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 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2012.

On a fateful night in 2009, Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle met for dinner at a restaurant in Boulder, Colorado. The two had met five years before while Coyle was writing his best-selling book Lance Armstrong: Tour de Force. But this time, Tyler had something else on his mind. He finally wanted to come clean, about everything: the doping, the lying, his years as Lance Armstrong's teammate on U.S. Postal,, and his decade spent running from the truth. "I'm sorry," he told Coyle. "It just feels so good to be able to talk about this. I've been quiet for so many years."

Over the next 18 months, Hamilton would tell his story - and his sport's story - in explosive detail, never sparing himself in the process. In a way, he became as obsessed with telling the truth as he had been with winning the Tour de France just a few years before.

The result of this determination is The Secret Race, a book that pulls back the curtain and takes us into the secret world of professional cycling like never before. It's a world populated by unbelievably driven - and some flawed - characters. A world where the competition used every means to get an edge, and the options were stark. A world where it often felt like there was no choice.

©2012 Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle (P)2012 Random House AudioGo

The whole story of how they did it, frightening!

If you could sum up The Secret Race in three words, what would they be?

Remarkable
Energetic
Frightening

What did you like best about this story?

Getting to know Lance Armstrong and some of his teammates from an inside perspective. What it's like to live, train and compete in the top echelon of professional cheaters... I mean cyclists...

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

Sean really brings the dynamic of living the story. He tells it as though it is live and happening all around us right now... This could also be because I listen to it while cycling in the mornings!

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

I didn't cry but I definitely laughed out loud several times while listening. Some of the stories were genuinely funny but mostly just quite shocking to learn some of the secret techniques these guys use to maintain their competitive advantages in the sport.

An honest and unsparing account of the doping era

Loved every minute! Couldn't stop listening. The book feels real and honest. A brutal account of Tyler's career and what pro cyclists had to deal with during that era.

Tyler tells all

Where does The Secret Race rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very interesting book, solid expose of cycling.

What other book might you compare The Secret Race to and why?

I had just read the Bush at War series before this and in some ways it lifts the veil on a world we only glimpse into much the same way.

Which scene was your favorite?

The discussion of how Tyler first came to dope

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The persistence of USADA to go after Armstrong was impressive

Any additional comments?

As a casual cycling fan I found this fascinating, Hamilton does not leave any thing out and should be commended for his candor. A really interesting read for any sports fan.

Is it moral to read Hamilton's Book?

What did you love best about The Secret Race?

Complete and shocking truth about widespread drug usage from the early 90s. Many famous riders are named in this book. But a moral dilemna given Nicole Cooke's recent retirement speech as follows: "Tyler Hamilton will make more money from his book describing how he cheated than Bessette or I will make in all our years of our honest labour. The situation requires the very basics of morality. Please don't reward people like Hamilton with money. That is the last thing he needs. Donate his literary prize and subsequent earnings from such publications to a charity. There are many places infinitely more deserving than the filthy hands of Hamilton."

What other book might you compare The Secret Race to and why?

'Its Not About the Bike' - It's about Lance, as much as about Hamilton himself. Maybe a bit too much Lance in this book, but interesting nevertheless and topical.

Which character – as performed by Sean Runnette – was your favorite?

Jens Voigt - "I'm looking at the wheel in front of me".

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

'Vampires in the Peleton'

Wasn't a Fan, am now!

This book answers a lot of the questions a non-athlete would ask about why someone would dope. It comes across as being an honest account by someone who readily admits their own failings as a person. A very interesting insight into the world of professional bike racing and doping generally.