The wild west that was the pro peloton of the '90s and noughties has proven fertile ground for writers. These years of excess have produced so much material that fans might question whether there's room for more in 2022. Journalist Andy McGrath got a similar reaction from several interviewees for his latest project, a biography of one of the sport's great lost talents, the Belgian Frank Vandenbroucke, who died in mysterious circumstances at just 34 on holiday in Senegal in 2009.
With, by McGrath's count, six books about his life already available - albeit all in Dutch or French - the suggestion was whether another was needed? His superb book God is Dead: The Rise and Fall of Frank Vandenbroucke answer it emphatically. There have been other great books from this era - ex-pro Tyler Hamilton's The Secret Race, Jeremy Whittle's Bad Blood, and Matt Rendell's The Death of Marco Pantani to name a few - but this remains a story and period of time that's as urgent and as relevant as ever.
New wrinkles and understanding of this era are changing with the times we live in. It's also a timely reminder, with human nature seeming to dictate that the further we get from traumatic periods of history, the more likely it is that history repeats itself. Vandenbroucke's tragic life story, beset as it was by mental health struggles and addiction, resonates louder than ever, too, in these more enlightened times when we're far more open in talking about such battles. So to is there a more vociferous rejection of the celebrity culture that swallowed up and spat out this rider at the turn of the century.
Yes man
This story is from the May 2022 edition of Cycling Plus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2022 edition of Cycling Plus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Objectives of desire
Ned ponders his affection for cycling on a ride from London to Minehead
ONE OF A KIND
Project One combines premium-quality customised bikes with an endless palette of colours and designs from the creative experts at Trek. It's a winning formula. Here's why...
Trek Checkpoint ALR 5 Driftless
£2,700 Aluminium bike-packing-friendly gravel bike
Gower Peninsula, Wales
A rider powers up the Cefn Bryn ridge on south Wales' Gower Peninsula.
Slow commotion
Downing Street targeting 20mph zones is attacking popular policy
Black Series Multistrada
£5,629 British designed, all-road speedster
Helmetcam militia
Hey, bad drivers! Want to be in the movies? Then smile as you close-pass us while on the phone
Rolling horizons
2018 Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas tells us about the joy of discovering new routes
ENTER THE DRAGON
It's one of the toughest sportives in the UK, but did climb-loving cycling author Simon Warren have the legs to slay the beast of a sportive route in 2023?
LOFTY GOALS
Higher, harder, longer... the road-sportive calendar gets ever more extreme. Here are 10 of the toughest single day rides to enter for 2024