Rough Ride: Behind the Wheel with a Pro Cyclist

Paul Kimmage

Random House, Jun 30, 2009 - Sports & Recreation - 352 pages

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

Contents

• Packet Soup and Fruit Cake: 11
• The Nearly: 19
• National Suckers: 29
• Glory Days: 39
• Brandnew Anorak: 47
• Shattered Dreams: 50
• Grenoble: 63
• Tour de France: 74
• The Arms Race: 79
• Qualified Pro 13 Tour: 87
• July: 125
• One of the Boys ix: 141
• The Fab Four: 149
• 1: 153
• Coffee at Eleven: 163
• Rescued: 176
• Journalist: 189
• Giro dItalia: 196
• 4: 198
• 19: 211
• Carnon Plage: 214
• The Last Crusade: 217
• Spitting in the Soup: 229
• 29: 239
• Epilogue: 245
• Postscript to the 1998 edition: 259
• Death of an Eagle: 263
• Plus ça Change: 270
• 50: 283
• ཋ ཋ ཌ ཌ ྡR+ ༠ ཊ རྗ འག 141: 302

About the author

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.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Rough Ride: Behind the Wheel with a Pro Cyclist
• Author: Paul Kimmage
• Edition: revised
• Publisher: Random House, 2009
• ISBN: 1409078345, 9781409078340
• Length: 352 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Memoirs; Biography & Autobiography / Sports; Sports & Recreation / Cultural & Social Aspects; Sports & Recreation / Cycling; Sports & Recreation / General