Product Description

Few champions have astonished the world as much as Lance Armstrong. A cancer survivor who went on to win the Tour de France an unprecedented seven times, he is an inspiration to millions. Now the full story can be told. With complete access to Armstrong, and to his inner circle, and drawing on interviews with family members and training partners, coaches and celebrities, team-mates and rivals, friends and foes, sportswriter John Wilcockson tells of those who helped Armstrong along the way including his mother Linda, his ex-wife Kristin and one-time fiancée Sheryl Crow and explores the traits of character that made Armstrong unique. 

The story of Lance Armstrong is one of brutal, painful effort, of natural brilliance, of relentless ambition, of extraordinary glory. His achievement is all the more stunning for its unconventionality: a boy from small-town America who beat the world. Brash and fiercely competitive, Armstrong has never been without close friends or bitter enemies. His achievements have been dogged by accusations of doping, accusations of secrecy, and by questions about how triumph on such a grand scale could be possible - questions that are addressed head on in LANCE ARMSTRONG. Tracing the highs and lows, and bringing alive the drama of the races in which Armstrong smashed expectations time after time, LANCE ARMSTRONG gives the complete story of a matchless champion.

(20041001)

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75095 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Review
'A must-read for all cycling fans.' (BBC Sport )

'Sport is about the assertion of the will and that makes Armstrong the greatest athlete practising his trade' (The Times )

Captures the thrill of a race persistently immersed in controversy and rumour. (Irish Times )

'Fascinating ... Wilcockson manages to penetrate the psychological depths of the race's stars.' (British Cycling ) --x

Review
'A must-read for all cycling fans.' (BBC Sport )

'Sport is about the assertion of the will and that makes Armstrong the greatest athlete practising his trade' (The Times )

‘Captures the thrill of a race persistently immersed in controversy and rumour.’ (Irish Times )

'Fascinating ... Wilcockson manages to penetrate the psychological depths of the race's stars.' (British Cycling )

‘A fascinating, well put-together portrait full of insights’

(New Review, The Independent )

'This insightful and meticulously researched book is an essential read.’

(Books Quarterly )

‘Wilcockson is the doyen of cycling writers’

(The Oldie )

About the Author

John Wilcockson has been writing about cycling for four decades. He has been the editor of five cycling magazines, was the first cycling correspondent for The Times and has won awards for his journalistic services. He has written more than a dozen books. A graduate of the University of London, Wilcockson now lives in Bolder Colorado.

(20041101)

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Customer Reviews

A worthwhile read about an incredible champion
This is a very interesting book about Lance Armstrong's incredible cycling career and life. As Elizabeth Edwards points out, the level of success that he has achieved in an immensely physically demanding sport is phenomenal and to have achieved that success as a cancer survivor is even more remarkable. The writer clearly knows Armstrong well and appears to have had unrestricted access to his family and friends.

The first hundred pages deal with Lance's childhood and early triathalon/ cycling days. It gets more interesting once Lance turns professional, although I did feel that there was a bit too much focus on the details about the races he participated in and not enough on how he was developing as a cyclist and an individual. It's only in the final quarter of the book that we read about the seven victorious Tour de France campaigns. It also discusses his racing techniques (although We Might as Well Win: On the Road to Success with the Mastermind Behind a Record-setting Eight Tour De France Victories is a better choice if this is what you are interested in).

Wilcockson spends a lot of time talking about the allegations of performance enhancing drugs that persistently dogged Armstrong's career. He makes a strong case for Lance never having taken them. He points out that from the earliest days Lance had brute strength and natural ability, which he later honed as he developed a better bike sense and riding skills. The loss of upper body muscle mass after his battle with cancer enabled him to rise to the next level. Wilcockson also points out that Lance's secrecy about his training techniques worked against him in terms of reducing others' suspicion.

The book is very much about Lance the cyclist. I wish the author had been as interested in getting to the heart of Lance the man as he was in all those drug allegations. The most interesting parts for me were the most personal: Lance's battle with cancer, his devastation when his teammate Casartelli was killed, his relationships with his wife and with Sheryl Crow.

The picture of Lance that emerges is a highly charismatic, very private, intensely driven and somewhat humorless man who was very much the hands-on CEO of his team. For many years his life revolved around the Tour de France: he rarely read a book or even lay down on a couch. His teammates respected him but were also somewhat afraid of him. While immensely talented, he also trained obsessively and made extremely smart decisions about the team of people that he surrounded himself with.

