.
“In my youthful exuberance, I was telling anybody who would listen that I’d won in De Panne and broken the course record with a hematocrit of only 40 percent. I went to see Casagrande and his roommate, whom I refer to as L’Équipier (the teammate), so that I could show Casagrande the test results.
I stood there, a big grin on my face, expecting Casagrande to congratulate me and say something morale boosting. But he didn’t. After a pause, he handed the results back to me and then turned to speak to his roommate in Italian.
“Perché non é a cinquate?” Casagrande asked L’Équipier, puzzled, Why isn’t he at fifty?
No one talked about doping and no one talked about not doping. Eventually, after VDB self-destructed and Casagrande was busted, Millar became a team leader. And with that mantle came the responsibility to produce results, be a professional. And eventually he was implicated by a teammate, evidence was found, he was out of cycling, deeply in debt, and drinking his way to the bottom.
For some interesting video here is a recent Spanish documentary from the inner ring.
The Secret Race-by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle. Tyler Hamilton and I grew up in the same end of Massachusetts, he went to the same prep school @rob and I dropped out of, so I always felt slightly connected to him. So I was a fan boy and stood by his fantastic excuses for too long.
The whole wretched story of doping in cycling is right here. Tyler Hamilton cheated and lied for so long, it took until 2011 before he could tell his parents the truth. And despite his decade of lying, this book rings true. His reward was getting out from under the lie. I think he would have written the book for free just for the unburdening. He states many times the lightness of being after testimony and though he knows it’s very unlikely, hopes Lance can feel the same lightness that comes from telling the truth. This book is Tyler Hamilton’s story but it is closely linked to part of the Armstrong saga.
Like Millar, Hamilton was unaware of systemic drug use until he had joined the professional ranks. US Postal drugs were at first team- provided and paid for. Once you proved yourself as one of the best riders on the team, as someone who could help Lance win the Tour, you earned the right to use EPO. It is fascinating reading, it’s horrifying, it’s depressing. Most unsettling is Lance Armstrong’s behavior. There are many revelations regarding Armstrong’s psychotic need to win. I’ll share just this one.
Tyler was eased out of US Postal because he was too strong a rider and perceived as a threat to Armstrong. So Tyler left and signed with Phonak in 2004. There was a time trial up Mont Ventoux in the 2004 Dauphiné Libéré weeks before the Tour de France. Tyler beat Lance in the TT. Later during the Tour, Floyd Landis, who was still riding for US Postal rode along side Tyler.
“You need to know something”
I pulled in closer. Floyd’s Mennonite conscience was bothering him.
“Lance called the UCI on you,” he said. “He called Hien, after Ventoux. Said you guys and Mayo were on some new shit, told Hien to get on you. He knew they’d call call you in. He’s been talking shit nonstop. And I think it’s right that you know.”
This little story is amazing for many different reasons and the only good one is Floyd Landis telling it to Tyler. I’m guilty of saying some negative things about Floyd, mostly because he was such an idiot liar. But at a point, when he has nothing to gain and he has lost everything else and he starts telling the truth, he gains back my respect, just like Tyler Hamilton has.
I ended up reading these books one right after the other. As I said before, I recommend them both. David Millar is a better writer. He actually has more demons to battle than Hamilton so his story of redemption is inspiring. Tyler Hamilton’s story is more depraved (in a doping sense) but both books are important. A lot of people in cycling are now admitting to past deeds in very unspecific terms. These two authors are both shining lights into some dark corners and making the inevitability of drug use in cycling more human and understandable. Also, in reading these books back to back, it highlights the contrast in how these two people dealt with their fates.
Both had the bad luck to be nearly singled out as dopers when a large percent of the riders were dopers. Millar realized it was the doping that killed his passion for even riding a bike. He took no joy in his EPO-assisted victories, only a temporary satisfaction that the task at hand was completed. He decided to come clean and to become an advocate for clean racing and changing the corrupt system.
Hamilton could not admit to anyone but his wife (who already knew) that he had been a cheat. His lie was so crushing he couldn’t even see a way out. He then spent all his money and energy protecting the lie for years, for nothing, obviously. It was the threat of perjury in that finally broke open the dam. It’s a cruel lesson to learn; the truth will set you free, even if it takes forever.
@Buck Rogers
COTHO!
