Book review: 'Rough Ride' by Paul Kimmage
The latest book I read on professional road cycling is called “Rough Ride” and it is written by former pro cyclist (and currently sports journalist), Paul Kimmage.
The book can be actually divided into two thematic sections. The first section is mainly an autobiography, focused on the author’s experiences as a pro cyclist. The second section addresses the extensively discussed topic of doping in the sport of cycling.
I genuinely liked the first part of the book. Following Kimmage’s steps from Ireland to France and his experiences as a domestique in the Tour de France and other major European bike races was really interesting. Cycling is a very tough sport and only a handful of athletes make it to the top. The rest (peloton) suffer in the mountains literally serving the selected few. This message comes across very clear in Kimmage’s book. He colorfully describes the harnesses he went through while competing four times in the TdF.
As mentioned above though, another large part of the book is devoted to the author’s experiences on doping and his strict objection to it. Despite the well-understood motives of Kimmage, I did not find his anti-doping crusade intriguing and left me quite indifferent.
