is a fictional account of one racer's experiences over the course of a 137 kilometer race, the Tour de Mont Aigoual. The author, noted as a cycling enthusiast (and who plays the part of the lead character) clearly knows his way around a race, and conveys the varied emotions experienced as fortunes shift and collide over the course of a long race. Mixed in with the fictional account are many historical references to some of the sports greatest riders of the past, such as De Vlaeminck, Gaul, Coppi, and Bartali."...the smell of balsam from other legs spatters off their spokes and into my nostrils. I slide in among the wheels, back and forth, in the continuously shifting braid of the peleton."
"I saw a rider meticulously peeling a banana with both hands on a downhill stretch at 65 kilometers an hour...riders can do anything on their bikes. Thirsty racers sometimes even discover that their bidon (waterbottle) has been stolen from the holder."
"Climbing is a rythmn, a trance; you have to rock your organs' protests back to sleep."
"...where does a winning rider get the right to revel in applause if the crowd isn't obliged to hiss at him when he fails."
"it hailed, it rained, it snowed...Anyone taking a piss was immediately bolted to the ground by a yellow parabola."
"Suffering is an art. Like the downhills, its a non-athletic art in which the great champions nevertheless outsrip all amateurs."
"Suddenly it dawns on me: this is my chance to take the final, most distinguished step in the hierarchy of road racing; from winning to letting win."
This book is a quick read, under 150 pages and with enough twists and turns to keep you attentive. This is the English version, translated from Dutch.
1978 (translated 2002) The Rider Tim Krabbe, translated by Sam Garrett
Oh, and a tip of the cycling cap to Richard over at Cycling Art Blog for the book and brew combo idea.
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