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Born to Ride: The Autobiography of Stephen Roche
On 6 September 1987, Stephen Roche touched greatness. Victory at the World Cycling Championship in Austria completed a near-unprecedented ‘triple crown’ that included triumphs in the same year at the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. In April, against all odds, he fought his own team and an angry, partisan Italian crowd who spat at him on his way to taking the Giro. In
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I was a little more than halfway through this book when it struck me why Stephen Roche was such a great rider. He was often coined a natural talent, yes, he trained hard and intelligently, he had a positive attitude, he had some good teams, and so on, all very important elements to become a successful professional cyclist. However, Roche lived and breathed race tactics from the day he began his cycling career, until the day he stepped off the bike for good, and that was what made him so superior
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With all the revelations about the systemised doping culture surrounding Lance Armstrong's team in the 1990s, it was interesting to read a story of a time before cycling was embroiled in one drugs scandal after another. Although perhaps not as memorable as Armstrong's career, Stephen Roche's will hold a place in cycling history for 1987, when he became only the second man to win the Tour de France, the Giro D'Italia and the World Championships in the same season. A quarter of a century after tha
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I quite enjoyed reading this book. It was a good insight into Roche's history and his persona.
I can remember the 87 tour quite vividly and still have the Channel 4 hi-lights on video tape. I watched every night and was enthralled by the whole event. This book gave me another insight into the man who won that Tour.
I really liked the back ground about Roche's early years in Ireland and in France and the characters who helped him develop into the successful cyclist he was. It was also interesting ...more
I can remember the 87 tour quite vividly and still have the Channel 4 hi-lights on video tape. I watched every night and was enthralled by the whole event. This book gave me another insight into the man who won that Tour.
I really liked the back ground about Roche's early years in Ireland and in France and the characters who helped him develop into the successful cyclist he was. It was also interesting ...more
Roche was an OK cyclist who had one year of greatness, but what a year. The Giro, won despite the efforts of his team, team mates, and Italian cycling fans, then the Tour, then the World Championships. Only Eddie Merckx has done that. It's an astonishing feat, it wrecked his knee, and his career dribbled on for a few more years with no trace of the astonishing brilliance Roche displayed in '87. The book reflects that; mildly interesting in the build-up to '87, fantastically insightful talking ab
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The first Chapter is brilliant. The books is a good read and intererting read on Stephen life
I thoroughly enjoyed this book as someone with a good basic interest in cycling without having an in depth knowledge of the sport. Roche is an intriguing character, I just feel that the book just gave us a very quick insight and that it could have revealed so much more. A dedicated chapter on doping, his family issues and his thoughts on the future of the sport could have made it more complete but maybe the reason the book was so compelling wad because it literally was Roche's thought thrown ont
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Not too bad. Very definitely some good insight into some truly historic races, by a key figures in the 1980s cycling community. I appreciated his opinions on some current trends, even if I don't necessarily agree with everything he says. Perhaps an under-rated champion, due to his years of injury.
In my opinion, this is a better book than the Agony and the Ecstacy, which essentially ends at the conclusion of the 1987 season, although some of the material is obviously similar.
In my opinion, this is a better book than the Agony and the Ecstacy, which essentially ends at the conclusion of the 1987 season, although some of the material is obviously similar.
As an Irishman, and as this was a gift from my wife, I am not going to give it anything but a glowing review.
It is crushing in his Roche's description of his difficult to the point of painful post-racing years, and it certainly illuminates his head-down work-away ethic. BUT it doesn't mention much on the dubious practices taht all and sundry know went on.
All the same, he sounds like a nice guy, along with being a national treasure.
It is crushing in his Roche's description of his difficult to the point of painful post-racing years, and it certainly illuminates his head-down work-away ethic. BUT it doesn't mention much on the dubious practices taht all and sundry know went on.
All the same, he sounds like a nice guy, along with being a national treasure.
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