A Wild Ride Through Lance Armstrong's Comeback

Tour de Lance

A revealing look behind the scenes of Lance Armstrong's highly anticipated 2009 comeback

A masterly piece of reportage stuffed with expert insights into the Tour's Byzantine tactics

The definitive inside account of one of the great sporting comebacks of all time

Dan Coyle, author of Lance Armstrong's War

Like a scientist admiring a rare species, Strickland provides probably the most complete and exhaustive exposure of this extraordinary athlete

Bill Strickland is the editor-at-large for Bicycling Magazine, the world's largest cycling publication, and the author of Ten Points, We Might As Well Win, which he co-wrote with Johan Bruyneel, and The Quotable Cyclist.

Lance Armstrong’s surprise announcement in 2008 that he would return to cycling to raise global awareness about cancer prompted widespread speculation about performance-enhancing drugs, the validity of his past victories and his true motivations. 
 
In Tour de Lance, Bill Strickland follows Armstrong’s 2009 return to racing from January’s Tour Down Under in Australia to the Tour de France in July and asks what drives someone to step back into the glare of the spotlight after walking away from adulation. Is it ego? Is it boredom? Why is it that we love a comeback? 
 
Strickland’s second-to-none knowledge of the cycling world makes Tour de Lance a compelling look at both the sport’s complex dynamics and one of the most celebrated – and controversial – cyclists of our time.

Johan Bruyneel

Bill Strickland

Takes readers behind the scenes, into the follow car, on the bike, up the mountains and against the clock. You have to lack a pulse not to be inspired

Bruyneel has carved out a remarkable record of victory as a team director and his honest, behind-the-scenes stories show the way to success in cycling and in life itself

Eddy Merckx, five-times Tour de France winner

On the Road to Success with the Mastermind Behind a Record-Setting Eight Tour de France Victories

Johan Bruyneel knows what it takes to win. In 1998, this astute former pro cyclist looked a struggling rider and cancer survivor in the eye and said, 'If we're going to ride the Tour, we might as well win.' What followed was extraordinary. With Bruyneel as his team director, Lance Armstrong seized a record seven straight Tour de France victories. Meanwhile, Bruyneel brought innovation to the sport of cycling, and in 2007 he took the Tour de France title with a new, young team, securing his place in sporting history. 
 
This is the first time the man closest to Armstrong has unveiled his secrets of motivation, planning and execution. Whether mounting a difficult climb, managing a team of 30 riders and 40 support staff from a car hurtling along narrow roads or looking a future legend in the eye and willing him to believe, Bruyneel is, and always has been, the consummate winner. This is his story.

Bill Strickland

Praise for We Might As Well Win

Takes readers behind the scenes, into the follow car, on the bike, up the mountains and against the clock. You have to lack a pulse not to be inspired

Bruyneel has carved out a remarkable record of victory as a team director and his honest, behind-the-scenes stories show the way to success in cycling and in life itself

Books by Bill Strickland

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