Peiper's Tale

by Allan Peiper, Chris Sidwells

As a child growing up in Australia, Allan Peiper never knew where home was. The son of an alcoholic and abusive father, and a mother who chose him rather than her son, Peiper found that the only thing that didn't let him down was his bike. Eventually cycling became his escape when, as a 16 year old, he took the extraordinary step of leaving his shattered family and moving by himself to Belgium with the idea of becoming a professional cyclist. In this book he tells of the new world and culture he discovered, as he fought prejudice and deceit, made friends and won races on the way to riding the Tour de France and becoming one of the most respected professional riders of the 1980s. Cycling became Peiper's new family, and each chapter revolves around one of the many, varied and colourful characters he met, raced with, and sometimes had to fight against - men like Jan 'the papers' who gave him his first accommodation in a run-down Ghent boarding house; Peter Post who ruled the Panasonic team with a rod of iron; Eddy Planckaert, the youngest of the Flandrian cycling dynasty; Robert Millar, Britain's most successful ever stage racer; and the legendary fellow-Aussie, Phil Anderson, and many others. Eventually, he had done that all he could do in the sport, and then, as Peiper 'The rooster came home.' Life as a professional cyclist is hard, but for many, life afterwards is even harder, and it is something very rarely talked about. Typically, though, Peiper relates this part of life as freely and lucidly as he does the drama of racing. He had bad times and good and, in common with many ex-professional sportsmen, it has taken years to readjust. Now he is back in the sport as a director of one of cycling's biggest teams, and bringing his own brand of humour and humanity to the job. It's all in this book - cycling from the saddle and from the team car, and all the trials and tribulations in between

Genres: Cycling

Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading about Peiper's trials and lessons as a professional cyclist, but there's much more to the book than that. This isn't your usual sport biography, though it includes Peiper's impression of some of the big names in pro cycling.

It's not the most professionally written and edited book I've ever read, but it's written from the heart by a guy who's had some really awful experiences, and some really wonderful ones. I read the life story of someone I can connect to in many ways, and he completely bared himself in this book.

Well worth reading, but, if you're picky about such things, keep your cycling slang dictionary nearby. Not all the terms are defined, though I think most can be sufficiently understood from context, even by non-cyclists.

[James Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Allan Peiper. He was the reason, having seen him race the Tour de France, that I became a racing cyclist myself. He struck me as witty, intelligent and cool. His life was an adventure- a talented and determined athlete, he left home (it turned out to be a broken and sad one) and took himself to Belgium to race. he had no money, no friends and no chance. However, the steely-eyed Aussie is a battler and he made an incredible success of his life on the road and became an inspiration to others. In recent years he has fought cancer with the same courage, humour and drive he did his opponents and the terrain of the Tour. A proper hero.