Project Rainbow: How British Cycling Reached the Top of the World - Hardcover

Ellingworth, Rod

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0571303498 ISBN 13: 9780571303496

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2013

Synopsis

Twenty years ago, British road cycling was in the doldrums: today it is at the top of the world, thanks to Bradley Wiggins's Tour de France win, Mark Cavendish's Road World title and the dominance of the British squad, Team Sky. Cycling has become that rare beast, a story of British sporting success built from the bottom up.

As GB Elite Road Coach and Team Sky's Performance Manager, Rod Ellingworth is one of the chief architects behind that success. Here, for the first time, he tells the story of this amazing journey: the meteoric rise of both teams to the top of the road cycling world, and the four-year campaign that led to Mark Cavendish's historic Road World Championships title in 2011.

With an introduction by Mark Cavendish.

About this title

Review

For those who have grown into cycling with the success of Great Britain on the track and tarmac, and now with Team Sky, this is the story behind the results. The fly-on-the-wall documentary, the insider account of arguably one of the biggest success stories in British sporting history - and it ends with the tantalising prospect of more to come. (Colin Henrys roadcyclinguk.com)

If you have any interest at all in how Britain became a major force in modern day road and track cycling, I doubt there has been a finer explanation or testament published. Not only is it exceptionally well written without pretension or flourish, but it fills many of the historical gaps relating to Britain's place in top level, international cycling in the 21st century. (thewashingmachinepost.net)

While it works as a stand-alone books Project Rainbow also serves as additional insight into some of the other books written on this subject.
But really, for me, the most valuable insights to be gained from Project Rainbow are into the life of a coach and how a good coach can go about getting the best out of the riders he has to work with. That, I think, is the key purpose of Ellingworth's story. This is not tittle-tattle from an insider, an anecdote-laden account of working with stars like Mark Cavendish: it's a manual for aspiring coaches (and - it must also be admitted - also a book for Team Sky's legion of fans in the business world who are tired of Sun Tzu and the likes of Who Moved My Cheese and want a management manual that draws lessons from cycling).

(podiumcafe.com)

Book Description

Project Rainbow, by Rod Ellingworth, is a thrilling and inspiring story of British sporting success.

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0571303498
• ISBN 13: 9780571303496
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320