Slaying the Badger: LeMond, Hinault and the Greatest Ever Tour de France by Richard MooreMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
In this year of adjusted schedules, the long delayed Tour de France didn’t feel the same. Everything felt a bit off, from the crowds to the weather to the weariness of the riders. I have enjoyed watching this sports spectacle since I found how entertaining it could be in the post Lance era. It’s become my summer trip via TV. This is to say that I didn’t follow cycling in the year covered in this book. I’ve heard the names, but that’s about it. Having come at this story fresh, I really enjoyed it. The counterpoint of the always worried young American phenom paired up with the grizzled and unpredictable French veteran was very entertaining. You don’t often see this kind of dynamic. The American can’t trust the French guy, yet at points he must. While you can see how a race like the Tour can be as complex in moves as a chess game, this story added a new dynamic – in addition to the inter-team plotting and scheming, here you see some intra-team strategy. The author goes deep on explaining the events and the backgrounds of the decisions made by the riders. LeMond, the American, is presented sharing his inner thoughts on each day and each tactic in the campaign. For Hinault, you really get a couple of different thoughts on his actions and his reasons – what he was probably thinking, and what he says now – often not the same thing. LeMond comes across as unexperienced, which he was, but with the ability to think things through. Hinault comes across as wily.
The author includes details on other parts of the story, including team management and the tour in general. At times the story becomes a bit too repetitive, as the author approaches race tactics from slightly different viewpoints that come to the same conclusion. I found it a minor slog in the middle of the book that dissipated as the racing stories took over. As others have mentioned, the opening story concerning some gastric distress during the race, is unforgettable, for better or worse…
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment