When I was growing up we had a saying about cyclists: Strong in the legs, weak in the head. I discovered it’s not true of them all. The very best cyclists are also strong in the head. To be a top athlete in any sphere, you also need be be single-minded and driven and ruthless.
Robbie McEwen is a case in point.
Possessing the right physical attributes just isn’t enough to achieve over a long period of time – as he has done (you only have to point to the scoreboard for that: there’s an impressive list of his wins at the end of the book). To be a top athlete in any sphere, you also need be be single-minded and driven, ruthless (a touch of the mongrel), resilient, have a good work ethic, be sensibly fearless and have more than the normal dose of street smartness.
McEwen is a sprinter par excellence. We may all find great intrigue and thrill in the race for general classification, like the tussle for the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France – but for my money the sprinters are the real excitement machines. Nothing gets the blood boiling more than watching a number of sprinters hurtling towards that line, defying danger in a runaway train of fast-twitch muscles and adrenalin.
McEwen is as forthright in this book as he is on his bike, taking us into the heart of the peleton and giving us a sneak look behind the scenes.
While he doesn’t dwell on some of the murkier sides of the sport, such as money changing hands, drugs and physical confrontations, he doesn’t ignore them.
I like the way that this book chronicles just about the whole of his cycling years from feisty youth to the twilight of his career and the realisation that it will all end soon. Although he has passed the sprinting baton to another generation (he talks about the first time “a little fat guy in pink”, Mark Cavendish, flashed past him and later likens him to a younger version of himself) he believes he still has something to contribute, perhaps imparting some of that deep well of knowledge on to younger riders.
He says he will enjoy going for the ride just for the pleasure of it. Though he admits that if the surf is up on the Gold Coast or a golf game beckons, he’s going to have to weigh it up.
McEwen admits he has a Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde image problem in cycling. Mr Hyde has had his day, now it’s time for Dr Jekyl to be front and centre more often.
Related Reading:
Atonement: A NovelIan McEwan s symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and th... Read More >
Boy Racer: My Journey to Tour de France Record-Breaker Boy Racer unmasks the manic, brutal world of professional cycling from the candid viewpoint of the sport's brash young superstar, Mark Cavend... Read More >
One Way RoadProfessional road cyclist Robbie McEwen will do whatever it takes to win on a bike. He is proud of his reputation as a 'competitive little bugger' and... Read More >
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