23 Days in July: Inside the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong's Record-Breaking Victory by john wilcockson

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

Lance Armstrong once seemed superhuman,the man who defied cancer to win the grueling Tour de France again and again.Later,came the doping case and he lost all his titles.This book was published before that and Armstrong is presented as a sporting hero.Cycling is a rather boring sport to watch,but this book makes it interesting by describing the tactics and the rigours of the Tour de France.A day by day account of the 2004 race,which went on for 23 days,and saw Lance Armstrong set a new record.If one forgets about the doping case for a while,this book entertains.

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Simplest14

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

Too bad that time only flows in one direction. I read this before Tyler Hamilton's confessional, "The Secret Race," before I read this. It wouldn't hurt to turn back the clock to 2006 either. Unfortunately, neither of those things is possible.

Wilcockson created an almost hagiographic work with this one. At one point early in the book he likens Armstrong to Lazarus, arisen from the grave. Given the times and the accomplishments of Armstrong I suppose that kind of thing is to be expected. Now, however, it leaves a bad taste in one's mouth.

Almost all of the top riders who competed in that Tour have been exposed for their use of banned substances. Not a few have had their titles stripped from them. Fair or not, it is what happened.

Still, the author does present a fairly engaging day-by-day account of the 2004 Tour and includes many other riders in his tale, both current riders and those form the past. I suppose it would have been impossible to speak of Armstrong and the Tour without including Merckx and Hinault and a few other champions. It was good to read of them in the context of the race without the taint that came later.

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dro73

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

I read this book more or less while I was watching the tail about the world's fastest scotsman, which was an interesting counterpoint.

It's not like the other Lance-toling-away-against-all-odds hagiographies (of which I am such a gushing fanboy).

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BlueMoonSamurai

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

This is one of the best books I've ever read about the Tour de France. I read it during the height of Lance's career, but enjoyed it more for the insight it gave me into the strategies and tactics involved in winning any bike race and especially the Tour de France.

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