Product Description

Johan Bruyneel knows what it takes to win. In 1998, the former pro cyclist backed a struggling rider and determined that he would win the world's most famous race. 'If we're going to ride the Tour,' he said, 'we might as well win.' In that moment, a dynasty was born. With Bruyneel as his team director, Lance Armstrong, having recovered from cancer, seized a record seven straight Tour de France victories. Meanwhile, Bruyneel went on to prove he could win without his superstar, winning the Tour de France title in 2007 with a young new team and a of nerve.This is the first time the man closest to Armstrong has unveiled his secrets. We are privy to the many ways he and Armstrong outsmarted their opponents through intense preparation and training, as well as bluff on occasions. Whether mounting a difficult climb, managing a team of 30 riders and 40 support staff from a miniature car hurtling along narrow European roads, or looking a future legend in the eye and willing him to believe, Bruyneel is, and has always been, the consummate winner. This is his story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18450 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

About the Author
Johan Bruyneel is a former professional cyclist and was the team director from 1999 to 2007 for the US postal service pro cycling team, which later became the Discovery Channel team. Bill Strickland is the executive editor of Bicycling, the world's leading cycling magazine, and he has ridden and written about cycling for 20 years.

Customer Reviews

this is a great read; obssession with road cycling not required
I read this book incredibly quickly. It is well written and interesting and takes a whole new tack on the lance armstrong years. I enjoyed the team car/ manager's eye view of the discovery team and Bruyneel's recollection of the minute strategies and adaptability that let discovery dominate the tour de france. The book is well balanced, insightful and offers glimpses into areas of professional cycling not really covered elsewhere. Basic functional explanations make this book accessible to non cycling obsessives without slowing down more avid supporters.

Gives you a new appreciation for the tactics required to win a Tour de France
This is a fascinating behind the scenes look at what it takes to coach a winning Tour de France team. You can't argue with the author's credentials: Johan Bruyneel was a professional cyclist who competed in the Tour de France himself before becoming the team director behind Lance Armstrong's seven wins and subsequently for Alberto Contadour in 2007.

In this book Bruyneel describes the strategies behind a winning team (and he makes it clear that it's very much a team effort to win the Tour de France). He talks about how a team can control the race, when they should let breakaways go and when they need to chase them down, how they can play the mind game with other teams, the different skillsets that individual riders within a winning team need to have and countless more insights into the world of cycling. I was reading this book during the 2008 Tour and it made me appreciate far more the way that team CSC were approaching the race and why they did some of the things that they did. Very, very interesting.

I didn't like the way that the book jumps about in time as required to provide support to the points that Bruyneel is making. For example, Chapter 6 talks about the 2001 tour, Chapter 7 talks about the 1999 tour and Chapter 11 talks about the tour in 2000. While Bruyneel makes it clear at the outset that he hasn't set out to write an autobiography, the book would have been enhanced (and easier to follow) if he'd kept things in chronological order.

Bruyneel talks several times about the use of performance enhancing drugs and how they have affected the sport. He is adamant that Armstrong never took them, although I found it interesting that he talks at one point about how he deliberately had Armstrong lose a stage that he could have won, in part because "if we won again, so quickly, I could foresee...accusations of doping".

He also describes the immense amount of time and money that goes into finetuning the bikes and equipment: money is no object if it converts into a few precious seconds saved on the race.

This is an easy and very worthwhile read for anyone who's interested in the Tour de France.

3 Stars
Worth a read but i have read better cycling books one would have hoped for a greater insight into one of the most successful cycling managers of all time but if that is what you are expecting you will be disappointed overall thought an enjoying read to pass the hours