New Cav Autobiography: At Speed

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Comments

  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    RichN95 wrote:
    I'm surprised that Froome doesn't have a book in the pipeline. I would have thought that would have been a dead cert. It might be quite good too.


    According to the Cound, he does (she may be writing it as we speak). You can bet it will come out just before next year's Tour, and we'll get episode 23 of the ongoing soap opera that is Wiggins-Froome.

    I think you are right about the book RR, it's probably too late for Christmas so a June launch next year would be a good warm up.
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • Not something id bother buying for myself but I got given this for Christmas and am halfway through. So far a good read and reasonably written. Only two mistakes so far and some good info. Didnt realise he was being paid small beans in 2010 and 2011.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • I was a little disappointed to be honest. I was hoping for a little bit more from it. In places it seemed like a list of excuses as to why he lost some races. I'm a big Cav fan, of the racer and his personality but it wasn't the best.
    I'm half way through Project Rainbow and thats a much better read.
  • A few interesting points from the 2013 Tour:
    -He felt so bad just at the start of the Tour that he had considered pulling out
    -On stage 1 where Greipel caused a crash he was using hydraulic brakes (1st rider ever at Tour) which helped him not end up tangled with the other riders but able to pull up short
    -On stage 6 where Greipel beat him, he had crashed with 40km to go and been given the spare bike he had specifically asked to change from as there was something wrong with it
    -On stage 9 he got slapped in the face by a Euskaltel rider (Lobato) while going at 40km/h so gave the dickhead some punches. No commisaires around and O'Grady broke it up.
    -He called to apologise to Veelers the same evening but the guy was low and said 'come and do it to my face'
    -Every rider he spoke to agreed Veeler's crash wasnt his fault
    -On the echelon stage his team had broke it in half with 70km to go and Saxo didnt help them with the pace making before they made the decisive move which Cav only caught by doing his 'fastest, hardest sprint of the Tour'. The finale move by Nikki and Chavanel had been planned and executed to perfection
    -On stage 14 he had passed on advice to Trentin (via DS) to not be tempted to sprint to early on a run in where the finish was deceptively closer, but wait for the 250m mark
    -He had ridden for many days (including stage lost to Kittel) with one crank 2.5cm longer than the other!
    -He likes and respects Froome
    -At the dope test on the Champs he only gave 75ml so had to wait another hour to produce the remaining 15ml
    Contador is the Greatest
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,032
    Sounds like QS need to sort their mechanics out then.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,134
    Sounds like QS need to sort their mechanics out then.
    Cav's favourite (Gary Blem) stayed at Sky, didn't he
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • I read his first book and have to say that its nice to see how he has matured and improved.

    I will be relishing his sprints next year Im surprised to say and still think he will be top dog.

    Opqs comes across as a super team to be a part of even with their massive focus on the 10weeks or so of classics.
    Sky come across as confirming and adding to my dislike of them.
    HTC I have even more respect for now knowing they were on a shoestring budget the entire time yet still managed to be possibly the most successful team of all time in terms of wins per year average.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Sorry to resurrect this one a bit - but I've just finished Project Rainbow by Rod Ellingworth and really enjoyed it. Terrible cover, but as an insight into "marginal gains" (and a lot of what Rod seems to do in another world would be project management), it is interesting stuff.
  • overlord2
    overlord2 Posts: 339
    I thought it was a good book. Well written easy to read.

    The last paragraph will make you go all soft inside :oops: :cry:

    I think you need to be a bit of a Cav & british cycling fan though.
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    its not a bad book at all as it goes. i've read far worse. you have to be Pro cav, definitley. think the view of Sky was a view that anyone who is the best sprinter of his generation would offer, it was daft having a team that couldn't work for him all the time, and he should have known that. Sean yates comes across as a complete buffoon though ( i've never liked the guy).

    Can't beleive that bit about the cranks, 170 on one side and 172.5 on the other... thats actually stupid.
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Flecha said at the Classics unveiling thing that Yates was the best DS (or "coach") he ever had.