First book review I will choose something by Samuel Abt who is my favorite cycling writer. He writes for the International Herald Tribune as well as the New York Times, and his articles have made up many books.
Off To the Races 25 years of Cycling Journalism is collection of his stories that have appeared in many other places, but are his best. It is divided into 3 sections. The first is “Atop the Podium” that has stories about the champions of the sport like Merckx, Hinault, LeMond, Indurain, Zoetemelk, and Lance. The second section “In the Pack” is about the rest of the riders ranging from the well known to not so well known riders Riis, Eros Poli, Pantani, Wilfried Neliseen, Robert Millar and many others. The last section is “Races and Places” with stories about the big and small races and the places that hold them. I think the little stories about driving around to all the criteriums is where Abt really shines.
One of the things I have liked about Abt that this book really shows is that he views the stories about the local fan clubs for smaller rider just as important as the stories about the top champions. He brings the character of the sport home to the reader.
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