In Pursuit of Glory

by Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins is a British sporting legend. He is an immensely talented and dedicated endurance athlete with a gritty, down-to-earth persona - cool, outspoken, respected, inspiring - and he has helped to bring track and road cycling to a new audience in the UK. With new material by Brendan Gallagher, co-author of the original edition, this is the story of a boy with bikes in his blood, of a son abandoned by his father, and of the journey from council estate to the very pinnacle of the sport.  In Pursuit of Glory  is a compelling, no-holds-barred account of Wiggins' rise to global success and an extraordinary insight into the world of cycling.

Genres: Cycling, Nonfiction, Biography, Sports, Autobiography, British Literature

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2008

Reviews

[Barry Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

A straight talking, un-edited (I assume because of some of the grammatical errors) account of Brad's life - mainly between the late nineties and 2009 since he takes the sensible step of glossing over his childhood. I await the 2014 revision where he tells of his TDF victory!!!

[Giles Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really interesting and insightful.

The man doesn't have an easy ride to the top and at times has to really fight.... Once there he seems to have a habit of self detonating when things are going well. A constant battle.

Sometimes the early chapters of these books are a bit of a bore, this wasn't, with talk of his early life, minus a father figure and watching Chris Boardman on the TV in the Barcelona Olympics as being the trigger that got him into cycling, I found the whole thing quite pacey and good to read. Being brought up by his Mom, much in the way Lance Armstrong was.

His career takes him to the Athens Olympics where he wins Gold and meets up with his Alcoholic former Pro waster of a father. A man who never seems to be proud of him throughout the book.

Brad went off the rails after this and at several other times in his career to date and with the guidance of Chris Boardman himself, Dave Brailsford and the various Sports Scientists and Psych's at team GB, keeping Brad in check seemed a task and a half as he regularly went AWOL.

I found Brad to be a very vulnerable character and often selfish, not giving a proper turn for Mark Cavendish in the Madison final as Wiggo had already won Beijing Olympic Golds the day before jumps to mind and I've read of similar behaviour in David Millars autobiog when riding for Garmin and securing a top 4 in the Tour, Wiggo wouldn't return the favour by work the the teams sprinter on the final stage.......

However, I also felt like I associated and bonded with him at various points greatly and recognised character traits as similar to my own.

I enjoyed reading of the hardship of a young pro on the road, particularly the 2007 Tour De France where he was so unceremoniously dumped out of the tour amid the Cofidis doping scandal. (A team-mate was doping, Brad was an anti-doping voice and was not guilty).

A well written autobiog that although not in the league of "It's not about the bike" (Armstrong) or "Racing through the dark" (Millar) it gives a very good look into the life and demons of a high profile sportsman. Recommended

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Wiggins opens up his personal and professional life as an open book. From his early life to his current superstardom. Bradley admits that being able to write down all his life experiences and look back on they was very therapeutic for him. You can actually see the maturity and subtle changes in him through his writing this is even more evident in his second book Bradley Wiggins: My Time: An Autobiography he recounts many others experiences but with a more mature voice. Bradley does not suddenly just fit into a role, each new achievement brings their own pressures and responsibilities which he has to not just physically but mentally get his head round. The book is a step by step guide to his gradual physical and mental improvements. Having the correct people around him as his support system.

The great thing about this book is (now) Sir Bradley's honesty. Those that have seen interviews with him know he can wear his heart on his sleeve, and sometimes has no filter between his brain and his mouth. I am very glad that this was not removed from the book. I like the rawness of quotes with over flowing emotion. To me that just show how passionate he is about his sport and damn right why shouldn't he get the recognition for his hard work simply because it was tainted by someone else. Bradley gives his honest opinion on people who have helped and hindered him. He gives full credit to his team mates, family and friends.

In this books you see Bradley Wiggens grow from a boy from Kilburn on the knife's edge, to finding his destiny amazing Olympic success, to (in the close to 100 page extension) his amazing success in 2012. Again for more details in his later year 2010-2012 read Bradley Wiggins: My Time: An Autobiography, but make sure you read this book first.

[Ness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this some years after it was published was a bit awkward considering what has happening in the time since. Wiggins' father left him and his mother when was Wiggins was just a toddler. He had already done the same thing to his first wife and eldest daughter and goes on to do it a third time. His father had a career in cycling races in Europe whilst drinking heavily and losing what money he did win. After going back to his native Australia his relationship with his son becomes practically non-existent. Wiggins then gets the news that his father has died and has to make the call whether to travel to Australia for the funeral. Before this Wiggins has to deal with his own demons and excessive drinking.

His relationship with his wife Cath is a major part of the book and of course they have since split. This coincided with his cycling team collapsing owning a lot of money which ended up bankrupting Wiggins. During the updated 2012 section written by Brendan Gallagher he tells of this impassioned speech that Wiggins makes about doping. Of course Team Sky was set up based on it being a totally clean team but since then so much more has been uncovered and many questions left fully unanswered. Wiggins is now fronting a show with George Hincapie and his former team mate Lance Armstrong...

