Mountains According to G

by Geraint Thomas

Cycling fans obsess about climbs and big mountains. They love reading about their tests and tribulations and they love to ride them - a cricket lover can never bat at Lord's, or a football supporter score at Wembley, but any rider can take on the challenge of an iconic mountain.

There have been fine books about the big climbs before but never from the voice of an elite GC winner, taking you inside what these climbs really feel like, where the attacks come, where the pain kicks in.

From best-known big-hitters, via pro-peloton favourites, to the secret climbs Geraint has come to love, and featuring Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Mallorca and Wales, this is the cyclist's secret manual.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cycling, Biography

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 29, 2020

Reviews

[Pete Mullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahh, he’s an engaging bloke, but just too many metaphors and similes, and not enough content

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the book, it covers quite a few crimbs that one can aspire to, as a cyclist. Some more famous, others less so. And the occasional anecdotes from his own experience riding/racing up these mountains are gems in their own right.

It almost made me want to pack up and go do them myself. But given I can't even do Queen's Drive around Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat in one go, I might need a bit more training first.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gerraint covers a wide range of mountains in this book, from the iconic Alpes d'Huez to lesser known Welsh hills.

As a semi-casual cycling fan I found the book enjoyable, mainly due to the insights and anecdotes that could only come from someone who has trained and raced up these climbs alongside the best in the world.

One gimmick that could have been used more sparingly was the comparison of every single mountain to something outside of the cycling world. This could be anything from a type of beer to a welsh rugby player. I understand that this is meant to help differentiate one mountain from the next and help the average person relate to it, but after a while it gets a bit grating. In one chapter this process takes up almost a whole page. We are treated to details of what type of bloke this mountain would be, how many pull ups he can do, and that fact that he does them on a tree instead of a bar...

G's winning character shines through enough to make this a good read however, and there are plenty of technical details of watts, gradient etc if that's more your thing.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the book, it covers quite a few crimbs that one can aspire to, as a cyclist. Some more famous, others less so. And the occasional anecdotes from his own experience riding/racing up these mountains are gems in their own right.

It almost made me want to pack up and go do them myself. But given I can't even do Queen's Drive around Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat in one go, I might need a bit more training first.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mountains According to G by Geraint Thomas 5 hours 2 minutes 4/5

What a great book. Thomas picks his 25 favorite mountain climbs. During each chapter, which varies from 10 to 15 minutes, the author describes the mountain and his climb in detail. I felt like I was on some of those rides.

It's perfect to listen to one or two of them.

Disclaimer: After 20 years on a hybrid bike, I got a road bike and am just learning how to ride it. So this book has motivated me to work on riding. I don't think my riding will ever reach a point to try one of these mountains, which made the book all the more fun to listen to

UK
Rhigos13:12
The Tumble12:33
Cat and Fiddle08:17

Belgium
Oude Kwaremont15:43
Koppenberg09:14

Netherlands
Cauberg06:55

Mallorca
Sa Calobra10:02
Puig Major06:56

Portugal
Malhão07:07

Australia
Willunga09:16

Tenerife
Bumpy09:16
Vilaflor07:16
Chirche06:40

Austria
Solden19:26

Italy
Cipressa and Poggio11:46
The Stelvio16:15
The Mortirolo12:35

Monaco
Col de la Madone14:24
Col d’Èze13:19

USA
Saddle Peak: Las Flores12:38

France
Planche des Belles Filles15:29
Col du Portet15:23
Col du Tourmalet09:59
Col du Galibier09:39
Alpe d’Huez20:03

G’s Top Ten Climbers05:12

[Glenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light non-fiction read for a fan of cycling. Being only a recreational rider and one that will never ride these mountains it gave me a personal account of the climbs. It wasn't technical. It was a quick easy book to read between other literary fictional novels for me. Through his personification of comparing the mountains to people or experiences I will now watch on TV, the pro's racing these mountains with more interest.

Moments made me smile, like the description of Bumpy in Tenerife of Cheddar - a mate at school who got the nickname Cheddar who ate an entire block of cheese at 3am, never done it since, and in fact, doesn't like cheese but he has been called Cheddar ever since.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received my copy courtesy of the publisher, which will now go into library stock. What an interesting read. As I'm not a hill climbing cyclist I thought I may find it less interesting, but no it gripped me in parts. The cobbled climb up Oude Kwaremont had me sitting on the edge of my seat. I felt I was doing the climb with him it was so true to life. I'm sure any cyclist who wants a new challenge when we can travel out with our cycles will enjoy this book. Well done G I liked it. If its republished it would be nice to see a little map of each climb if its just a sketch map at the beginning of each chapter I think it would be nice to see.

