Riis: Stages of Light and Dark

by Bjarne Riis, Lars Steen Pedersen, Ellis Bacon (Translation)

In 1996 Danish cyclist Bjarne Riis won the Tour de France. Eleven years later he called a press conference and confessed to taking EPO on the way to achieving the ultimate cycling triumph.In RIIS, his sensational autobiography - already an acclaimed bestseller in Denmark and Germany - the notoriously private Dane bares his soul. From the shy eight-year-old who fell in love with cycling to the champion cyclist turned banned substance user, and finally the Team Saxo Bank owner determined to deliver a 'clean' Tour de France winner.Brutally honest and as furiously fast-paced as one of his breakaways from the peloton, RIIS reveals a reflective man who doesn't shy away from the darker episodes of his life and is resolved to learn from his mistakes.

Genres: Cycling

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2012

Reviews

[mark feenan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abother cycling book,another doper. Same excuse,it was the cycling culture at the time. Nobody is forced to inject themselves.

[Theis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very interesting parts, but also a lot of sections lacking in narrative purpose. Oddly abrupt ending.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and extremely well translated autobiography: also a very interesting reads with lots of insight into Riis’s driven character and determination as well as on his drug taking and divorce.

We learn that he deliberately fitted a large cog on Hautacam so that his big ring attack was actually the same gear as the little ring but had psychological effects on the others (whose condition when struggling he had memorised); we learn of the tension and hostility between the Schlecks and the surprisingly argumentative and difficult Sastre; we learn that in the Pamplona stage he dropped back to try and pull Indurain across as he had planned to give him the stage; that he was unhappy that Basso’s mother’s cancer bought him close to Armstrong; the tension as he thought the UCI might throw Saxo Bank off the World Tour after Contador’s ban; the way Armstrong stared him down when catching Basso on Alpe d’Huez.

Some Tour accounts seems to miss crucial pieces: Landis’s blow up and recovery (and more importantly Sastre’s blown chance to be the eventual winner); Indurain’s collapse on Les Arcs.

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

This guy is full of shit