[Closed] Tyler Hamilton: The Secret race

Only 10 positives for EPO ....but they were on lots of other gear besides .....still juiced up ..

The synthetic blood 😯

The madness of trying to keep their Hematocrit below 50 and above 48 ..........it's a good read though

I've got so little interest in bike racing of any kind, I was a bit disappointed when someone gave me this book for Crimbo..

I picked it up last week though, and pretty much didn't put it down again until the end..

great read

99 tour: 80 samples retro-tested and only 10 were positive for EPO. Blows the 'everyone was at it' argument out of the water for me.

I read David Millar's book followed by Tyler Hamilton's - and now have no desire to read either of Lance Armstrongs! Cheating ****ers, but I can completely see the compulsion to do so, given the alternative (i.e. never winning). Made me wonder how rife doping is in other sports.

I remember the 'leave Lance alone!' days on here.... 😆

Cheeky request - if anyone is selling any cycling books I could be interested. 🙂

Made me wonder how rife doping is in other sports.

Is there somewhere i can download his book for free? Theft seems the only morally appropriate way to procure it.

Great book, I bought it for my son for xmas -- so I could then read it
😀
Cinnamon girl I could post it to you if you promise to send it back when read - it's not mine.

Nicole Cook in her retirement speech:

"Tyler Hamilton will make more money from his book describing how he cheated than I will make in all my years of honest labour,"

"I have been robbed by drug cheats, but I am fortunate, I am here before you with more in my basket than the 12-year-old dreamed of. But for many genuine people out there who do ride clean, people with morals, many of these people have had to leave the sport with nothing after a lifetime of hard work."

Obviously effects those right across the sport who didn't cheat.

Loved this book, Gold was good too, unlike the three armstrong books which are now only good for toilet paper

Re: Nicole Cook. Within all disciplines of cycling I wonder how many cheats there really are.

Made me wonder how rife doping is in other sports.

rife. Look at athletics.

http://news.sky.com/story/1115711/five-jamaican-athletes-fail-drug-tests

the majority of the 10 fastest men over 100m have failed tests, which probably puts them on a par with TdeF winners.

Only difference is the mainstream media buy track-and-field athletes BS sob stories about innocent contamination and report it apologetically. The BBC coverage of Gay/Powell was offensive in it's sychophancy, whereas as cycling is the dirty whipping horse 🙄

Cinnamon-girl, do you have an e-reader?

Cinnamon girl I could post it to you if you promise to send it back when read - it's not mine.

That's very kind but will need to decline due to my bad habit of munching crisps when I'm reading. 😳 Thanks anyway. 😀

Cinnamon-girl, do you have an e-reader?

Not yet, am seriously thinking about one. 🙂

I've got a copy of The Secret Race and a copy of Boy Racer that you can have for a tenner posted cg...both are ubread as I'd got them already on kindle then someone bought me the hard copies for xmas.

where there's money there's cheating. I believe Marianne Vos said something to the effect that women's racing is pretty clean because no-one makes enough to afford the drugs ! This makes the whole thing difficult because the women's races are often brilliant and deserve more coverage, and they deserve more money.

I remember the 'leave Lance alone!' days on here....

Only difference is the mainstream media buy track-and-field athletes BS sob stories about innocent contamination and report it apologetically. The BBC coverage of Gay/Powell was offensive in it's sychophancy, whereas as cycling is the dirty whipping horse

Cycling is the whipping boy of all sports and Lance is the whipping boy of cycling.

Doping didn't start and end with Lance, he was no different to the hundreds of other riders over the decades who took whatever they thought would make them faster. Same in other sports - the rumours around doping in baseball, football and athletics aren't going away. They're just reported completely differently.

🙁

Someone bought it for me at Xmas. But I managed to download an eBook version from IsoHunt.
Not that I condone illegal downloads in any way.

But I managed to download an eBook version from IsoHunt.
Not that I condone illegal downloads in any way.

Well, Tyler H could hardly get too upset about it given his past.

One of the best books I've ever read. Just started David millers now.

One of the best books I've ever read. Just started David millers now.

I thought the Hamilton book was a much better read. Kind of obvious that it was ghosted and Millers not (I think this was the case anyway). I completely failed to warm to Miller. Anyone who can refer to themselves without irony as one of the big hitters of the peloton is clearly a ****twaffle.

Spin - me too. Millar's book put me off of him tbh. Seems very self-regarding / self-pitying.

Glad it wasn't just me. Lots of folks really rated it.

