Lance Armstrong Tour de Force, Tough Guys, Flawed Heroes and One Mans Battle For Supremacy by Daniel Coyle was written about Armstrong’s 6th tour victory in 2004. It is compelling reading, against which Armstrong’s own books, as well as Bruyneel’s We Might As Well Win seem shallow. Which isn’t to say its heavy, I found it laugh out loud funny in a number of places. The big difference is that Coyle offers an external viewpoint, with a journalist’s eye for personality traits, power dynamics and the trail of money. The outcome of a year inside Armstrong’s campaign following him, his team and his top rivals Tyler Hamilton, Iban Mayo, Jan Ullrich, at a time when L.A. Confidential was published, Sheryl Crow was in his life and his ‘other’ trainer Michele Ferrari is convicted, this book is a must read for cyclists.
There are insights on every page of this book. It is not a rehash of the same old, same old. If you’ve wondered about why ‘college’ would work as a nickname amongst Armstrong’s friends for someone who got a degree, you will find that Armstrong is a good fit for an essentially Belgian cycling team. In Europe, Coyle points out, cycling is the pathway for farm boys, poor kids etc. to escape their lot. The toughness, cynicism and general ambivalence to anything other than ‘turning the knife’ is portrayed in Coyle’s extended decription of the Belgian team members’ whoof shrug.
On top of this, the personalities and public personas of the key players add a rich story. ‘College’ describes Lance Armstrong like this “I look on it as almost an animalistic thing. In sports or business or anywhere there is always the question of who is the alpha, who’s the meanest, who’s the toughest? And its Lance. Always Lance.”
The overall thought that Armstrong is running a forceful incursion, American style, in a foreign war zone, is painted as a feature of his piranha-like personality. Accompanied by Bros and Dudes – he is taking the tour by force. But against this, the description of the tough men in and behind the USPS team as largely Belgian, with Eastern Bloc toughies is a revelation that also speaks volumes about the tour itself. Winning this game doesn’t take pure sport idealism, it is a single minded, ego driven exercise in competitive sadism. With a long history of being like this. This is an essential read for cycling or sports minded people.
The Beehive. Cycling in the middle of the bunch. 