[Jamie Donovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always good to get in a cycling book. G is an absolute legend, able to inflict an insane amount of pain on himself and his rivals. He rode the tour de France with a broken pelvis and has had some of the most dramatic crashes I've ever seen. I'm sure there is a YouTube best of 😅. This book was unfortunately too much about the climbs and not much about him. Not a fan of the comparisons between climbs and lads you meet down the pub. These climbs are mythical and poetic, which this book didn't really capture.

[Rauno Villberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating this 5 stars not on the basis of "every person (or at least cyclist) should read this" but on the basis of "I already like listening to G on GTCC/Watts Occuring".
Fun journey, lots of insight from how a specific climb feels when training or racing and on the differences between those, with actual racing tips. And just a whole bunch of dumb-but-in-an-entertaining-way metaphors, mostly mapping a specific climb to a specific Type Of Guy.
If you like G, a definite recommendation.

[Markos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Geraint Thomas’ way of looking at cycling and life. As a cyclist I love mountains , the spectacle and frame they offer. A light hearted book where I felt it offered little information that a normal cyclist wouldn’t know. His previous books did a better job at offering inside jokes, stories etc. this book get a little too light a touch

[Claudio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked the book from the library and I didn't know who Geraint Thomas was, until I realized he won the Tour de France in 2018, and that I was actually in Paris when he gave his victory speech at Les Champs Elysee. The memory made me like this book even more. Legendary guy with a super humble attitude and British humour, what's not to like?

[Barry Bridges · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst an interesting read, this book sort of lacked a destination even though most chapters end on top of a mountain!! No lacking in descriptive prose and Geraint’s voice comes through and the one thing I take from this is if it’s not necessary then don’t go up mountains!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun read for the cycling fan. Engaging style.

[mark feenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from G. Humorous tales and anecdotes about some of cyclings iconic climbs.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its alright. Nice light reading. Cool to hear more about the climbs. Weird format for a book though. I also get the sense the ghost writer did most of the work

[Harry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Remarkably, not as bad as I thought it was going to be. But still not good.

[Paula O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading about the famous climbs in cycling and hope to attempt some of them virtually via Kinomap.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read the views of a professional cyclist but not the most thought provoking or insightful read

[Vince Summers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad short read, some good insights into the cycling world, but too much comparing mountains or hills to other things unrelated - felt like padding to bulk out the book

[Gary Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read about some hills.

[Phillip Downham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title could not be more accurate, his words resonate, as a cyclist I feel the suffering, hopefully one day I'll get the opportunity to experience the pain.

[Mark Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it . Well written, light and funny. If you like bikes you’ll love this book . Having been up a lot of these mountains it’s interesting reading what the pros think about it .

[Stephen Kirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember those days when we could travel? God I miss them. Even more so after reading through G’s mountain guide. As soon as it’s safe to travel again I’ll definitely be planning on undertaking some of these challenges. A highly enjoyable book by a very likeable and endearing rider.

[James Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about some of Geraint’s favourite mountains, one to pick up and read at leisure. The overuse of personification of the mountain being described grated a little after a bit.

[Lee Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really good book if you like cycling and hills. I’ve tackled a few of the hills mentioned in the book so can relate. A nice quick read.

[Cold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the modest man who's always sitting alone in the pub. He'll tell you stories about mountains he's cycled up and how hard they were. He'll describe the intimate details about the dogs that chased him, the man with the full drum set on a hairpin etc. Sometimes he mentions the mates he rode with. They don't sound like much but occasionally he'll mention they won race. One lad, Froome, won a 21 stage race across France. G will keep mentioning how hard these climbs were, and then for a paragraph describe how he himself won a 21 stage race across France. And then at the end, he'll rate the 10 best climbers over the last 15 years, and not even put himself in even though he definitely deserves it. But the weirdest thing, he keeps comparing mountains to types of people you meet on a night out.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gut lesbarer Erfahrungsbericht des Tour de France Siegers über Bergwertungen bzw. Trainingsberge weltweit (USA, Europa, Australien), die für ihn wichtig und prägend waren.
Kein reines Trainings oder How to Buch, aber für alle Radsportinteressierten zu empfehlen.