The book doesn't spend a lot of time on Lance's relationships. He is clearly still very close to his ex-wife Kristin. The reasons for their break-up are not really explained here although Wilcockson suggests some theories. Nor is it very clear why he and Sheryl Crow split up - there is reference to their relationship being volatile but it's not really explored. His relationship with Anna Hanson who is the mother of his baby son Max is only briefly mentioned at the very end of the book. It would have been interesting to know more about her.

The book opens with Armstrong's decision to return for the 2009 Tour de France. I thought it was odd that Alberto Contadour is never mentioned in the book and nor is Bruyneel's reaction to Lance's return. The ending does feels rushed. Nevertheless, a worthwhile read about an incredible champion.

Nothing new
I am looking forward to the day when someone writes a real biography about Lance Armstrong - this day has not come with John Wilcockson's book. I've read Lance's two autobiographies, Life on the Postal Bus, 23 Days in July, Chasing Lance, etc etc, and there's nothing in this book that I hadn't read already. I'm not looking for a Lance-bashing book - that's as unhelpful as a book written by a Lance fanatic. But I long for the day that a biographer gets the chance to write objectively about Armstrong and actually interview a lot of the key players in his life - former teammates, former rivals (why doesn't anyone ever talk with Jan Ullrich about his rivalry with Armstrong?), people who love him, people who've crossed him and have paid the price, those who work for LiveStrong, etc.
Lance Armstrong is a great champion and a great philanthropist - he's also a complex character and someone who is a lightening rod for extreme opinion. He deserves a biography that honestly investigates all of these sides of him - and so do cycling fans.

From The Edge Of Cancer To The World's Greatest
Having read both of Lance Armstrong's autobiographies I was intrigued when I saw the new book on Lance by John Wilcockson. It was a book I knew as soon as I seen it that I would want to read it and find out a little more about the Tour De France's greatest champion. I've read both of his previous books written by Lance himself but this time Wilcockson has interviewed his close friends and family to get more of an insight into the man who has become not only the most famous cyclist of all time but also one of the biggest names in the fight against cancer in the world.

Of course most people will know the basis of Lance's story, how he was a great prospect in the cycling world until he was struck down by testicular cancer. He then went on 18 months later to start a winning streak that may never be equalled when he won the first of 7 Tour De France races in a row. This book though gives an insight into how the people closest to Lance viewed him growing up, through his cancer diagnoses and treatment and the desire and drive that has seen him make a comeback to the cycling world at the start of this season.

The book is written around the same time that Lance decided to make his return to the world of cycling at the age of 37 and the book deals with everything up to that point. With experienced cycling writer Wilcockson writing the book it meant that one of the journalists who perhaps knows Lance better than any other, having interviewed him hundreds of times was the best choice to take on this project.

The first thing that struck me about the book was the rather clever style adopted by Wilcockson. It seemed slightly strange to start with but by interspersing comments from Lance's friends and family into the narrative it makes the book a more compelling read. He holds the readers interest well with interviews from all the key people in Lance's life from his Mother and Auntie to close school friends and even his father who adopted him at a young age but hasn't spoken to him since splitting from his mum.

It gives a more personable view of Lance than his own autobiographies had in the past. From reading this account you get a good idea of what drives Lance to become the rider he did from his tough upbringing to his desire to be the best at what he does. While the book is about Armstrong himself there aren't as many comments from him as you would expect and I think that gives a nice balance and a good opportunity to find out who Lance Armstrong really is.

I've always been fascinated by Lance's story since his first Tour De France win back in 1999 and this is another opportunity to learn a bit more about that period of his life too. It deals with his rivalries and what really drove him to make his original comeback. From the opening pages of this book, just like Lance's own two books I was hooked and couldn't put the book down as I learnt a little bit more about a man I think is one of the greatest sportsman of all time.

There probably aren't too many people who aren't aware of Lance's story and the magnitude of what he achieved. This book expands on that a little further and perhaps details Lance and his success slightly better than his own books did. I feel that Wilcockson really draws the reader in and provides you with just about everything you need to know about Lance. He hasn't just regurgitated Lance's own books and perhaps that's why this is so good as rather than dealing with Lance's own views on the subject, by talking to friends and relatives it creates a greater overall picture. I've always thought that Lance's story is one that would inspire a lot of people and this book by John Wilcockson only helps to emphasise that point.