@Dr C Haha, I’m not sure I was trying to paint a picture quite as suave and sophisticated as Bond, something more in keeping with your little green avatar fellow was the intention.
You and @Deakus seem to be coming from slightly different view points, but I get where your coming from, if Sky kick out anyone whose tainted they can say they’re a clean team and carry on with a healthy conscience. The problem with that seems to me that it relies on some fairly fundamental assumptions. Firstly; that the the team’s intentions are as pure as they’d have us believe (a cynic might say that the people who’ve gone are all ex-pharmstrong goons and as such are somewhat sacrificial anyway – Sky have just said, “you, you and you may prove embarrassing so off you go”) and secondly that everyone has told the truth about their past and potential future riders will also be as honest.
Expanding the model to the peloton in general, also seems to place reliance on the testing system, which to me has someway to go before it can be seen as credible and assumes that there aren’t any teams out there that might view more easily obtained results as more of a priority than adherence to ethics – Bertie, Sammy and Valverde have shown that there’s definitely a cultural divide on the subject.
A more forgiving Garmin style approach might not provide all the answers but it does give team management a chance to turn poachers into gamekeepers by using the knowledge of gained covertly doping or managing dopers to prevent future covert activity.
@Buck Rogers The interviewer was a moron, he should have asked “at which point in your career did you ride clean?”
they are getting ready to burn an effigy of pharmstrong at a bonfire night in the UK:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9645411/30ft-effigy-of-Lance-Armstrong-wearing-a-Jimll-Fix-it-badge-to-be-burned.html
..oh, and i’m hoping to see some good pharmstrong halloween costumes being posted on-line later.
I’m thinking blood bags, vampire fangs and one giant glowing neon gonad popping out of a pair of US postal shorts .
@Deakus
So do we get our money back from the Kimmage fund? I mean, come on, Floyd and Tyler are trying to pay everyone back, right?
@Buck Rogers
Read somewhere that Kimmage is going to use the money to go on the offensive against current UCI mgmt.
@Nate
Bravo…he can take my contribution and fund an all out assault on the corrupt bastards! Honestly it reminds me of when Juan Anotonio Sammaranch was in charge of the IOC…
@motor city
Wow . . . they even got a Jimmy Savile reference in there too! While there are some parallels between Pharmy hiding behind his charity work to pursue a highly organized regimen of doping, it should be given that he wasn’t fucking teenagers in hospital rooms or molesting the mentally disabled like Jimmy Savile. Mind you, both instances saw a whole lot of omerta going on.
Working on the assumption that they were basically all at it…it is still awesome to watch some of them in action. At least they got the number 1 slot correct!!
Some good stuff from Jens: http://bicycling.com/blogs/hardlyserious/2012/10/30/turbulent-times/
Reads well, seems honest….
I think Skys hardline approach is starting to spread some contagion. It looks like anyone who was in the USADA declaration is probably going to struggle for a slot in any of the teams that have large corporate sponsors….a good thing really. I like the way this is heading, it is not about witch hunting it is just about saying “It is no longer acceptable to us that you did this…find somewhere else to go”. Tough, but I think this is the only thing that will really change the sport. A little perversely it looks to me like it is the corporate sponsors who will change cycling for the better….not the cyclists….or the governing bodies…sad but true.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/orica-greenedge-dismisses-matt-white
@Deakus
Yeah but fuckin’ Garmin is going to have the pick of the cream-of-the-crop for DS’s as they are being a bit more sensible about it in my opinion. Kind of funny how Gramin, the epitome of anti-doping teams, will most likely have the most ex-dopers for staff and riders! (Still love Millar, though and still think JV is a wankerc@nt)
Yes..and..no. I suspect the following will happen. If Garmin continue to operate with their current policy I suspect they will still be competing for riders with those teams that probably aren’t so fussed (maybe Katusha or Astana) in particular nationally sponsored teams that care a little less what the sponsors think….it is after all pretty much all about dollars at the end of the day. FDJ have just lost Bigmat so again they may be on the hunt for “cheaper” cyclists.
However ultimately it should all even out and balance will be restored because the dopers will probably struggle for performance without their “smarties” and in the end the riders who perform the best will command the highest price…ergo…the sponsors will have the most money to pay for them and therefore the biggest sponsored teams (and hopefully the cleanest) will win the big riders. If it works this way it becomes a self fulfilling loop and we are all happy.
