Book Review: Lance Armstrong’s War, by Daniel Coyle

When co-worker triathlete Jeff loaned me this book, I figured it would be another book about the cancer recovery, yellow bracelets, Sheryl Crow, 7 tours, yada yada. I was wrong. To say that Coyle gets behind the scenes of professional cycling is an understatement. His ability to capture the essence of these intriguing characters and then describe them to the reader in a clear, understandable way is amazing.

Depictions of note include the “whoof-shrugging” Belgians, the “tidy” Belgian schoolchildren, and the chattering Spanish riders drinking their endless coffees. It was a perfect description of my Belgian uncles’ way of shrugging their shoulders and my school-age cousins wearing their non-colorful daily outfits. And if I listened hard enough, I could almost hear the spoons swirling in the Spanish riders’ coffees.

I have always been more intrigued by characters on the periphery than the conquering hero, so I especially liked this book for going into great detail about the other riders--Hamilton, Landis, Mayo, Ulrich, and lesser-knowns--and the people surrounding the teams and Tour, including a group that Coyle refers to as the “Bros and the Dudes.” Perfect. (See post on Muppies.)

It occasionally seemed like Coyle tried too hard to find the perfect word and so it came across as forced or overdramatic. Yet this is one of the best sports books I’ve read. Mr. Coyle, for an outstanding job with this book, you have been Activated!