Had it turn up from amazon on Thursday and read it yesterday/ today.
Its a very very frank account of doping, blood packing and the lies behind professional cycling.
Also thought / believed that L.A was clean, however last couple of months have obv disproved that. But the book completely destroys any respect that I had for Lance.
just my 2p worth, flame away..

..and of course it’s all totally true. A convicted doper who only “came clean” because he was caught.

Ah, I’m not sure that I have lost respect for LA, he is/ was an awesome rider lets be honest about it. He was the tail end of an era (hopefully) when the Tech of doping was far ahead in terms of performance enhancement and testing. LA was a business man that was part of he job IMHO he excelled at all elements of the sport both the legal and illegal and pushed he boundaries on both fronts and in the science of training too to a greater or lesser extent. With the extent of the back dated medical cert he was never caught out at the time.

I think landis Hamilton maybe struggled with the mortality more esp when caught and if you look at landis he destroyed himself and a few others because of the crash when caught.

Another great book is from Lance to Landis well well worth a read.

science of training too to a greater or lesser extent

I think all the supposed training myths have been debunked now as well.

..and of course it’s all totally true. A convicted doper who only “came clean” because he was caught.

Why wouldn’t it be true?

I bought the audio book from Audible last week (my £7 monthly subscription deal rather than full price) and i’ve listened to the first half whilst out n’ about wi the dogs this week – Tyler has given us a very frank and honest account of what went on at that time in the sport, whether that is to further his career or to genuinely explain the pressure and situations they faced as pro cyclists to keep their place in the team i’ll hold judgement on that thought till i’m finished the book. It seemed to be the norm at the time to need to take drugs if you wanted any chance whatsoever of being competitive, whilst sustainment of your dream to be a pro cyclist wunderkid rather than a lowly domestique depended on your results, which depended on you beating other cyclists who were doping, Who can honestly say hand on heart that they would not be tempted?, If everyone else was taking epo/doping what chance would you have if you refused?, and if i personally had spent my entire life with one goal in mind, of being a Pro rider…… would i have the courage and self respect to refuse to dope with the realisation that……. I would never win a stage, never win a tour, never be good enough to stand out in the face of such unfair competition?…..I dunno to be honest as i’ve never been in that position, i would like to think i’d ride clean but who can say for definite?. I’m undecided as to whether or not this was entirely the riders fault for accepting the status quo and rolling over to expose a soft underbelly to get pumped full of epo/dodgy transfusion or whether it was led/possibly forced on or expected of you by the team director/team doctors or sponsors expecting results etc.

I’m saving the rest of the book for when i return to my hell hole of a workplace next week, but i really want to finish it now….life is so unfair eh?.

I used to look at Lance with the utmost awe and respect as i went through a total life changing experience/accident in 1991 and from his cancer diagnoses in 96 onwards felt as if i could relate to where his frame of mind was regarding his comment of “you can always push yourself that extra 1%, no matter how much it hurts, or how much your body is crying out stop, there is always something left to give”, his book was a true inspiration for when i was going through a few tough times as various problems re-arose and i’m in conflict with how i should be feeling about the allegations or truth regarding the doping, for what it’s worth after watching back my dvd’s of the 1999 Tour de France onwards to 2005 i have to admit that it does not seem humanely possible to do what he did with such apparent ease, especially if you take into accounts todays Tour de France times and speeds, I still admire him for his achievement in beating such a virulent form of cancer and for his foundations work, even though many decry it’s true worth but i feel a sense of being cheated, of being lied to all these years when i defended him and of a loss of respect for him.

I remember Graeme Obree getting called up to ride on the 1995 tour and then pulling out, it was floated at the time he refused to take drugs of any sort so quit without turning a pedal as a pro rider, a few years ago i found out a mate fae New-Milns (ayrshire) whom i got interested in mtb’ing knew him rather well so we eventually got to meet up at a house party/gathering up that way, I asked why didn’t he ride the tour in 95?, especially the prologue as the worlds media were on him after his hr record, his exact response and direct accusations against certain bodies i’ll keep to myself if you don’t mind as i was told in confidence and it’s not my place to air it but his absence “was” related to his absolute refusal to blood dope before hand and he got kicked out due to his refusal, my next question i asked him is burned in my memory for life, unfortunately not in a good way – “If everyone else was doing it then why didn’t you? – C’mon..it was a chance to make millions” (makes me ashamed even now 6yrs later to consider i asked it). Graemes response was “I had to decide there and then – was i a professional cyclist?….could i live with myself for the rest of my life knowing i was a cheat and a liar?, all these people cheering me on, people who know me, wishing me luck everytime i rode, could “you” live with yourself?, could “you” live with the shame of knowing you were a cheat?”. I’ve met him a few times since and it’s never cycling chat really, in fact very little is cycling chat amongst that group of folk but for sure i’ll be taking time off work to see him break the world land speed record, he’ll break 82mph i’m sure but whether or not he’ll do 100mph i dunno…..but i certainly would never bet against such a focused man and mind.

That is the mark of someone who we can look up to with pride and admiration.

somafunk, I read in an interview with him that when Italian pros asked him what he was on to break the hour, and he replied ‘nothing’, they were so condescending to him, branding him an amateur, and an idiot for not doping.

respect to him for resisting, and rising above it.

Boy he’s lucky that he was involved in the doping scandal otherwise the book would have been a lot less interesting and then it would have sold a lot less copies.Does make u wonder whether what section in the book shop should the book be filed,fiction or….

Ha!, yeah…..he was asked face to face by a few doping pro’s (not just italian, i could name certain well known french and spanish as well) what “procedure” he used to break the hour record…it’s friggin pathetic the way he was treated by the UCI and the so called Pro teams afterwards as he should have been hailed as a true – honest to god hero for his achievements on the bike considering his very humble persona and training methods up and down the A77 in all weather conditions and constant traffic fuelled by a home made jam piece, just goes to show you it’s in your mind whether or not you can achieve greatness.

He honestly is just as he appears to be, slightly manic but so intense and focused it is genuinely humbling to be in his company, you should read his training manual that came out earlier in the year- I’ve been off the bikes for 4 yrs due to an old spinal injury rearing it’s ugly head and been feeling sorry for myself without good f’ing reason but i have recently dragged my turbo trainer out the attic and been destroying myself for the past two weeks, 6 months to go and i might be back to a reasonable level of fitness for next year, if graeme can…i can!….f-cuk Lance and his lies.

IMO Obree is up there with the greats of cycling. He may not have the status and recognition that he deserves in his own lifetime but in a hundred years he will be remembered as a pioneer.