Wheelmen: Lance Armstrong, The Tour De France, And The Greatest Sports Conspiracy Ever (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I followed this story reasonably closely for a casual fan, and I'm still shocked by the level of delusion, tolerance and abdication of responsibility that existed in this culture. It seemed like taking EPO or receiving a blood transfusion was as accepted as getting the best tires or bike frame that was available. Drugs were a part of the competitive necessities, never mind that it bent the entire idea of sport as a "clean" endeavor. The book does a good job of making the story bigger than Lance Armstrong. Without the tacit and sometimes explicit support of sponsors, hangers on and rich men trying to live vicariously through this super athlete, Lance never gets as far as he did in perpetuating the lie of his success and his strategic proclamations of unquestioned innocence. I cant help but assume that anyone who wanted to see the reality could have, but the myth was too important to sustain. Anybody with a passing interest in sports or cycling should love this book. A great expose of pro cycling, doping, sports, the business of winning at all costs and the complete and self directed downfall of one of America's most beloved athletes. Lance Armstrong had it all and threw away most of the people that knew and loved him along the way. Written at a pace and with all the insight of a well researched book that you can't put down.
What do You think about Wheelmen: Lance Armstrong, The Tour De France, And The Greatest Sports Conspiracy Ever (2013)?
This was a very good book. The authors did a fantastic job telling the whole story.
—idownes10
Seemed to be a good unbiased recent history of Armstrong and bicycling in general
—SMR1394
Lance Armstrong sounds like a self-indulgent asshole!
—kat
