The Secret Race
By Tyler Hamilton & Daniel Coyle
- Release Date: 2012-09-05
- Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Description
“The holy grail for disillusioned cycling fans . . . The book’s power is in the collective details, all strung together in a story that is told with such clear-eyed conviction that you never doubt its veracity. . . . The Secret Race isn’t just a game changer for the Lance Armstrong myth. It’s the game ender.”—Outside
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Secret Race is the book that rocked the world of professional cycling—and exposed, at long last, the doping culture surrounding the sport and its most iconic rider, Lance Armstrong. Former Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton was once one of the world’s top-ranked cyclists—and a member of Lance Armstrong’s inner circle. Over the course of two years, New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle conducted more than two hundred hours of interviews with Hamilton and spoke with numerous teammates, rivals, and friends. The result is an explosive page-turner of a book that takes us deep inside a shadowy, fascinating, and surreal world of unscrupulous doctors, anything-goes team directors, and athletes so relentlessly driven to win that they would do almost anything to gain an edge. For the first time, Hamilton recounts his own battle with depression and tells the story of his complicated relationship with Lance Armstrong. This edition features a new Afterword, in which the authors reflect on the developments within the sport, and involving Armstrong, over the past year. The Secret Race is a courageous, groundbreaking act of witness from a man who is as determined to reveal the hard truth about his sport as he once was to win the Tour de France.
With a new Afterword by the authors.
“Loaded with bombshells and revelations.”—VeloNews
“[An] often harrowing story . . . the broadest, most accessible look at cycling’s drug problems to date.”—The New York Times
“ ‘If I cheated, how did I get away with it?’ That question, posed to SI by Lance Armstrong five years ago, has never been answered more definitively than it is in Tyler Hamilton’s new book.”—Sports Illustrated
“Explosive.”—The Daily Telegraph (London)
Reviews
Read This One
5By Mezzadge1616If you are into the story of the Us Postal Team and what it takes to compete in Europe, than this book is a must read!!!Eye opening
4By Tzaneen85The detail that Tyler Hamilton uses in this book makes you feel as if you are a 1st hand witness to the events he discusses. The raw feelings and emotions are gripping; so much so that it was difficult to put this book down. Excellent in all ways.Outstanding book
5By Out of a suitcaseMust read if you're a cycling fan and/or enjoy a good comeback story. I couldn't put this book down. The inside stories of his life and career as well as the tone of humility, sincerity, and enlightenment make this an exciting and powerful book.Truth and Redemption
5By HP164Through Tyler's story we are able to see how fragile Mankind is masked in the physically demanding sport of Professional Cycling....A great read....it's dope!
4By coliewertzsomeone had to write it. like him or not, Hamilton put it out there. at best, the shoes of a professional cyclist are difficult to put yourself in. Hamilton does a good job of taking a snapshot of the peloton--it's indiduals, teams, and morals from both. He really could only do that, as an everday cyclist isn't faced with the choice to dope. of course, they can. but Hamilton tries to develop a tangible, readable framework of the lengths athletes can go to feel like a playing field is level. he asks simply to join him for a few hundred pages of empathy, not sympathy.The secret race
5By Corsair PilotThis is one of those must read books. We often are to ready to denigrate those professional athletes, such as Hamilton, who use a performance enhancing drug. And for good reason, but as this book points out we miss the systemic factors and, of course, the human condition. As Hamilton points out, the doping is only one part of the equation. These are athletes competing at the very margin of performance. In the end, Hamilton's decision to stop the BS is the epiphany many realize to their credit. To this end, his story is transcendent as well as informative.MCS MD
5By Gynoman79Comprehensive behind the scenes look at PED use in professional cycling. No sport his physically more demanding and thus the biker who uses PEDs has the most to gain in terms of success. Fascinating account of the intricacies of PED techniques and use by Elite cyclists.The Secret Race is excellent
5By MerckxxThank you for your honesty! Sad but encouraging - thanks.Outstanding and honest!
5By mattlenioThis book is a pretty easy read and contains a clear and honest look at the world of cycling. This book will change your view on the sport and will definitely change your view of the great Lance Armstrong.Refreshing
4By JJ2WI feel relieved having read Tyler's story of cycling's recent history and the dark course it followed. It is a candid account of the depths of the human spirit and a showcase of how terribly destructive power and influence can be when it falls into the wrong hands. My love of cycling grew out of this wild period. Tyler's ease makes the truth a little bit easier to swallow.Great
2By CjfttudjrjnxydjfjfIf you love cycling then this is the book for youGreat read
4By RideWithGarrettShattered a world that consumed my sporting interests for years, but it was great to finally read a little truth. As a former aspiring pro cyclist I was disappointed to learn just how naive it was to think I could do it clean. Turns out, in that era it was tough to be clean. I hope Tyler can continue to rebuild his life and someday Lance can come clean completely. Thanks for the honesty Tyler and thanks for always being so friendly on the Gateway rides in BoulderGreat read
5By Ryan HornGreat first hand account of the Tour de France during doping times. Tyler's account of how everything went down is riveting. It shows the true colors of Lance Armstrong, and in doing so i couldnt help but be reminded of the movie Talladega Nights. If you ain't first, you're last means a lot to Lance.An important book
5By Inside scoopIf one wants a better understanding the rigors of elite cycling and why so many doped during the Armstrong era, this is a must-read. It is also a compelling story of one elite cyclist's rise, fall, and redemption. I found the book to be a page-turner and well written, with horrifying detail and some very funny observations, which make the whole volume more human and real. It think the book is a fine accomplishment, only tarnished by poor formatting as an iBook (footnotes flow poorly, some pages are omitted, etc.). If I were to buy it again, I would do so as a real book.Just loved this book—so informative, so interesting, so honest
5By JimmyMonkeyBrainsI was struck by how compelling this was to read. Perhaps because I like to cycle and follow all the Tours I was more interested. But I'm not a racer or anything, and found the book to be more of a human drama unfolding in the context of bike racing, rather than about bike racing per se. Still, I do follow the Grand Tours and so I learned a great deal about the inside life of what's going on when those guys are racing.This is real
4By It haulsToo detailed and observant to be a lie. If you follow cycling, it's like going to a concert where you know all the songs. One by one the names and stages ring a bell. Tyler is a doper, but he reverently concedes the truth one dilemma at a time. A very telling ethical discourse on the epo era and one man's struggle with his choices.A great read!
5By Herm DegsIt's been a real eye-opener reading this book! Good on you Tyler; I"ve always thought highly of you & have a new found (increased) level of respect for you. Standing up to not only Lance Armstrong, but pretty much the entire cycling world, took a lot of guts, luckily you have truck loads of that! Onwards & upwards.The Secret Race
5By Milldog 77Hamilton's adage at the end of this book, "secrets are poison" are one lesson that required more than 15 years for him to learn. Altho, this book painfully forced me to reverse my long term near-worship of Lance Armstrong, it also allowed me to forgive him for all that he allowed into his life to corrupt his soul. You can not read this riveting journey of a man "set free by truth" without realizing that we are all tempted to hide from ourselves, but also given to choice to relinquish the shadows that would easily consume us. This book is "not normal in any way" Thank you to Tyler for his honesty and his courage to help us see ourselves in this process....RLMA real look into Pro Cycling
5By OtooledogsTyler Hamilton offers an inside view of Pro cycling's culture. It's the good, bad and ugly side of cycling. It is a must read for any cycling enthusiast. You won't put it down until your finished reading. Excellent!