I enjoyed it as a cycling fan especially as it featured track cycling, but was left wondering what was left out.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely dictated by the author and ghost written. It’s a fascinating story and it’s easy to forget just how good Wiggins was as a rider. He pulls no punches about is private life or his cycling life. I am a cyclist and yet I had no idea what was required to win Olympic medals. I felt the add-on by Brendan Gallagher was a fail. Such a different presentation style didn’t add a lot to the book. Some aspects of his cycling life were glossed over such as his relationship with Froome and the drugs issue. I find it hard to square his unequivocal stance against drugs with the later jiffy bag affair. I do believe he rode clean, but we will never know.

[Judethmc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to read a book with so much hindsight. This one finishes at the end of the 2009 tour de France and throughout he discounts the likelihood he would ever be a contender for the yellow jersey almost to the last line. Also interesting how vitriolic his description of dopers is throughout yet her almost hero worships Lance Armstrong. I never thought I would like Bradley Wiggins until I heard his desert island discs a few years ago so never judging a book by it's cover plucked this one from my shelf and very much enjoyed it.

[Jim Dennison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read ‘My Time’ a few years ago and thought it was ... meh. This book was better and kept me more engaged. It’s broader in scope and a good insight on the ebbs and flows of form and fitness and definitely a good read if you’re a sporty cyclist yourself

[Chris Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked his descriptions of the races and the sport itself but every time he started in on glory and the meaning of the olympics etc I wanted to start flipping pages.

[ADAM BRENNER · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cycling is interesting, the ego and arrogance is not

[Richard Milligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for any British cycling fan and a great intro book into the world of track cycling. Incredible insight about his father's era, i.e., the life of a talented but not top-level cyclist who turned to doping. He honestly explains his rise to the top and pivotal points in his career. Raw and honest about his emotions and as open about the highs as the lows. Great read.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a gift - I'm not much of a fan of bio especially vanity projects like the ghosted "autobiography" of a sports star - so I'm not the target readership.

I would give it 2.5 stars if I could. He comes across as full of himself at times - but if I had the talent & the tenacity to do what he has done I would likely be pretty full of myself too. He talks about things I can't imagine wanting to share with the rest of the world which makes me feel uncomfortably voyeuristic and his tales about his drinking would worry me if he were a friend or family member - especially given his father's problems with drugs & alcohol. [I think there's enough evidence for a genetic predisposition towards addiction issues that you are a fool to ignore it or assume you're not at risk if you have those problems in your family; even if you don't grow up around an addict.] He claims to have conquered his demons and to have that under control so good luck to him.

The style is clunky and uninvolving at times; it doesn't sound remotely like someone just talking to you ("I stretched my long legs out" - I don't imagine he really thinks about himself like that) but it is also too poorly written to be acceptable as a professionally written biography presented in the first person. I think the author was striving for "in his own voice" - and missing as far as I am concerned. Yet I stayed up hours past a reasonable bed-time to read it so it clearly was engaging. Or maybe I wanted to see how it ends?

He mentions that he met his wife through the national cycling championships but (since he never talks about her except to present her as the love of his life and a hugely supportive partner) he never explains how or why she stopped competing - assuming she did. I don't suppose it's any of my business but I did want to know more about her story.

The original was written after the 2008 Beijing Olympics and then there's some additional stuff about the next season or so included for the paperback edition. Bearing in mind what little I know of his career since then it is interesting to read his views on his chances in the Tour de France - as reported for public consumption, of course. He states categorically that he has no chance of winning it but would like to get a stage or 2 before he retires. He doesn't even seem to be much of a contender on the tour at the point the book ends. He does correctly predict that a British rider will win it fairly soon though. The book ends with him finishing 4th in the TdF & suddenly he's decided he is a serious contender to win it after all.

The book is quite repetitive & poorly edited ["visa vie" indeed & lots of typos]. I am not particularly interested in cycling & don,t know much about it but it was fairly interesting overall. However, it was a real anti-climax reading it after this summer of British sporting triumph! Might be worth waiting for the next edition.

[Jtomassetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

IN PURSUIT OF GLORY is the autobiography of Bradley Wiggins. It was written in 2008 after the Beijing Olympics and before Wiggin’s success in the Tour De France in 2009. Although those of us that mostly follow road racing do not know much about Wiggins, he has been a very successful as a track rider since 2000.

Unless they live near a velodrome, most Americans know little about track riding as it is never featured on American TV. Nevertheless, the most interesting section of this book was the preparation Wiggins underwent to race in Individual Pursuit, Team Pursuit and Madison at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics. The book also shows how the well organized and funded English cycling programs have allowed the UK to develop Olympic riders that brought home numerous men’s and women’s Olympic cycling medals in 2004, 2008 and at the yearly World Track Championships.

