Brad Wiggins vs Chris Frome... My Time vs The Climb

For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge cycling fan.  Now you know.


I read The Climb by Chris Froome right after reading My Time by Brad Wiggins and am going to do a quick comparison between the two books.

From a reader's perspective, Froome's autobiography, The Climb, was much easier to read, more linear, less confusing, lighter and frankly, the writing was superior. 

Victorious Wiggins

Brad Wiggins the man (sorry, the knight), from outside the fish bowl, is an enigma and comes across as an enigma via his writing.  He is consistently inconsistent, at times aloof and seems incredibly (and sadly) insecure with himself.

 This comes out in his writing -how he describes his interactions with others, how his thoughts are all over the place.  I would have thought a good editor would have reigned in his tangents but perhaps it was an attempt to...allow readers a glimpse inside the mind of Sir. Wiggo.  Brad's story was post-olympics and onward and it lacked the foundation, the back story that was so prevalent in Froome's The Climb.

click for image credit

Last week Sir Bradley Wiggins won the Time Trial World Championships making him the only cyclist to gold medal in the Olympics, win the Tour de France and win the World Championships.

This may never be done again in the history of the sport.  When Brad is on, he is phenomenal -unstoppable in the time trial.  I believe Froome could take him in the mountains...but that's neither here nor there. 











Back to the books...
The window into Froome's past that comprises the first quarter (or more) of his book is very well written and entertaining.  It gave me insight into the man I see in the media and on the television during the race season.

Chris Froome

Froome wins mountaintop finish

The endearing account of his early life in Kenya followed by his early cycling career and taking us through his 2013 Tour de France victory is one of the best athlete autobiographies I've had the pleasure of reading.  My perception of Chris is someone I'd love to meet -a nice guy (although fiercely competitive).





Brad Wiggins has moments where he, too, can be that guy you'd like to meet in a local pub and share a pint in his autobiography...but it is spotted with moments that made me wonder if that was the real Brad...or is Brad the other guy -the guy with the walls all around him, the guy who can't communicate with his own team.  He leaves you confused because I think he is confused.  I truly hope Wiggo is able to find peace in his life.

Casual Brad

So, in summary: The Climb: excellent read, highly recommend. My Time is more sterile, harder to read but a highly interesting glimpse into the mind of a cycling legend.  While Froome speaks more of his interactions with Wiggins, the stories intertwine so much that if you're going to read one, you certainly should read the other.  Start with My Time (otherwise your perception of Brad may be poisoned before you give him a chance). 

2015 should be a great year for cycling and the paths of Chris Froome and Sir Bradley Wiggins will no doubt be captivating.

Le Tour! Le Tour!

I don't often share my personal interests (outside of books and movies) but...I just can't help it.

As obscure a sport as professional cycling may be to most Americans, in the rest of the civilized world it is as popular as many of our most watched sports. This Saturday, the Superbowl of cycling (otherwise know as Le Tour de France) begins.

Some information on the race from the Tour de France website:

Running from Saturday June 30^th to Sunday July 22^th 2012, the 99^th Tour de France will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,497 kilometres. That's 2,173 miles to us Yanks! 2,173 miles over 21 days...insane!

2012 tour route

And just to back up my statement about the popularity of the sport:

Last year's media stats:

• 100 TV channels, 70 radios, 400 newspapers and press agencies, 70 websites, that is to say 2,300 journalists representing 35 nationalities.
• Broadcasting in 190 countries of which 60 transmit live coverage
• Website: 14 million unique visitors 

 A great article from the LA Times said:

They're (tour riders) burning about 4,000 to 5,000. Yost adds, "It's not unheard of for a Tour rider to burn up to 8,000 calories during a single stage.

Quick math 8,000x21 =168,000 calories burned during the race. Insane!

So, I suppose I'm trying to convince y'all to give the tour a watch this year. I guess I'd better throw out some other reasons why this race is so entertaining.

1. Crashes.

Last year, one of the riders got hit by a car (it gets worse) and subsequently ran into the rider beside him who was thrown into a barbed wire fence!  The crazy part...he got back on his bike and finished the stage!





Johnny Hoogerland is one tough man!

2. Drama

At the 2010 Tour, the reigning champion, Alberto Contador attacked (rode away) the yellow jersey (the leader of the tour -person with lowest overall time, wears a yellow jersey) on a huge mountain stage.  The yellow jersey tried to respond but lost his chain (it slipped off the sprockets making it impossible to pedal) and was left behind.  Some argue that Contador should have waited, others say it was the yellow jersey's fault for not shifting properly and Contador was not obligated to wait at all.







3. Controversy

With Lance Armstrong embroiled in a battle with the USADA  -accused of using banned performance enhancing drugs during the tour, Alberto Contador (previously mentioned) banned from the sport for testing positive for a banned substance (Lance never tested positive) and the return of Alejandro Valverde and Alexander Vinokourov (both off a two year bans for testing positive) the entire races is marred with the black cloud of doping (taking illegal performance enhancing substances).  While to some, this may deter them from watching, I believe it adds a level of excitement as the race organizers continue to crack down on the cheats.

Alberto Contador

Alejandro Valverde

Lance Armstrong

Alexander Vinokourov

Riders to watch.

I believe it will come down to three riders for the title this year. Bradley Wiggins, a British rider. Cadel Evans, last year's winner from Australia and Levi Leipheimer, an American rider whose just coming into form after breaking his leg earlier in the season when he was hit by a car.

Cadel Evans

Levi Leipheimer

Levi's broken leg

Bradley Wiggins