Cycling

We Might As Well Win: On the Road to Success with the Mastermind Behind a Record-Setting Eight Tour de France Victories

On the tour and inside the mind of Johan Bruyneel, the winningest team leader in cycling history and the mastermind behind the success of the world's most celebrated champion, Lance Armstrong

Johan Bruyneel knows what it takes to win. In 1998, this calculating Belgian and former professional cyclist looked a struggling rider and cancer survivor in the eye and said, "Look, if we're going to ride the Tour, we might as well win." In that powerful phrase a dynasty was born. With Bruyneel as his team director, Lance Armstrong seized a record seven straight Tour de France victories. In the meantime, Bruyneel innovated the sport of cycling and went on to prove he could win without his superstar -- in 2007 he took the Tour de France title with a young new team and a lot of nerve, sealing his place in sports history forever.

We Might as Well Win takes readers behind the scenes of this amazing nine-year journey through the Alps and the Pyrenees, revealing a radical recipe for winning that readers can adapt from the bike to the boardroom to life. We witness Bruyneel's near-death crash and comeback as a rider. We are privy to the many ways he and Armstrong outsmarted their opponents. We listen in on the team's race radios to hear the secret strategies that inspire greatness from a disparate team. We learn how to make sure "not winning" isn't the same as "losing" as Bruyneel struggles to prove himself -- post-Armstrong -- with new riders, new strategies, and skeptics around every corner.

Whether mounting a difficult climb, or managing a team of thirty riders and forty support staff from a miniature car hurtling along narrow European roads, or looking a future legend in the eye and willing him to believe, Bruyneel is, and has always been, the consummate winner. Readers will relish this inside tour.

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity. Armstrong is a thoroughgoing Texan jock, and the changes brought to his life by his illness are startling and powerful, but he's just not interested in wearing a hero suit. While his vocabulary is a bit on the he-man side (highest compliment to his wife: "she's a stud"), his actions will melt the most hard-bitten souls: a cancer foundation and benefit bike ride, his astonishing commitment to training that got him past countless hurdles, loyalty to the people and corporations that never gave up on him. There's serious medical detail here, which may not be for the faint of heart; from chemo to surgical procedures to his wife's in vitro fertilization, you won't be spared a single x-ray, IV drip, or unfortunate side effect. Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the same extraordinary detail provided about his training sessions--every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living color. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike. --Jill Lightner

The #1 New York Times bestseller with legs as strong as its author's.

Lance Armstrong is one of the most talked about- and inspirational-sports figures of all time. He was Sports Illustrated 's 2002 Sportsman of the Year-and now, after his record-shattering string of Tour de France victories, some are proclaiming him the greatest athlete of all time.

This is the book in which he shares his journey through triumph, tragedy, transformation, and transcendence. It is the story of a world-famous cyclist and his fight against cancer.

Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance (2nd Edition)

Lennard Zinn is a cycling god. Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance is revered as a bible among the fat-tire set; he now extends the gospel to the rest of the cycling faithful in Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance.

From simple, routine maintenance to more complicated tasks, Zinn remains "convinced that anyone with an opposable thumb can perform any repair on a bike." He begins with "Basic Stuff" such as pre-ride inspections and cleaning the drive train, and continues on through the super-advanced task of wheel building--arguing that "the construction of a good set of bicycle wheels is actually a straightforward task." Zinn guides readers step by step through every possible repair on every possible part, handlebar grips to Maric Mektronic electronic shifting, with plain-speaking text and helpful illustrations. There's even a section on emergency repairs, including unexpected advice such as straightening a bent rim by hitting it against the ground: "You may be surprised how straight you can get a wheel this way."

This comprehensive manual is essential reading for those who love their bike. "All you have to do is follow the instructions and trust yourself." Indeed. --M. Stein

The Cyclist's Training Bible

"Periodization," nutrition, stretching, peaking--who knew that so much went into riding a bike? Joe Friel's The Cyclist's Training Bible is jam-packed with information, easily the most authoritative book on cycling to date. Friel, a lauded coach and masters athlete from Colorado, adopts the principles of Dr. Tudor Bompa, whose periodization training methods were used first by the dominant Eastern European athletes of the 1960s before becoming popular in the United States.

Jupiters Travels: Four Years Around the World on a Triumph

Simon rode a motorcycle around the world in the seventies, when such a thing was unheard of. In four years he covered 78,000 miles through 45 countries, living with peasants and presidents, in prisons and palaces, through wars and revolutions. What distinguishes this book is that Simon was already an accomplished writer. In 25 years this book has changed many lives, and inspired many to travel, including Ewan McGregor.

Your First Triathlon

Slow Fat Triathlete: Live Your Athletic Dreams in the Body You Have Now

Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance

Lennard Zinn explains that it doesn't take special skills to learn how to care for one's bike, only "a passion for spreading new grease on old parts." Clearly, his ambition is to share with newcomers the Zen-like joy of bike maintenance. But it's seasoned bike mechanics that should be tripping over each other for a copy of this comprehensive and ambitious manual. Zinn differs from other how-to books by guiding readers--with plain-speaking text--through almost every imaginable repair on almost every imaginable part. He covers everything from rebuilding hubs, to loosening seized stems, to installing six different types of bottom brackets. He even risks cycling blasphemy by walking mere mortals through the art of wheel building--an intimidating task that can take years to perfect. Although best suited for the old pros, his guide is user- friendly, funny, and essential to anyone willing to love their bike. --Ben Tiffany

Cycling Past 50 (Ageless Athlete Series)

Cycling Past 50 will show you that with proper training and the right attitude, your biking years after 50 can be your best ever. Inside you'll find:

• key training principles;

• advanced workouts for endurance, climbing, and sprinting;

• training advice for 100-mile events and multi-day tours;

• strategies for getting into racing form;

• tips and exercises for preventing injuries;

• advice on proper body fueling; and

• ideas on how to get mentally psyched to ride.

This book is part of the Ageless Athlete Series published by Human Kinetics, designed to help readers stay active and feel younger every day.

Mastering Mountain Bike Skills

Increase your speed, control, and versatility on the bike. Mastering Mountain Bike Skills provides detailed technical instruction for all mountain biking disciplines:

Cross-country
Downhill
Mountain cross
Free riding
Dirt jumping
Urban terrain

With top pro mountain biker Brian Lopes as your teacher, you'll learn how to handle the bike better than ever, in any conditions, across all types of terrain. Key tips and special photo sequences throughout the book add insight to Lopes' world-class instruction.