The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs

This book tells it like it was about the doping culture in top class bike racing and how it was impossible to win without enhancing your performance. A fascinating insight into the top races and racers, making clear that those superhuman feats you had seen in the Tour de France on TV really were that - beyond normal human achievement. Tyler Hamilton comes across as a basically decent guy, and there is relatively little special pleading. The commentary by his co-author Daniel Coyle adds welcome balance. Just be glad that the Tour is so much slower than it was. Sean Runnette reads really well.

I'd just finished listening to Bradley Wiggin's autobiography and moved straight onto this one. Talk about a complete contrast of the same competition and hopefully shows how much progress the sport has made over the last few years. Sean Runnette narrated it perfectly and painted a brilliant picture of 'The Secret Race'. If you're interested in bike racing then this is an absolute must listen to, especially after the recent Lance Armstrong Oprah Winfrey confession. You'll be hooked and in disbelief of the cover up over the last 15 years.

I have been a lover of the Tour De France since ITV's World of Sport showed it in the 70's. And since the 80's/90's have followed it religiously on C4 and then Eurosport. I remember the Festina affair well and how the cyclists refused to race the following day. I don't think I ever imagined cycling was so dirty, well not until this book. Daniel Coyle and Sean Runnette have turned this autobiography of a cycling cheat into a masterpiece. Don't get me wrong I think Tyler cheated for all the right reasons. He wanted to win and not get left behind and he wanted to beat his once friend and nemisis Lance Armstrong. The book is endearing and engaging and you almost don't want Tyler Hamilton to get caught, but you know how it ends. I'm really pleased his story has been made into a book. I think a film must be on the cards. This book is worth 5 stars any day of the week, certainly the best Autobiography I've read/heard in a very, very, long time

Tyler Hamilton, pro-cyclist, Lance Armstrong team mate, Olympic Gold Medalist, Doper, Cheat, Human being. The book tells the story of Tyler Hamilton, how he became a professional cyclist, how he was one of Lance Armstrong's closest team mates, how he was doping on an almost industrial scale (but not quite as much as Lance, EPO, blood transfusions, Human Growth Hormone, Testostorone etc). I bought this book partly to get insight into Lance Armstrong (LA). Before buying the book I suspected that LA was a doper. By the end of the very detailed, but entertaining, book, I came to understand how LA had obviously had kept one step ahead of the other (many) dopers and in essence how his 7 TdF titles was as much down to his willingness to go that extra mile in cheating and in keeping the competition from getting access to the latest drugs and cheating techniques. It also reveals how LA is quite a bully, a ruthless one at that. But the book is not written as a character assassination of LA. It's the story of how a human being, made mistakes and how he has been affected by those mistakes. The moral of the book is: If you are going to live a lie, don't expect to sleep easy at night (unless you are one of those rare people who lacks a conscience). The author of the book also gives insight by speaking to and about other characters involved in pro-cycling and by the depth of research he has done which underlines the credibility of the story. Overall a very well researched and written story.

Excellent, didn't expect to enjoy this so much, so interesting. Really gives a great insight into the reality of professional cycling in the noughties. Makes you wonder how things really are now. I did think at times that Tyler Hamilton was obsessed with lance Armstrong, but luckily by the end this had subsided. I don't know if lance has written anything yet - I will be keen to hear his side.
The question - 'what would you do?', was really powerful, and I know where I stand on this. What a nice guy Tyler is as well, I enjoyed getting to know him.

You will not look at cycling the same way again. Utterly brilliant book that you will not want to stop listening to. Read extremly well too.

Amazing insight into the life Hamilton and the other pro cyclists lead. All the dirty details are here. The lengths these people would go to so that try could win races is beyond belief. Lance Armstrong is a nasty piece of work. He really was the Tony Soprano of the cycling world - although he lacked the likability. This is well narrated and a really good listen. I would highly recommend it to anyone, not just cycling fans.

Loved this, couldn't put it down/turn it off. If you are a sport fan at all you have to read this, I listened while running & found myself dumbfounded at some of the things that went on. The foreword by Hamilton at the start was good too.



It totally pained a differEnt picture of life n the peloton, the bullying and the drugs. I now look on every sport with suspicion as I now see how easy the system can be beaten.

As someone who has cycled as a hobby and is enthusiastic about the Tour De France, this book has been a real insight into the world of professional cycling and the extremes that riders and teams went to during the period that Tyler writes about. Having read other books including Lance Armstrong and Bradley Wiggins, this goes into the depths of the cycling world and makes the reader understand the pressures at the time that made these guys do what they did. Throughout the story he does not excuse his actions but explains clearly and with real thought about why what happened did and how the pressures from teams, other cyclists and the riders themselves increases with the desire for success. It's an excellent listen for those who want to get inside the world of cycling as it was and the lengths that were gone to for success at that time.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, as I have no sympathy for 'cheats' in sport of any kind. However, after listening to this book, I felt that I had walked a few miles in Tyler Hamilton's shoes and can now understand his dilemma. His passion for his sport is clear and his need to win or at least stand a chance of winning in a fair race is behind much of the doping he did. I still don't condone cheating, but I now have more sympathy for a man trapped by his passion in an environment where cheating was the norm.