Joe Mungo Reed

There was a time in my life (from the mid-80s with the rise of Greg LeMond through the early 2000s and the fall of Lance Armstrong) that I was really into
The Tour de France and pro cycling. I knew all the cyclists and watched the tour as best I could on TV and online. I followed the other big European races and was lucky enough to watch the US Pro Champs here in Philadelphia. I was fascinated by the strategy and how close this race could be. I also knew and understood how difficult it was so doping, while disappointing, also seemed inevitable.

All this to say, I am the perfect audience for this book, I understand the life of a domestique and I really enjoyed being inside Sol’s head. I’m also a distance runner so I understand a little about personal, physical suffering for sports.

I’m not sure how this quiet, slow moving story would work for one who doesn’t already understand this world but for me it was just great.… (mere)

I grew up in a family that enjoyed bicycling and often the only times our cable package was upgraded was to watch the Tour de France each summer. This novel brings back a lot of those memories. It's narrated by one of the cyclists in the tour, not one of the leaders, but a teammate who is expected to anything to help his leader win, including taking drugs. As the narrator reflects on his life and his family, one starts to think he may be ready to turn over a new leaf in his life, but the stakes just keep getting higher and his wife becomes embroiled in the team's doping activities. An interesting read, that makes one think of all the cycling headlines of the past two decades.… (mere)