The Secret Race

Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs

By: Tyler Hamilton, Daniel Coyle

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

The Secret Race is a definitive look at the world of professional cycling—and the doping issue surrounding this sport and its most iconic rider, Lance Armstrong—by former Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton and New York Times best-selling author Daniel Coyle.

Over the course of two years, Coyle conducted more than 200 hours of interviews with Hamilton and spoke candidly with numerous teammates, rivals, and friends. The result is an explosive book that takes us, for the first time, deep inside a shadowy, fascinating, and surreal world of unscrupulous doctors, anything-goes team directors, and athletes so relentlessly driven to succeed that they would do anything—and take any risk, physical, mental, or moral—to gain the edge they needed to win.

Tyler Hamilton was once one of the world’s best-liked and top-ranked cyclists—a fierce competitor renowned among his peers for his uncanny endurance and epic tolerance for pain. In the 2003 Tour de France, he finished fourth despite breaking his collarbone in the early stages—and grinding 11 of his teeth down to the nerves along the way. He started his career with the U.S. Postal Service team in the 1990s and quickly rose to become Lance Armstrong’s most trusted lieutenant and a member of his inner circle.

For the first three of Armstrong’s record seven Tour de France victories, Hamilton was by Armstrong’s side, clearing his way. But just weeks after Hamilton reached his own personal pinnacle—winning the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics—his career came to a sudden, ignominious end: He was found guilty of doping and exiled from the sport.

From the exhilaration of his early, naïve days in the peloton, Hamilton chronicles his ascent to the uppermost reaches of this unforgiving sport. In the mid-1990s, the advent of a powerful new blood-boosting drug called EPO reshaped the world of cycling, and a relentless, win-at-any-cost ethos took root. Its psychological toll would drive many of the sport’s top performers to substance abuse, depression, even suicide. For the first time ever, Hamilton recounts his own battle with clinical depression, speaks frankly about the agonizing choices that go along with the decision to compete at a world-class level, and tells the story of his complicated relationship with Lance Armstrong.

A journey into the heart of a never-before-seen world, The Secret Race is a riveting, courageous act of witness from a man who is as determined to reveal the hard truth about his sport as he once was to win the Tour de France.

©2012 Tyler Hamilton & Daniel Coyle (P)2012 Random House

Good read for cyclists'!

Fascinating read, sad to know the pressures of pro cycling. I'm glad Tyler had enough guts to shed light on the scene.

Surprising Tale

what a great story. I really felt for Tyler and wanted to reach in and help him several times during the book.

Genuine Account of what it is like to be a Pro

This is one of the best books I have come across in recent years. On the surface it is an honest account of what it is like to be a pro cyclist. Below that there ar many aspects of this story that are disturbing and thought provoking.

What would you do if your choice were to dope like everyone else, or quit your job and start over? It gives a true account of the power of drugs in athletic performance and how being clean means going home.

On another level, it causes one to question the media and the accounts we hear in the press. While Paul Sherwin and Bob Roll were telling one story of what was going on at the Tour de France, Tyler lets you know what was really happening. The stories are so different it makes one wonder about the accuracy of the press in general. One would have thought that a conspiracy of such magnitude would be impossble to keep under wraps.

The oher aspect that is fascinating is how all this comes together through the self-organization of all the players involved. There no one person orchestrating the whole thing. It is merely the alignment of the self interest of all the parties involved, the UCI, the riders, the teams, and the media.

Don't read this unless you are prepared to spend many hours pondering these questions and thinking about how we would behave in similar circumstances. It is easy to be moral when you do not have so much at stake.

Quite a Ride!

What did you love best about The Secret Race?

It's jam-packed with juicy information. As a casual observer of professional cycling I feel like I have a whole new understanding of the sport.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Secret Race?

Lance Armstrong: "That is NOT normal!"

What does Sean Runnette bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He read it so good, I thought he was the author. Fantastic narrator.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Days later and I still think about it all the time. I have a few more sayings I can use now too.

Any additional comments?

Wow, what a confession. The story just doesn't let up at all until about the very last 10 minutes. Highly recommended.

Griping

Great insight of the pressure to compete at the top level, did not want to quit, wanted to keep listening very engaging !

I found it interesting worth the read!

A well written account of cycling, the desire to compete and how the rules were twisted.
I now understand how it all works and how easy it is to love something so much you are willing to risk all. Now I wonder what other sports use these techniques.

Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover!

Fascinating stuff. If you've ever been courious about doping in cycling... this is the behind the scenes insider story. This book tells you what they do, how they do it, who is doing it and answers the biggest question of all, how they pass the doping tests. If there is still any one out there that still thinks Lance is a saint... this book shows you some of his twisted darker sides.
The methods they use to get away with doping, is stuff straight out of movies. If your a cyclist or keep up with the sport, you'll find it even more captivating since you know all the charicters. Not a cyclist? You'll still find this book beyond interesting. The bad thing about the book... THE COVER! If ever there was an example of don't judge a book by it's cover... THIS IS IT!

Job well done guys!

Thanks for providing this in audio format! Wish Landis' book was audio and "From Lance to Landis"

Blow your mind

A very detailed account, feels like the truth. Thanks for writing about it.

As always, the narrator was top notch. He has done more than a few other cycling books. Really enjoyed this.

One of the best cycling books ever

Tyler tell it all and it’s a fantastic story, he is looking for redemption but some crimes can’t be undone. So he has a choice...

The truth, the whole truth

Tyler is brutally honest about his time in racing and what he and others did to gain advantage by doping. He’s also honest about Armstrong and doesn’t seem to hold any ill will toward him. Taken in context, this book was published before Armstrong was stripped of all his tdf titles, it’s a fascinating look into the life behind bars that professional cyclists have.