Media

7/4 - Seinfeld: Season 4: Episodes 12-17 – “not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

7/4 –Lance Armstrong's War: One Man's Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour de France, by Daniel Coyle - ****

This was a very good read for me. Journalist Daniel Coyle tells the story of Lance and the 2004 Tour de France. Beginning early season 2004 and finishing after the Olympics, the book provides quite a lot of insight into Lance and his main rivals in the professional peleton.

I was most interested in the details Coyle gives about Floyd Landis and his growing up as a bicycling Mennonite in Pennsylvania as well as the experiences that led to his departure from Lance’s team.

Additionally the author’s treatment of the topic of drug use and doping in professional cycling is interesting. This book does more to describe the relationship between controversial doctor and Lance trainer Michele Ferrari than anything previously available. It makes the Coach Carmichael/Athlete Armstrong relationship seem more a matter of convenience than anything, especially after finding out Armstrong is part owner of Carmichael Training. Coyle also does a fair job of balancing the opinions and thoughts of people who think he must use performance enhancing drugs, with the fact (and only possible answer to the question) that Lance is the most tested athlete in all of sport and he’s never failed a drug test.