Read Hamiltons and am reading Millars now ,both good reads. Read David Walsh `s book Seven Deadly Sins about his 13 year pursuit of Armstrong .I think I know how to dope now ,EPO on a club 10 anyone?

EPO on a club 10 anyone?

I'm more into IPA than EPO really. The performance advantages are a moot point but it makes me think I'm f*cking awesome.

[img] [/img]

Watch 'Overcoming' not so you start to condone the drugs, but to see how battered they get. To hear their pleading for it to stop. It's like war, they take themselves to a very special place.

I really enjoy reading it every now and again.
Just reading it again at the moment (iBooks on iPad) and every time he describes a stage. I'm finding it on YouTube and watching the clips to go with it- really brings it to life!

Just bought it based on this thread, so it best be good!

Noticed David Millar's book is going very cheap for the Kindle on Amazon. £1.49. (I thought he came across a bit arrogant too, but it's a good read)

Well I enjoyed Millars book but I got it when it came out. You have to place it in context, i.e. pre-investigation Lance. There's a lot that (legally) could not be said back then without the excrement hitting the air movement device. I think it was quite out there for its time.

Hamiltons book blew the lid off. Plus he had all the verification vis-a-vis the reasoned decision if Lance decided to go gunning for him. Huge difference in my opinion. It's a great read and feels true.

Oh, if you enjoyed the secret race then it's worth reading Kimmages interview with Landis on NYVelocity.

See [url= http://nyvelocity.com/content/interviews/2011/landiskimmage ]here[/url]:

Yeah I thought it was a great read and certainly an eye opener.

In his position - how many of you would have done the same? Me......I think I would have for sure....it's dope or nothing.
The chapter where he describes being beaten by people he could easily have beaten previously......you can se how it all starts...

In sympathy for Cook, she's right, even in his "outing" Tylor has sill made plenty of cash through doping even if it hasn't come through race wins....

Great insight into professional sport though, even if you're not into road racing as such...

I really enjoyed the book too and in a weird way warmed to him Hamilton a lot. As much as I don't condone cheating can kind of see why they did it...pushed t in the early days and hen getting carried along with a huge surge of doping (yes I know they should have had a backbone etc). It doesn't paint good picture of Lance.

I'd quite like to rad some of the others too although will buy them second hand. Firstly because I'm tight and secondly so no proceeds to go them! What Cook said is both true and very sad.

No. I wouldn't. I've always said if I lied I'd make me rich

99 tour: 80 samples retro-tested and only 10 were positive for EPO. Blows the 'everyone was at it' argument out of the water for me.

Did you see the results of the French commission investigation into the 98 Tour last month?

When combining the EPO abuse confessions of the two riders testing negative with all the positive test results, it was indicated that 35 out of the 38 retrospectively tested riders (92%) had been using EPO in the 1998 Tour de France. A number, which came on top of the additional 9 out of 9 Festina riders and 2 out of 9 TVM riders, who already had confessed EPO abuse due to their implication in the prior police investigations.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Tour_de_France

Now of course they may have cleaned up their act in `99...

Thought Hamilton's book was unputdownable. Wegelius's book was also a good read, (expeletive deleted.... Would improve it). I found Millar's too self-indugent, which is common to champions. Never finished it. He did sign both my son's Team GB cycling jerseys last year, but took an age to come out of the bus.

Not read Cav's book yet, but when we met him he was absolutely fantastic with the kids and I have a lot of time for him.

If anyone wonders/ed why any one would dope, Millars book explains why.

Hamiltons book pretty much explains what happened throught the LA years IMO

Cav can come across as hot headed and arrogant, but having attended an event he was guesting and seeing the time and patience he devoted to fans there that day, he comes across as a top bloke!

Currently working my way through the audiobook of this and finding it very enjoyable and enlightening to read.

Hamilton does come across as a very nice, humble guy but I'm left wondering how accurate that portrayal is. He almost comes across as too reasonable, too easy going. Perhaps I'm being too cynical here.

One thing that strikes me about the book is that I feel far less angry at Lance about the fact that he doped in the first place, more that he was just such a [i]dick[/i] about it.

Now of course they may have cleaned up their act in `99...

The difference was that les Flics were busting and jailing people for dope. Kind of focused the mind a little I'd have thought. Not that they stopped doping, just holding EPO in France suddenly became, well, not such a good idea. In Tyler's book he talks about the team(s?) ditching $$$$ worth of dope by the roadside in 98 in a panic. And then that stuff about Motoman.

he was just such a dick about it.

That was always my beef with Lance and the reason why it's impossible (and in fact morally repugnant) to view him as a scape-goat or victim.

