Rough Ride
Behind the Wheel with a Pro Cyclist
1st Edition
Published on 30. June 2009
352 pages
978-1-4090-7834-0 (ISBN)
Description
An eye-opening expose of and a heart-breaking lament for professional cycling
Paul Kimmage's boyhood dreams were of cycling glory: wearing the yellow jersey, cycling the Tour de France, becoming a national hero. He knew it wouldn't come easy, but he was prepared to put in the graft. The dedication paid off - he finished sixth in the World Championships as an amateur and in 1986, he turned professional.
He soon discovered it wasn't about courage, training hours or how much you wanted to win. It was about gruelling defeats, total exhaustion, and drugs - drugs that would allow you to finish the race and start another day.
Kimmage ultimately left the sport to write this book - profoundly honest and ground-breaking, Rough Ride broke the silence surrounding the issue of drugs in sport, and documents one man's love for, and struggle with, the complex world of professional cycling.
'A must read for any cyclist' Cyclist
WINNER OF WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
Paul Kimmage's boyhood dreams were of cycling glory: wearing the yellow jersey, cycling the Tour de France, becoming a national hero. He knew it wouldn't come easy, but he was prepared to put in the graft. The dedication paid off - he finished sixth in the World Championships as an amateur and in 1986, he turned professional.
He soon discovered it wasn't about courage, training hours or how much you wanted to win. It was about gruelling defeats, total exhaustion, and drugs - drugs that would allow you to finish the race and start another day.
Kimmage ultimately left the sport to write this book - profoundly honest and ground-breaking, Rough Ride broke the silence surrounding the issue of drugs in sport, and documents one man's love for, and struggle with, the complex world of professional cycling.
'A must read for any cyclist' Cyclist
WINNER OF WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
Reviews / Votes
Sent shockwaves through the peloton -- Daniel Friebe * Outdoor Fitness * A devastatingly frank description of life on the professional road cycling circuit, hurtful in its telling of unwelcome truths yet powerful in its capture of what it takes, legally and illegally, to compete -- Mary Perryman * Huffington Post UK * In the wake of the Armstrong affair, you can't move for books about doping, but Kimmage, and ex-pro rider himself, was the first to 'spit in the soup' back in the 1990s... A must read for any cyclist * Cyclist *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
File size
1,50 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4090-7834-0 (9781409078340)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2007
Yellow Jersey Press
€16.50
Article not available at the moment
Person
Since writing Rough Ride, Paul Kimmage has gone on to become one of the UK and Ireland's most respected sports journalists. Currently chief interviewer for the Sunday Times' sports section, he is also the author of Andy Townsend's autobiography, and of the highly acclaimed Full Time: The Secret Life of Tony Cascarino.
