The Rider

By: Tim Krabbé

Narrated by: Mark Meadows

Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

With The Rider, Tim Krabbé has created a book unique in the ranks of sporting literature. He describes one 150-kilometre race in just 150 pages. In the course of the narrative, we get to know the forceful, bumbling Lebusque, the aesthete Barthelemy, the Young Turk Reilhan, and the mysterious rider from Cycles Goff'. Krabbé battles with and against each of them in turn, failing on the descents, shining on the climbs, suffering on the (false) flats. The outcome of the race is, in fact, merely the last stanza of an exciting and too-brief paean to stamina, suffering, and the redeeming power of humour.

This is not a history of road racing, a hagiography of the European greats or even a factual account of his own amateur cycling career. Instead, Krabbé allows us to race with him, inside his skull as it were, during a mythical Tour de Mont Aigoual.

©1978 Tim Krabbé (P)2012 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

"Like all the best sports writing, The Rider manages to convey the excitement, determination, and skill of the competitors even to readers who have little or no knowledge of the sport. Above all, he evokes the heightened focus of the cyclists, for whom nothing seems real apart from the race." ( London Review of Books)

"A paean to pain and a hymn to the fellowship of the road. Nothing better is ever likely to be written on the subjective experience of cycle-racing." ( The Guardian)

Ah, the beautiful words...

One of my favorite quotes from the book: "Every once in a while someone along the road lets us know how far behind we are. A man shouts: ‘Faster!’ He probably thinks bicycle racing is about going fast." Part memoir, part rant, part poetry, it is the story of a bike race in the subjective voice of one racer. The fictional 150 km 'Tour de Mont Aigoual' is the scene, and the characters are the fellow riders and the unforgiving terrain. I love how Krabbe so accurately renders the ceaseless inner monologues that occur while cycling. This book is perfectly suited to the audio format, and wonderfully performed by narrator Mark Meadows. The words, the language, are so beautifully crafted, so incisive, witty, and economical… I am so pleased that Krabbe turned his copious literary gifts toward cycling. This book has earned its status as a classic of sport writing.

Made me feel like I was racing along with him

What made the experience of listening to The Rider the most enjoyable?

As an amateur cyclist myself - I was looking for a book that took me inside the mind's eye of racer. This book did exactly that. Krabbe' takes the reader through a 135 Kilometer race - the Tour du Mont Aigoual, describing it in the first person. You will feel like you are along side him. Along the way, he describes a bit of history of his competition and has flashbacks to his youth. Whether as the kid racing friends around his block, a Chess Grandmaster, or, as he is now, a professional cyclist, Krabbe' has a competitive spirit that take him to the top cycling in that era.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tim Krabbe' - he was the main Character / Racer in the tour and described things beautifully

Have you listened to any of Mark Meadows’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not yet - but Mark Meadows did a fine job narrating it.

If you could rename The Rider, what would you call it?

As Hard as I can go - one rider's memoir about one of the toughest bike races in Europe.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the book a lot - there were one or two chapters which dragged on a little but by the last chapter - I was glued to my iphone listening to the narration like I was watching the final seconds of the Superbowl, with both teams tied and watching a long pass to the end zone. That's how I felt.

Good Job Tim - I'm going to be Googling you and this race and the riders you mentioned to find out more - you sparked my curiosity.

Inside glimpse of a cyclist

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the ability of narrator to bring it alive. I have the book but listening to it was akin to adding color to a black and white picture.

Interesting

I ride 6,000 miles per year as a bike commuter, but I don’t race. I enjoyed the experiences provided and the jargon used by bike racers. This was a good listen.

A must read!

Fantastic book!
Krabbe paints a vivid picture of his thoughts during a five hour road race through French mountains. He doesn’t miss a thing… from his point of view.

A little gem

There’s only even been written one novel about bike racing. Fortunately, it’s a good one. One that has literary qualities beyond its scope [sic!] with its condense, tense presence and sarcasms (or is it sarcasm?) And Meadows narration is good, an Englishman who can actually pronounce French and Dutch names even.

To the uninitiated, this is a book far bigger than its topic and plot. That doesn’t mean that Krabbe is trying to portray bike racing as a metaphor for Life or anything. He would never. If anything, Life is a metaphor for bike racing. You didn’t get that. That’s alright, for now. You just might after listening. It’s all about the bike. Always.

Great story with fabulous and hilarious peloton strategy

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and years later listening to it. The narrator does a great job. The insights into the thoughts of a peloton rider whilst in the throws of effort are funny at times and expose the reader to all the emotions of an amateur sportsperson. My favourite quote “He’s licking the other riders plate clean before he starts on his own”.

listen while climbing your favorite mountain!

A beautiful piece of writing that shows that enlightenment can come from many places other than silent zen retreats. And with much more excitment. Fantastic narration as well.

Great story told written brilliantly!

Tim Krabbé didn't miss a beat or detail. He managed to extract the thoughts and emotions every avid cyclist has felt at some point in there ride.

