Steadfast: My Story

by Lizzie Armitstead

In this brilliant and unique autobiography Lizzie Armitstead takes the reader to the heart of the most demanding of endurance sports and the challenges faced by one of its most gifted from sexism and the fight for equality, to doping and the incredible sacrifices and self-belief required to self-coach herself to world titles. Born in Otley, West Yorkshire, in 1988, Lizzie won her first medal in the Junior World Track Championships in 2005 after being talent spotted at school, before going on to win silver at the 2012 Olympics Games in London. Three years later she was World Road Race Champion and began 2016 as one of the favorites for a medal at the Rio Olympic Games. From the rolling hills of Yorkshire through to the treacherous climbs of the Vista Circuit in Rio de Janeiro - through setbacks, life lessons and ups and downs of a professional life in cycling - Steadfast is an intense and inspiring story of sporting triumph.

Genres: Cycling, Nonfiction, Biography, Sports

284 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2017

Reviews

[Susie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the parts about gender inequality in cycling very interesting, but otherwise found this quite dull. It didn’t help that I listened to it as an audiobook and didn’t enjoy the voice of the lady reading it.

[Johanna Purdy-Otten]

There are not many good cycling books written by women about women. This one is a interesting read. The book shines the light on the many inequalities amongst men and women cyclists, (nothing new but worth reading about from an insider). I would have loved to read more about her time in track and with the British cycling academy as it was their program that saw her potential at such a young age and helped her along the many ups and downs from amateur to professional.

[Harry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surprised by how little she talks about racing. And how much she talks about those missed tests. It's like they, more than the races she has won, define her.

[Lucy-Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

From ordinary schoolgirl to World, Commonwealth and Olympic champion, Lizzie Armitstead is an example of how hard work & determination, as well as forging your own path against adversity, can lead to success.

Throughout the book, we get a glimpse of the pressures of being an elite athlete, and the sacrifices that must be made in order to succeed especially when your sport is not one of the “top priorities” (at the time men’s cycling was receiving a lot of input/focus but women’s cycling was very much an afterthought).
However the book really focuses around the “3 strikes” for missed drugs tests that put her career at risk just before the 2016 Olympics – quite a lot of time is spend explaining & defending and it is clear that Lizzie still feels that as an athlete who has never had anything other than clean tests, the administration errors & incidents that caused this means that she will always carry a stigma. Many other athletes have blown such things over, but Lizzie’s contestant reference to them seems to dominate this book.
It just felt that the focus was wrong – more emphasis on the cycling successes than the missed tests would have made it more interesting for me. I know the name of Lizzie Armitstead as a great cyclist & Olympian, I don’t even remember the scandal – I’m sure there are thousands of others who feel the same!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey, and it was fine – her voice worked well and it was a pleasant easy listen. However this is a book that feels quite flat, very calculated & measured, almost sanitised and bland – it would strongly benefit from having Lizzie’s voice a little more prominent, either less ghostwriting/editing to really get her voice coming through, or having Lizzie narrate the audiobook.

It is an interesting book that tells Lizzie’s story, it just isn’t a book that wowed me at all.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I had a proof copy as this was full of typos which was distracting. It also read as if it had been taken down from a tape verbatim. But it was a really interesting story, told in a very matter of fact way, but Lizzie's kind nature, positivity and determination come shining through. We need more books by women cyclists but more importantly we need more support for female athletes - some of the stories she told were eye opening and she had some very interesting views on equality. A good, easy read.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a triathlete I really enjoyed this book. It was quite obvious that the equality between men and women is also a huge issue in cycling.

Easy read and if you are also a cycling fan it will be an interesting look into the professional end of the sport.

[Andrew Stemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed hearing how she managed to get to where she was (which she has since surpassed!) just by being talent spotted, without any of the equipment or know how originally, but a lot of self determination.

[alan frank fotheringham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Very interesting book and very well told in an honest and forthright way. Really enjoyable and good to see the sacrifice

[Lisa Bywell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very interesting and informative insight into the world of professional cycling.

[Ann robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

A really interesting book. Lizzie has certainly shown a great deal of strength and tenacity to become the rider that she is today . She explains again what happened regarding the 3 strikes which were not actually 3 strikes at all and I can only hope that the press etc give the girl a break. The difference between the way men and women are treated by team GB is most certainly an eye opener that's for sure. To be an elite rider as Lizzie shows in this book takes sacrifice but she never forgets that family and friends are what makes her truly happy. Good luck this year . I just wish there were more televised events so we could see the women race.