Racing Hard

by William Fotheringham

Few British schoolchildren of the seventies can have been as obsessed with the Tour de France as William Fotheringham, who smuggled copies of Miroir du Cyclisme into lessons to read inside his books. He saw the Tour for the first time in 1984, avidly following that year's race on television in the Normandy village where he lived. Since joining the Guardian in 1989, William Fotheringham has been at the forefront of British cycling journalism. Here he reflects on the events of the last twenty-three years - the triumphs, the tragedies and the scandals that have engulfed the world's most demanding sport. Key articles from his career are annotated with notes and reflections. What would he have said if he'd known then what we all know now about Lance Armstrong? Which cyclists and teams were not all they seemed? And which victories still rank as the greatest of all time? This is the definitive collection of cycling reporting.

Genres: Cycling, Nonfiction, Sports

368 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2013

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating summary of 20 years of journalism looked upon with the value of hindsight. The drugs, the cheating, the good times and the honorable cyclists. A good read whatever your perspective.

[Stuart Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine collection of pieces from one of the best writers on cycling. Obviously the nature of the anthology beast means that some are better than others, but if you’re a cycling fan you’ll probably enjoy this book.

[Rauno Villberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content is solid, but gets repetitive and it's very British-focused (which isn't a surprise)
Still enjoyable as a throwback and I respect Fotheringham a lot for the disdain you can feel emanating from him for the cheats.

[Jordan Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good collection of articles chronicling Fotheringham's life in cycling. Utterly fascinating to see how the sport has changed from reporting done at the time.

[Steven Pilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

a collection of the work of William Fotheringham for the guardian and observer.

Like any collection it has its ups and downs but the commentary and selection creates a narrative. Fotheringham is unbiased and intelligent he understands cycling and cyclists.

The pieces on the rise of british cycling are very informative

[James Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writing; good commentary; fascinating period of cycling's history. Fotheringham presents pieces about the last twenty years interspersed with his "with-hindsight" comments: an honest approach which is refreshing.

[Guy McArthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavy focus on UK cyclists, as might be expected in a collection of news items originally appearing in The Guardian.