And here we are back on that topic...it's like the cycling equivalent of Godwin's Law.

I read "it's not about the bike" followed by "the secret race"
Never heard identical events described in such different ways before!
Started out thinking "lance - what a guy!" ended with "that's the greatest work of fiction iv ever read lol"

Serial recycler mode -If anyone has a spare copy I'd buy it. -Serial recycler mode

Just finished it! Makes me quite sad for the sport how the culture went on for so long and difficult to believe that things are completely clean now...

I'd like to see some time comparisons between current tour and the lance years

I assume you guys have seen the press about institutionalised doping in West German sport the in 70's alleges they were trying to keep up with the East Germans, a number of the 66 losing world cup squad were implicated.

Doping is everywhere and not just cycling.

The Millar book I enjoyed so I'll add this one to the wish list

difficult to believe that things are completely clean now...

They're not at all. Quite a few riders have been busted this year.

Lance ratting on Tyler. Wow just wow. What else happened? Maybe when Lancw was asking about 'Madrid' he also contacted the Spanish authorities? Who knows but he wasnt like the others was he? He played nasty.

People did try to tell you this before didn't they?

😉

I can't wait 'till Hora changes his mind about socialism too. 🙂

He'll be supporting the Labour Party with a zeal unseen since Tony Benn were a lad.

Did someone mention womens racing?

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/news/ricco-set-to-appeal-12-year-doping-ban-to-world-sporting-court_225774

"Riccò’s girlfriend and mother of his young child, Vania Rossi, tested positive for EPO at the Italian cyclocross championships in January 2010."

Chakaping. Yep. Those who believed feel the dumbest jackasses.

Would Tyler Hamilton have made a better tennis player than cyclist?

http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday-2-7506/sport/other-sports/tom-english-tennis-and-the-anti-doping-debate-1-2992374

I also thought it was a good read, though I think I preferred David Millar's- it is intelligently written and about more than just the drugs.

I really enjoyed both the Hamilton and Millar books, Hamilton's was the more eye-opening in terms of the doping (I found it genuinely surprising how easy it actually was) but I found Millars the better read and could understand a little of why he doped.

http://www.irishpeloton.com/2012/02/drugs-in-football-pull-the-other-one/

http://balls.ie/cycling/transcript-of-stephen-roche-interview-about-doping-in-cycling-at-the-launch-of-the-giro/

"Do you think cycling is being picked on?
Stephen Roche: Yes, it’s a very easy target. It is being picked on. Could you imagine a similar scandal erupting in football. If the stadiums were all empty, an awful lot more money is lost and it hurts a lot more people, whereas if cycling goes down it doesn’t matter, people lose their jobs buts it’s no big deal. If football was hit or tennis was hit it would be a major bad coup for anyone involved in it. "

I started reading Tyler's book last night and am almost through it in one sitting. I'm astonished how easily I was duped by the Armstrong story. I can't believe he wasn't busted sooner.

I feel zero sympathy for Tyler though. The book seems geared at redemption of sorts.

great, just what the world needs, another book about road cyclists and doping. C'mon change the record and move on. I cant be ar5ed reading yet another one. Dull.

? Read the topic and/or the book? It sheds alot of light on LA/the dopers world. Its not 'we already know this' info- its nasty insider-stuff.

Thought the book was very good, didn't pay for it however, that would have been plain wrong. 8)

I can't stop reading all these cycling books - Millar, Hamilton, Kelly, etc - now on Michael Hutchinson's book about his hour record attempt - the drugs stuff is a sideline, I'm hooked on the insight it gives into the lifestyle these guys have to lead to be successful (drugs or no drugs) - makes your own mundane life seem a bit "easy"....!!

I feel zero sympathy for Tyler though. The book seems geared at redemption of sorts.

now on Michael Hutchinson's book about his hour record attempt

If anyone wants to read it but doesn't want to give their money to a drug cheat I think I have an eBook copy that I could probably email to people.

but it feels more like "if you're wondering how it happens, this is it", rather than a redemptive, "it's not my fault" kind of gig.

Yeah,that's my take on it as well....

EDIT +1 for the hour attempt book as well,really enjoyed that one

I was absorbed by the Hamilton book. I took it to read on the train for one of my trips down for work and for once was glad of a delay to keep reading.

I even ended up chatting to a chap on the way down as he clocked the book and we started chatting cycling.

Glad you said that about Cav. I always have this dread that in person they are complete aholes but nice when they are a decent sort too. Same with Ed Clancy when I asked if he minded a pic with him after a race the other year.

Rasmussen's book will probably make Hamilton's book look like boys playing with needles.