Wheelmen

Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France, and the Greatest Sports Conspiracy Ever

By: Reed Albergotti, Vanessa O'Connell

Narrated by: Santino Fontana

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The first in-depth look at Lance Armstrong's doping scandal, the phenomenal business success built on the back of fraud, and the greatest conspiracy in the history of sports.

Lance Armstrong won a record-smashing seven Tours de France after staring down cancer, and in the process became an international symbol of resilience and courage. In a sport constantly dogged by blood-doping scandals, he seemed above the fray. Then, in January 2013, the legend imploded. He admitted doping during the Tours and, in an interview with Oprah, described his "mythic, perfect story" as "one big lie". But his admission raised more questions than it answered - because he didn't say who had helped him dope or how he skillfully avoided getting caught.

Wall Street Journal reporters Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell broke the news at every turn. In Wheelmen they reveal the broader story of how Armstrong and his supporters used money, power, and cutting-edge science to conquer the world's most difficult race. Wheelmen introduces U.S. Postal Service Team owner Thom Weisel, who in a brazen power play ousted USA Cycling's top leadership and gained control of the sport in the United States, ensuring Armstrong's dominance. Meanwhile, sponsors fought over contracts with Armstrong as the entire sport of cycling began to benefit from the "Lance effect". What had been a quirky, working-class hobby became the pastime of the Masters of the Universe set.

Wheelmen offers a riveting look at what happens when enigmatic genius breaks loose from the strictures of morality. It reveals the competitiveness and ingenuity that sparked blood-doping as an accepted practice, and shows how the Americans methodically constructed an international operation of spies and revolutionary technology to reach the top. At last exposing the truth about Armstrong and American cycling, Wheelmen paints a living portrait of what is, without question, the greatest conspiracy in the history of sports.

©2013 Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Authoritative and overflows with forceful details.... Albergotti and O'Connell write like insiders looking out." (Los Angeles Times)

"A chilling tale, and many of the anecdotes Albergotti and O’Connell collected sound like they were actually crafted in a TV-drama writers’ room." (The Atlantic)

"Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O’Connell uncovered plenty more shocking details about the full extent of Armstrong’s drug use as well as the many people and institutions that helped him." (The Daily Beast)

Interesting details into a great sporting fraud

Lots of information and variety of detail provided but lacked the 'story'. The range of names, drugs, places and races mentioned might be overwhelming.
Tyler Hamilton's The secret race is a good complement to this book, covering less people but in more detail. It also goes into more detail about the character of riders, doctors, their relationships and how procedures like blood transfusions were undertaken.

Narrator does an adequate...

Job except he doesn't pronounce people's nor place names correctly. Any follower of cycling would know George Hingcape's name, among others, he mispronounced. Plus some of the TdF locations were butchered.
Overall I would recommend this book is you are at all interested in Armstrong's ride and fall.

Lance and Wheelman

This book is a definite story of reporters that are out to get their man. I believe they accomplished that. It doesn’t change my mind about a cunning and intelligent racer. Who became the fall guy for all of cycling.

Detailed and Balanced

This was a very detailed and balanced look at the doping life of Lance Armstrong. It painted him as neither a villain or a hero, but more that of an intensely driven athlete who was willing to do anything to win, including lying and cheating. The book left me with the feeling that while the authors probablty didn't particularly like Lance, they also were willing to let the reader/listener make up their own mind about him. What more can you ask? Overall the writing was excellent as was the audio performance. Very, very well done.

Good book; narrator's pronunciation errors grate

Presumes knowledge of people and events, but adds new details. Compliments other books over time.

What you never knew.

This was an interesting look at what I never knew. For years there was controversy and scandal, but I realized this unethical man has been in the spotlight of deception since the day he rode a bike. It was fascinating to see how his image was based on lies, and the deck of cards fell hard once he submitted to his own truth. Great read!

Great balance per trail of cycling in the US and Lance Armstrong

This was a very well researched book with great narration. If you have an interest in cycling in the US war in the entire Lance Armstrong saga this created a very balanced view.

Santino Fontada a great narrator

If you could sum up Wheelmen in three words, what would they be?

Well documented

What was one of the most memorable moments of Wheelmen?

Lance is the center of the book when supposedly is the evil.

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

Great accent for non English native speakers and energy

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Cycling World

Any additional comments?

Hope the authors are not getting royalties as it will exactly the same they are criticizing, everybody did money from Lance

Overall Pretty Good

Where does Wheelmen rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was decent in compairisson.

What did you like best about this story?

It's truthfulness.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes.

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

Laugh, yes.

Any additional comments?

This is a good story which showcases what a slimeball Lance Armstrong really is. It also showcases how riders like Dave Zabriske and Floyd Landis were sucked into his doping machine. Very interesting to hear about how USADA, Travis Tygart, and Jeff Novitsky took this punk down. Justice prevails in a real-life story. Which doesn't always happen in real life.

Factual account of doping in the sport of cycling

I found the presentation of the material to be very professional and without bias. The authors dealt with the facts, not their opinions.