Another successful year beneath his belt, Mark Cavendish is well on his way to becoming one of cycling’s untouchable superstars. As he prepares for this year’s World Championships, with a great supporting team, one can only wonder if 2011 we’ll see “Cav” in the rainbow jersey.

In Boy Racer, Mark Cavendish, one of today’s greatest young sports prodigies at just 25, tells his coming of age story in a speed-readingly riveting style. His battles with his opponents, coaches and, most of all himself in a voice very much his own. The story is cleverly weaved through each chapter – which begins with his story of each stage of the 2008 Tour De France and then shifts to a relevant part of his efforts to take himself from youth on the tiny isle of Man to the top of a sport in less than ten years.

It might seem absurd for a 25 year old to write an autobiography – but when you read it, you realise that the immediacy and freshness of the experiences make this almost a sportscasting style of biography with a rawness that is not possible if written through the lens of someone at the end of their career.

It’s a deeply personal story of massive ups and downs – of Cavendish’s inner battles with his own volatility and learning how to channel his often dysfunctional almost manic / depressive energy in ways that could be useful. From winning a world championship to sitting alone in a room eating endless bags of chips to joining a pro team to losing when he was expected to win, to his scally-waggish pranks on his team-mates to their punishment with hours riding.

Cavendish is, of course, the brash hero – but he is self deprecating and appreciative of the people that brought him to where he is. Those that didn’t help, of course, get a bit of a Manx-style smack-down.

Hats off to you, Mr. Cavendish. You can write nearly as well as you ride.

Tim Moore has decided to ride the route of the Tour de France. The only problem is he isn’t ready to do it. Not even close — by his own admission.
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Cyclist Marco Pantani’s death is one of the most tragic events in recent sports history. After winning both the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia in 1998, he was expected to dominate cycling well into the next decade. Instead, he was caught in a blood-doping scandal, disappeared from view, and, in 2004, was found dead of cocaine poisoning.

Matt Rendell tells Pantani’s story with an investigative reporter’s zeal for the facts and a novelist’s skill for depicting deeper truths. He debunks the conspiracy theories that have circulated about Pantani’s demise, and also reveals other startling findings about the dark underside of the cycling world.

Rendell does a good job of chronicling the young Pantini and the promise he showed in his early races. He details his family life and the seeds for his later emotional issues.

Rendell works analytically and steps through the events related to Marco’s medical evidence of doping, his mental and social issues, and his eventual death. I have read other reviews in which readers expressed disappointment that Pantani’s pro racing victories are not highlighted more in the book. I think the title explains Rendell’s focus and as long as the reader in interested in learning more about Pantani as a man in addition to a cycling champion, I think this is a very good read.