We might as well win by Johan Bruyneel

Johan Bruyneel is almost always nearly mentioned in the same breath as Lance Armstrong. However he did have a bit of a cycling history himself having donned the yellow jersey once after a famous stage victory in the Tour de France.

The book is an excellent first person recollection of his experiences in Winning and Losing (the latter part being almost the same size as the former in the book) with Lance and to a smaller extent with Contador. Of course there are sprinklings of anecdotes of other legends including some of his contemporaries such as Indurain

One gets a insider's view, albeit in retrospect at the machinery at work behind the scenes, as riders race, pedal, crash etc at various races following instructions, relaying, transmitting & receiving messages, back and forth, from & to the Team Director.

While there are those who taint Lance who may taint Johan also, I would rather learn about the strategies for competing at the highest level, regardless of what the future may bring on the various investigations/scandals that keep cropping up in professional cycling, than stay away from such a tale. While my heart is with the likes of Graeme Obree, I find the astuteness and aggressiveness that comes with a certain brand of athletes also, a refreshing change. Bruyneel's tale is not exactly an ode to humility but winning 8 TDFs ( 7 with Lance and 1 with Contador) is unsurpassed.

And how many real Belgians (sportsmen or otherwise) do you know of? This is my first book about one such and what an example of success from such a small but impressive country!

Well worth a read.

Must get hold of a book on "the cannibal", Eddy Merckx, sometime.

Update: A not so minor error of omission on my part - the book is co-authored by Bill Strickland, a journalist who has made his own name in the cycling world