Must read (listen) for every cycling enthusiast...

Tim Krabbe' takes you inside his mind during a 135 K race and walks though the intricacies, tactics, partnerships, and emotional / psychological ups and downs he goes through during the race. The occasional flashback to his past and historical anecdotes about other great and could've been great riders add more flavor. The book is a must listen for riders of all levels, you won't regret adding this one in your library. Also, Mark Meadows does justice to this masterpiece with his narration...

The ultimate cycling book

"The Rider" by Tim Krabbe is well known by cyclists to be one of the great books about road cycling and racing out there. I read the book when it was re-released several years ago and as soon as I had finished I started from page one again and re-read it.
When I saw that it had finally been released as an audio book there was no hesitation, i immediately downloaded it.
Now, before I go on I want to stress that this book is without reproach and whether you read it or listen to it, you won't be disappointed as it givers the finest account of a (fictional) cycle race ever put on paper. for cyclists, this book is really unmissable. And this is where I have a problem with the audio version. I'm not sure if I have watched too many cycle races on TV and listened to interviews with cyclists, but Mark Meadows does not convince me that he is the rider in this book. Written in the 1st person, Mark's narration comes across as slightly disengaged from the story. This won't be a problem for everyone, but for me, I felt I couldn't really get drawn into the story. I just wasn't convinced. That said I still listened to the whole audio version and the quality of the writing and story is still fantastic and if you have never read or listened to this book, then I would still heartily recommend it, despite the narrational flaws

Le Tour de Force

...well, not quite, but I couldn't resist the pun!

A great little story that captures the dogged determination of the racing cyclist very well indeed. I enjoyed the little caption stories about the great cyclists, and loved how these weaved into Krabbe's own tale. The surreal meanderings worked well for me- the continual attempts to start and restart a long division sum are just the sort of things that happen during a slog of a long ride. This is obviously a book that has been well researched in person!
It is from the 1970's and has a historical interest to it- but also feels modern. Undoubtedly the characters, personalities, and single minded blind determination will all be present in the modern scene. It lacks reference to drug use, but is probably a fresher and 'purer' tale without having to incorporate that confounding factor. A modern version of this story would not be able to avoid mention of drugs.

Good narration.

Good book.

I could'nt drop this

Any additional comments?

I'm a runner, I love to run and love to read books about running. A nasty case of patella tendinitis means running is not an option at the moment so I've had to take up the bike, I've always found cycling tedious in the extreme.

With this in mind I went searching for a read to engage me in the art of pedal pushing, I chose Tyler Hamilton’s excellent "inside the tour de France" autobiographical expose of the Armstrong years and followed it up with this, and I'm so glad I did.

It’s such an engaging read, you really feel personally invested in each climb and every break, so much so that I felt out of breath on occasion! The first person narrative works so well to portray the feeling of being in a road race and I've enjoyed this read so much I’ve listened to this three times now and I'm still on the bike!

Not amazing

this book is highly rated by many. there is no doubt that there are some great observations that will make most cyclists smile, but after a few chapters it starts to become and remain fairly dull. probably worth a listen but manage your expectations.

Classic and compelling cycling .story

Classic and compelling cycling .story. A must for cycling fans, highly recommend even if you're not.

The Best Audiobook

Disclaimer - I'm a cycling fan. But I also think most cycling books are banal middle-class rubbish. This audiobook...man. It's pure vibes. The narration is superb, but the material. It's a completely unique and brilliant sporting book. It's the tale of a sportsman actually in the moment, in competition. Not a biography, but a story of one day, one match, one race. It's the sports book I've always wanted to read, about any sport. The player describing his craft in vivid detail. Most sportsmen can't or more specifically can't be bothered to do that. This guy (a very talented amateur) does just that.

I've listened to over 100 audiobooks and along with 'Nomad' by Alan Partridge, this is the best. Listened to both over 10 times. This one is like pure aural morphine. Takes you instantly into a different, beautiful time and place. And you can revel and luxuriate in it with the author. It has characters, drama, tension, history, humour. Everything. It could be about a football match or a boxing bout. A tale of physical and mental fortitude and a man's quest to just push himself and compete.

I also think cycling lends itself very well to this type of apocryphal tale. It's a very bizzare but also very....epic sport. I'm into all sports and it took me a long while to get into cycling. And on many levels it's a small-scale sport. But it achieves moments of transcendent pathos and emotion that other, bigger sports couldn't muster in their wildest dreams. This is a story about that.

Cycling Classic

I just love this book. Highly entertaining, totally paints the picture. Fun to live the race from the inside

Unexpected pleasure

Any additional comments?

Bought this on a bit of a punt, it sort of looked interesting. Turned out to be fascinating. Glad I took the risk.

Day in the life of a cycle race(r)

Very well read and matches the ebb and flow of road cycling. Feels like you are there with the breakaway.

Simply Excellent

I have just finished listening to this and I want to listen again. It's a really interesting account of both cycling and life in general, I recommend this to everybody.