Garmin…for a while will continue to pick up some of the x dopers but there is even a difference here….it seems to me that they really want the X-humbled and repentant dopers ala Millar.
The interesting question is, what will happen to all the dodgy Spanish vampires that currently seem completely unrepentant…I mean if they are not from the Basque country will Euskatel even want them?
Some interesting times ahead but I think it is going in the right direction……
Sorry to keep flogging a dead horse but these Spanish riders quotes are unbelievably funny in a sick way. While calling for lifetime bans for dopers (with which I completely agree) J Rod had the following to say:
“I know the road I’ve travelled,” he told nieuwsblad.be “I do not think I ever had a problem with doping nor will I have. I want to help make this sport better.”
Now how is that for a strong, resounding “I have never doped, or at least, I do not think that I have” statement.
@Buck Rogers
I am starting to like these Spaniards….it is like having sever Manuels all in a row!
Sky’s approach is coming under fire from the WADA.
I think he has no idea what he is talking about,
1. Sky has their riders sign a contract in 2009 when they started, if they have ex dopers then those people are in breach contract.
2. Sky have given their riders every opportunity, even on the latest round of interviews they have said, if you own up now you can get paid off and find work elsewhere.
3. They are absolutely clear about their message, their requirements and what they stand for. They are perfectly entitled to take whatever stance they wish….not all teams are doing this and neither should they…different teams can have different policies and this way riders will find their own niche. Garmin for instance will take “reformed” dopers…it looks to me like Astana and Katusha don’t really care and I think Saxobank are ambivalent on the subject. This is all fine.
Publicly decrying a team that is taking a very firm stance on this subject is a misjudgement, he should support any team that is prepared to publicly denounce doping and have policies and procedures to back them up. It would not be good for cycling if every team took this stance, but to have one or two do it is very healthy…we want the ex dopers to gently fall by the wayside through the natural progression of time and for those coming through to be completely clean so that in the end they will all be riding clean.
The CEO of WADA should be talking more about how he is going to spend time and resource in to be able to detect the next generation of drugs that will be coming through…i.e. Rhino Horn, Dried Monkey Nuts..and my personal favourite…Lion spunk washed down with a quart of pureed mosquitos!
Looks like Paul Kimmage is using some of my pennies in a counter suit against Pat McQuaid…can’t say I dissaprove….
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/9649732/Paul-Kimmage-sues-UCI-president-Pat-McQuaid-in-wake-of-Lance-Armstrong-scandal.html
Some interesting information on EPO, how it came about and how it came to be approved, marketed, oversold and overdosed….and Amgen sponsors the Tour of California!….Well that’s just fucking great isn’t…put the lunatics in charge of the Asylum!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/armstrongs-fraud-paralleled-epo-makers-feud
COTHO is getting seriously delusional if he thinks this is a good idea? His latest tweet!
@Deakus Wow. That is a very sinister read.
@Chris His one remaining ball must be MASSIVE.
@Chris
He is just a money making marketing machine and it would probably be best if people just stopped talking about him in the end, every column inch he receives somewhere down the road translates in to dollars in his back pocket. I would like to propose a new Lexicon entry for him, I think that COTHO really now applies to other nasty glue sniffers. Lance is one of a kind, the uber bad guy…..possibly Voldemort? or if we are never to speak his name again He Who Should Not Be Named (HWSNBN)…
Both excellent books, and deeply revealing about life and expectations inside the Pro-Tour. They helped me understand much more about the mentality and levelled reasoning behind some of the doping we were so highly critical of, small steps into a murky world that there seemed to be no huge danger of getting caught. I’ve just started Bjarne Riis’ book this week, it’ll be an interesting comparison to these two other books. Promising start, and I’m interested to get further into his professional career.
@Chris
That’s his Veteran’s Day tweet?? What a douchebag.
The bookies have chosen;
The Secret Race wins William Hill Sports Book of the Year for 2012
@sthilzy
@Deakus
Funny you should say that, guess who one of the investors in Mobli, the photo sharing site this was hosted upon, is? Well that would be the bloke who absolutely spiked their traffic with a certain picture…
Tyler won the sports book of the year for The Secret Race here in the UK and on radio this morning he was pretty good actually. He was very clear that the book and the award have been great for him but that does not change the shame and sorrow he feels at being part of the whole situation. I think there are certain ex-dopers these days that I can have some respect for and he is one of them….
then left over there is COTHO and the Spanish Sherbert Sniffers!
