Review of A Significant Other: Riding the Centenary Tour de France with Lance Armstrong

A Significant Other: Riding the Centenary Tour de France with Lance Armstrong
Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 3
More Information

Best Cycling Journalism I've Read

On: 2005-07-01

This book is on a different level, artistically and intellectually, from most cycling journalism. Ive read a bevy of Tour de France books and this is the best by far. It takes a different angle on professional cycling, the perspective of the domestique, to show you things about the sport that you would never learn reading yet another book about Lance or the other stars. The story of Victor Hugo Pena (now exiled from Lance, but riding with another team, Phonak) is far more representative of life in the peloton than that of the stars, and so tells you so much more about the cruel, beautiful sport of cycling.

Half as good as it could have been

On: 2005-01-07

I bought this book because I thought Id learn more about the job of the domestiques in general, and about Victor Hugo Pena specifically. And I really enjoyed the half of the book that was about Victor Hugo Pena. Those portions of the book are well written and engaging. But I was bored by the other half of the book that was more philosophical and historical. There are plenty of books about the history of the Tour de France and I would have bought one of those if I had wanted to read about the Tour. I wish the book had only been about domestiques and Victor Hugo Pena. The book is still worth a read, but it could have been so much better.

Well worth a read

On: 2004-10-21

This is a curious book, cutting between Penaa narrative of an individual stage, which is great if youre a racing cyclist (I am) or an enthusiastic fan, and Matt Randalls history and philosophy of bike racing. Matt could be accused of overly philosophising, especially when hes trying to use professional cycling as a metaphor for the sins of globalisation, which is a bit of a stretch. I enjoyed the read, the book misses out on a top rating because of Matts final chapter. Its a bike race, fortunatly Pena provides the narrative to carry the politics!