This is a book well worth reading except Wiggin’s cycling career was far from over in 2008 so a second volume will need to be written. I expect he will still be winning gold medals when London hosts the Olympics in 2012.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written (albeit ghosted) autobiography - painfully honest especially about his (lack of) feelings for his father, his drinking especially post Athens and his difficult relationship initially with the demanding and methodical Boardman.

What shines through is: his love of the Olympics (although interestingly in the main book he ascribes that to being the only way to be remembered - explicitly dismissing any thoughts of tour glory or even being a GC contender); his love of the cycling milieu and being part of an insider ritual; his single minded concentration on goals; his anti-drugs stance although interestingly he still thinks Landis might be innocent but knew Vino was guilty on the day of his ride; his keenness to see (track) cycling gain public recognition.

At the initial book's end in 2008 he is fully focused on London 2012 and a possible track triple (albeit with 2 events not in the Olympics) - he believes Team GB's track skills with government funding can deliver Tour success but only in 5-7 years; in the 2 2009 chapters in the paperback version his focus completely changes to Tour glory.

[Graham Tapper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually the first half of Wiggins' biography and covers his life up to the 2009 Tour de France, which is actually included as a postscript to the paperback version so presumably didn't appear in the original hardback.

The book covers far more of his personal life and especially his difficult relationship with his absentee father. He tells of how his father influenced his life more by his absence than by his presence. When his father left the family it was his mother and grand-parents who raised him. However, his father's reputation as a hard-living, hard-drinking professional track cyclist was always going to have an effect on his own cycling career.

As with the second book, most of the story covers his cycling career and the high and low points. It is interesting that until his fourth place in the 2009 TdF, he continued to disregard any likelihood of his ever getting onto the podium, let alone winning this classic race.

A very interesting read and insight into what drives this giant of cycling.

[Yassemin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled with this.

I initially enjoyed all the stuff in the beginning about his early life, how he got into cycling etc etc but after that it was just a repetition of winning competition after competition and it just all seemed a bit "samey" to me.

I like cycling thanks to my cyclist fanatic better half and have read a few books recommended to me by him but this one wasnt the best one.

If you want something a lot more interesting Id suggest Lances first book or Dave Millar's autobiography. Far better.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into what made Bradley the best cyclist that Britain has ever had. He shares the lows and highs along his journey from childhood days to top international cyclist. His abandonment by his father at a young age and attempted re-building of this relationship is described, showing how this has affected him, both in a positive and negative sense over the years. Only goes up to 2009 though.

[Paddy Willard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Open and often brutally honest. Rough and ready writing but ultimately a fascinating insight in to the world of one of the best cyclists we have ever produced.

I found this particularly interesting as it only takes us up to the end of the 2009 Tour de France so no real inkling of the successes that were about to come.

[Hamish Low · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given the updated edition cover king his 2012 successes. A warts and all account of his bad years and good years with insights into how he tackled his own failings and achieved victory and suddenly recognition by the UK public.
I enjoyed the details of how cycling works and the people involved.

[Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book although the repeated references to his father got old quickly, but then he does/did have issues so I can't really complain. The rest of the book was very interesting if you're in to cycling and competitive sport.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting and well written book. Follows Bradley's life from a small child up to the Beijing Olympics and the 2009 Tour de France - so with hindsight you smile wryly at some of his comments about wanting to win the TDF! A fascinating insight to the world of professional cycling.

[Andy Booth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly terribly written but then what do I expect, sports journalism is not my thing and someone bought me the book as a present. On the positive side it's an interesting perspective on a world I know very little about (International cycle sport).

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the fact that reading this was like listening to Wiggo talk. No fancy words, just straight to the point. It would be interesting to read the next couple chapters in his life. He points out that he didn't think he'd ever win the Tour de France. Funny how things change.

[Chris Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book, some of the stuff saying "I know I'll never win the TdF, but a stage win would be nice" is good for a little chuckle. I want to read an updated book but there seems to be about 4 or 5 since this was released, madness!

[Keiron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good detail on what it takes to make it in sport. Luck, planning and a lot of hard work. Very easy read.

[Jo]

If the entire book is as gripping as the free sample I downloaded to my Kindle, this is going to be 5-star review... on my wish list!

[Katie Mac]

Very well written and a good balance between personal and cycling backgroung. Not too many stats.

[Philip]

Well written and his passion for the sport shone through. Can't wait to read the bio...

[Martin Bacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read and hard to put down.

[Kyle Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling read into a man who has a great and pretty easy life and knows it. Family issues so big it made winning olympic gold seem easy in comparison.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this as a present and enjoyed this but probably should read the one after about when he wins some stuff as this finished in 2009