@Gianni
Well, I finally read Racing Thorugh The Dark, and I really enjoyed it. His honesty was admirable, the behind-the-scenes details from races was fascinating. But his continual regression to try to find an external source to blame for all of his wrongdoings got pretty tiring to read. That’s my opinion anyway.
It was also interesting to read his disdain for Wiggo after he shirked his team duties on the final stage at TdF 2009 once 4th place was in the bag. That says a lot about a rider/person. I think Froome is going to be mightily pissed off come July 2013 (I see in the Guardian today that there is more discontent bubbling away about who will lead the Sky TdF team http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/dec/18/bradley-wiggins-froome-team-sky-tour).
Other observations (again IMHO only):
1. I have a new appreciation for Dave Brailsford, based on the unsolicited support he gave Millar.
2. I was amazed that even riders considered as great friends lied to each other about doping, and this never seemed to affect their friendship. For example, Millar and Julich discussed how they couldn’t beat anyone on EPO before Fleche Wallone in 2000, before Millar started taking EPO. But Julich’s subsequent confession showed that he had already been doping since 1997.
3. Considering his social circle, and even allowing for bare-faced lying between great friends, Stuey O’Grady has to be considered suspicious.
4. The way the French courts eventually dismissed Millar but convicted the Cofidis soigneur show that at least one organisation was clear that doping was not a rider-only problem. If only the UCI was that insightful at that time, or even now.
5. The unrealistic demands placed on top riders by their teams was insightful and disturbing. Sending Millar to race while he was on crutches was just bizarre.
6. I really liked that Millar called out Armstrong at the end of the 2009 Tour.
7. I’m surprised that Frank VDB didn’t die a lot earlier!
This struck me in Hamilton’s book as well. Everybody knew everyone else was doing it but they rarely if ever talked about it and often times when they did they used innuendo. Another reason I think JV is admirable is when the little white bags showed at his room he started asking questions – questioned a lot. Probably made a lot of people uncomfortable.
@Bianchi Denti Yeah, I finished it a bit ago. Found it soooo hard to get into. The first 40 pages took me a week to get through but then it took off.
I agree completely about his thoughts on Wiggo. Really comes off as an “All about Numer One” sort of guy. I wonder what the real story is.
I actually came away trusting Stewie more after reading the book. I always assumed that he doped but after reading the book I actually have less suspicion. Who knows?
But between the two books, I preferred Hamilton’s to Millars by a mile (although I like Millar as a rider a ton more than I ever liked Haimilton, even being a fellow New Englander!)
@Marko After reading this book, I have even more respect for Millar, JV and the whole Slipstream/Garmin project (which is what @Gianni predicted would happen). I may even be able to finally get thjrough Blood, Sweat and Tears without cringing…
@Buck Rogers Millar stated as fact that Wiggo could never podium at the TdF. That was probably accurate if he had stayed at Garmin, and who knows what other havoc he may have wreaked if he had stayed there nad not been able to place higher. So maybe both Garmin and Sky improved after his move.
interesting Travis Tygart interview if anyone is interested:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/dec/19/travis-tygart-us-anti-doping-lance-armstrong
@Buck Rogers
Spooky timing: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ogrady-doping-was-never-an-option
@Bianchi Denti
Cool! Yeah, I always thought with the Cofidis and CSC teams that he must have been doping but after reading the books and now the interweb reports, I actually have way less doubt about him. But, like we’ve seen too many times, it is almost impossible to trust anyone but I am trusting Stewie.
Just finished Tyler’s book and my only thought: LA what a grade A fucking Cunzor. While others may have had to resort to doping to keep up, Greed is the one factor that is not really discussed here, but clear as day for me that Greed (given the size of the bonuses on offer to COTHO) was a primary motivating factor. Most of the riders that have confessed can (largely rightly claim) that sportsmanship contributed to their decisions – they wanted to compete and be able to prove themselves against other riders who were doing the same thing. Not Lance, since his confession would have to involve the words “I was a greedy, selfish sociopathic C**tbag who ripped millions out of the sport and later dragged it through the mud by being a manipulative wankspanner – but lets talk about my cancer charity shall we?”
