Le coureur et son ombre (Hors collection)

by Olivier Haralambon

"Tout le monde devrait lire ce livre extraordinaire.' Antoine de Caunes. "Le cyclisme, c'est Poulidor, Richard Virenque et Lance Armstrong, ça sent le camphre et la chicorée, les fautes de syntaxe et l'EPO. Le cyclisme, c'est le Tour de France, devant lequel vous ne cessez de vous ennuyer qu'en vous endormant.
À rebours de cette idée, j'aimerais ici embrasser la liste des enchantements par lesquels je suis passé, à ne fréquenter que des cyclistes pendant des années, à ne vivre que comme eux, au point d'en être devenu un, ad vitam. J'ai dû me rendre à l'évidence : les livres ne rendent pas plus malins, la course cycliste oui. La course cycliste a la vertu de vous détromper. Vous pensez sans doute que rien n'est plus simple, plus mécanique que pédaler, et qu'une course de vélo c'est Les Temps Modernes version aseptisée, clinique, sans Chaplin et sans la poésie. Vous ne soupçonnez pas qu'être fort et rouler vite sont deux choses absolument différentes. Que la pédale se recouvre, se caresse, bien plus qu'on n'y appuie. Vous les croyez des brutes, ils sont délicats comme des danseuses, subtils plus que bien des écrivains, faute de quoi ils n'avanceraient pas.'

Initialement paru en 2016, Le Coureur et son ombre s'est imposé comme un des livres importants de la littérature sportive. Il a déjà été traduit en danois, en allemand et, récemment, en anglais.

" Beaucoup a été écrit sur le vélo mais jamais, nous semble-t-il, les émotions de la première sortie, le frisson de la course, l'exaltation procurée par la pente et la douleur qui remonte des jambes n'avaient été si bien interprétées, décortiquées. " Le Monde
" Un livre comme rarement on en aura lu sur le cyclisme. L'un des tout meilleurs. (...) Tour à tour ventriloque et poète, (Olivier Haralambon) fait parler la psyché, les muscles, les boyaux et l'épiderme. " Le Matricule des Anges
" C'est à la fois une déclaration d'amour et un traité métaphysique, où la précision des mots, la tournure complexe des phrases, épousent les variations les plus subtiles de l'état d'esprit du coureur cycliste. " L'Obs

Genres: Cycling, Nonfiction

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2017

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to give this 6 stars. There isn’t a more evocative book capturing the spirit, the essence, of the Cyclist. The Rider is brilliant. This more so because somehow the description and narrative collide to draw one into the rider’s emotion. Of course I’m a cycling but so this book may speak to me more than my wonderful Goodread pals but there’s something about descriptive literature that can capture the soul. Fair play to Thomazeau, the translator. I know him from the Cyclist Podcast and I could hear his lyrical French accent in every sentence. The final chapter is beautiful.

[David C Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Block that metaphor! Comically overwritten and overwrought. For some reason, writing about sports can occasion the most romanticized twaddle. Includes a defense of doping that could be written by the Marquis de Sade. (Also, “contre le montre” means “against the clock” not “against the mountain” which does not inspire confidence in the translation. Maybe it’s better in French!)

[Henrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mesterlig refleksion over cykelsportens væsen - skrevet af tidligere middelmådig fransk prof cykelrytter, nu forfatter og filosof. Til forskel fra vores J. Leth har Haralambon selv siddet i feltet. Meget filosofisk, men det er det hele værd. Læs den.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poetic ode to cycling and all those who endeavor to ride.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. It hit a sweet spot between drawing me into beautiful European scenery and streetscapes in a way that felt positively palpable—much like Hemingway in "A Moveable Feast" or "The Sun Also Rises"—and offering the space for deeper introspection and critical thinking I find when I read philosophy.

In short, this book awakened parts of my psyche and soul that have felt dormant for a while, all while framing everything around the art of cycling. It felt invigorating and soothing all at once... like the way you sometimes feel after taking a long, languid, and deep breath. I could feel so much of his writing in my body... even as he captured thoughts I've had for a long time in beautiful and poetic prose. Haralambon's imagery and reflections deeply resonated with me physically and mentally... connecting those two parts of myself in a way that has been missing for some time.

Sitting with this book felt like a refuge and restoration I've needed, but couldn't name. Every reader will find something worth savoring.

[CyclingMinstrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a lifelong, sometimes competitive, cyclist, I found the book delivered on the points that inspired its purchase. The author captured the subtleties of being one with your bike, as well as the mental highs and lows of riding, training, racing, and all things in between.

However, I found the writing style (perhaps due, at least in part, to the translation?) to be tedious and exaggeratedly flowery. Right from the outset, it read like a stream of consciousness more than a clear recounting of the author’s many years and experiences with cycling. The details were great, the delivery not so much.

You’ll probably enjoy the story if you’re an avid cyclist, but it takes some work to get through it.

[Laura Schlosberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from goodreads. This memoir has beautiful passages that capture some of the most abstract aspects of cycling: the deep motivation of riders, the physiognomy and dynamics of the peloton, the relationship between machine and body. The author doesn’t avoid the realities of coping but may give readers a new perspective on why it is so pervasive.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetically captures the essence of being in love with the bicycle and where it takes you internally as well as externally, as well as having a good portion on the angle of pro racing which is something most of us can only look on at, so the peloton sections are unique too. The kind of book you'll read in a sitting as it has very punchy chapters all telling their own part of the whole.

[Aidan]

incredibly tonally focused collection of essays. Reminds me of Carlo Levi. Reading this once counts only as reading it halfway. I'm interested to see what I notice more clearly when I pick it up here and there again.

[Arjen Dijkstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a read, what I ride. I feel watched, a little confused, and sad.

[Paul Winkeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting to read and also so melancholy. Perfect for all lovers of cycling

[Tricia McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son Matt recommended this book to me. I first listened to a podcast that explains about the translation from French to english. a very beautiful well written story that brings tears to your eyes.

[Yoann Trudy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sympa mais un peu branlette intellectuelle sur les bords.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how right away, in the forward, Thomazeau François is pitting this book against The Rider as the seminal classic of cycling literature. I arched a skeptical eyebrow, and… was in total agreement by like, chapter 3.

Brilliant. Insane. Philosophical. Spiritual. Erotic. I read it during the nearly-hallucinatory six hours of Milan—San Remo and feel like bits of it have embedded in my brain like gravel, because I think of it every time I watch a race.

(Like The Rider, it was also gift from a fellow cycling-obsessed friend, and aren’t I the luckiest one.)

[A Ter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strikingly beautiful homage to the sport of cycling, the best cycling book I have ever read by far. I can't wait for a translated version to appear (hopefully) so I can read it again, though I suspect it will loose some of the magic in translation. The author's descriptions are unmatched -- from young amateur and the thrill of the first race, comparing a peloton to blood flowing through veins and arteries, his exploration of motivations for doping -- this is a work of art.

[Antonio Ceté · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha dado ganas de coger la bici. Cogerla flojito, sin sufrir las terribles excoriaciones en el perineo, pero.