The Racer: Life on the Road as a Pro Cyclist - Hardcover

Millar, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0224100068 ISBN 13: 9780224100069

Publisher: Yellow Jersey, 2015

Synopsis

What is it really like to be a racer?

What is it like to be swept along at 60kmh in the middle of the pack? How does it feel to be reeled in from a solo breakaway metres from the line? What happens to the body during a high-speed chute? What tactics must teams employ to win the day, the jersey, the grand tour? How does a domestique keep going to the end of a stage once his job is done and his body exhausted? How does a time-trialist maintain his form when every muscle and sinew is screaming at him to stop? What sacrifices must a cyclist make to reach the highest levels? What is it like on the bus? In the hotels? What camaraderie is built in the confines of a team? What rivalries? How does it feel to be constantly on the road, away from loved ones, tasting one more calorie-counted hotel breakfast?

David Millar offers us a unique insight into the mind of a professional cyclist during his last year before retirement. Over the course of a season on the World Tour, Millar puts us in touch with the sights, smells and sounds of the sport – the barked instructions of a road captain in a sprint chain, the silence of a solo training ride. This is a book about youth and age, fresh-faced excitement and hard-earned experience. It is a love letter to cycling.

About this title

Review:

"David Millar's book takes you inside the sport of cycling while also emphasising the absurdity of it. It's quite rare for a sportsman to be so immersed and yet able to detach themselves from it all ... The parts on crashing are amazing. I felt frightened and sore reading it" (Richard Moore, author of Slaying the Badger)

"Cycling has always been about a great deal more than its winners, and The Racer is quite a ride" (Jon Day Spectator)

"What’s it really like to be a professional bike racer? David Millar gives you an unparalleled insight" (Colin Henrys Road Cycling UK)

"A love letter to the simple pleasure of riding a bike, and a very well-written one at that" (Jamie Beach Bike Radar)

"Millar's love for what he did, and the curious world he inhabited for 18 years, shines through his prose" (Scotsman)

Book Description:

A unique and powerful insight into the mind of a professional cyclist in his last year before retirement, from British cyclist David Millar, writer of the bestselling Racing Through the Dark.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yellow Jersey
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0224100068
• ISBN 13: 9780224100069
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304