Fucking bottom feeding W****er C*** S***bag.
Apropos of COTHO on OPRAH, his is pretty funny and likely close to the truth: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2013/jan/09/ten-questions-oprah-wilfrey-lance-armstrong
This is what won’t happen: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/blog/2013/jan/09/ten-questions-oprah-winfrey-lance-armstrong?intcmp=239 This one’s written by ace writer William Fotheringham.
I really don’t see him making a full confession. It’s going to be like driving past a car crash: you don’t want to look, but there’s something deep inside that makes you want to see how awful it is.
@wiscot
Sad but true…..the pathos is going to be vomit worthy!
@wiscot
@Deakus
I really don’t care or want to watch, yet I know that I will…I fully expect to be underwhelmed.
@VeloVita
Love it! At least someone is taking this circus seriously “the first no holds barred interview”…gimme a break!
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/536311/bets-taken-on-the-words-lance-armstrong-will-use-during-tv-interview.html
@minion
Sportsmanship? I have to respectfully disagree. They may have been coerced for sure, but they were grown ass men who in the end made that decision of their own free will, and most (if not all) of them kept cheating after they left postal. They can claim victim all they want, but I have to believe most of them cheated because they wanted to win, and they took the money that winning offered.
Just finished Seven Deadly Sins by David Walsh (COTHO’s nemesis)
Really strong book – the guy is a seriously talented journalist and writer, very compelling read and touching in many ways (his eulogising about his son who died on his bike aged 12 is moving). Having read Millar and Hamilton on topic, this is a far more erudite, informed, funny and well composed read.
he really does struggle to contain his rage with any level of objectivity – but understandable given the fact he pretty much made exposing the truth surrounding LA his life’s work.
A funny guy who deserves ( alongside his French and Italian journalist counterparts; Emma O’Reilly; and Betsy Andreu ) major public recognition and vindication.
I would like his thoughts on the Oprah debacle – dismay at least. I love the way armstrong reckons Oprah will ‘go deep’….
An interview with David Walsh on prime time – now that would be something else.
@smithers
I had this one on my radar after reading a bit about him and the tragedy he went through…a great story does not always mean a great book…there are an awful lot of crappy writers out there, so thanks for the recommendation. Consider it ordered!
“When Lance “cries” on Oprah later this week and she passes him a tissue, spare a thought for all of those genuine people who walked away with no reward – just shattered dreams. Each one of them is worth a thousand Lances.”
Welsh powerhouse Nicole Cooke retires. A sad day for cycling. AT least she goes out with all guns blazing. Full statement here, and it’s worth a read:
http://www.nicolecooke.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=130:nicoles-retirement-statement&catid=1&Itemid=18
We have to keep pushing women’s racing in this community!!
@Deakus
I know i am stocking the spare fridge for the big night . It’s not just to watch Lance but Oprah one the other hand , i’ll need something to ezzzz the pain i will suffer. On the other handl he needs someone to help pay the legal fees. just sayen.
@Bianchi Denti – I agree with all your points. This is a fantastic book, and I for one have always thought that DM had a lot to him. He is well read, and has always a well considered and well constructed opinion. To me, the winner at the end of the book was Millar. His courage in the way that he has publicly denounced those who continue to lie and hide the truth, is inspirational.
There are a number of comments here about the Sky policy and that of Garmin. I think there is room for both, for now. The Sky model is where the sport should aim, but without Garmin’s more pragmatic stance, there would be no way for the likes of DM to remain in the elite and we would lose some of the most vocal anti-dopers from the centre of the sport.
Is there an article on this site about how fucking comically useless the UCI is? I’m just going to leave this here, it’s from cycling news about a spat between the UCI and USADA…
“USADA and WADA also tested Armstrong over many years and also failed to catch him. It was only with the benefit of the US Federal Investigation that USADA was finally able to gain evidence of Armstrong’s doping.
“No attempt by Travis Tygart to rewrite history will change the fact that USADA failed to catch Lance Armstrong having tested him just 49 times during his career. The UCI by comparison tested Armstrong 189 times.”
Fuck me. That is priceless.
@minion Inner ring is the place to go for reasoned UCI battering http://inrng.com/2013/04/uci-internal-memos/