Chased by Pandas: My life in the mysterious world of cycling

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I’m currently on chapter three (I’ve also started Gone Girl and my brain seemingly cannot comprehend following over two books at the same time), and my verdict so far is that it’s refreshingly candid and personal.

Chased by Pandas by Dan Martin | Waterstones

Martin, as just about everyone knows at this stage, has cycling in his blood. His father, Neil Martin, made it as far as ACBB, cycling’s Sorbonne for the men of the Foreign Legion in the 1970s and 1980s, before returning to the UK where he made a name for himself on the domestic circuit. His mother, Maria Roche, is the sister of Stephen Roche. According to Jonathan Vaughters, Martin’s mother’s genes are the more important, because of something to do with midichlorians and the Force. Or is it mitochondria and genetics? It could be either, when Vaughters is involved. Whichever it is, the grá for the sport, the love and the passion, that came from his father. Tour de France, 2019: Dan Martin climbs the Tourmalet. Tim de Waele / Getty Here, though, the chapter names are based around another familiar concept – fear, and include the likes of ‘The Fear of Being No Good,’ ‘The Fear of Being a Leader’ and ‘The Fear of Stopping’. Quite good. Martin was a top rider as well as an honest pro who is reflective about the world of pro bike racing. One thing that does come through, although he’s not adamant about it, is how old fashioned/reactionary as well as just exploitative team management is. I also share with Martin his skepticism that “experts” in diet, physiology etc really know what they’re doing and rather that this is a form of labor control. (There are so many potential pro bike riders in the world that teams can be indifferent to rider welfare knowing they have a guaranteed labor pool; no rider’s Union would ever succeed.) There are a lot of crashes though! That one when Richie Porte took out DM on the descent….man…. Look at Tom Dumoulin. He continued racing the last two years, but he wasn’t the same. He essentially retired two years ago at the age of 29. Fabio Aru, an incredible talent, also retired at 30. These guys made this huge commitment and sacrifice, and were phenomenal young riders, but it was unsustainable. Guys like me had a sustainable way of racing that meant you could stay competitive for a long time. Those days are over. Martin’s favourite current cyclist is Tadej Pogacar – whom he calls “a miraculous rider”. They first rode together in January 2018, when the Slovenian was 19, and since then Pogacar has won the Tour de France twice, in his first two attempts at the race.the most rational hypothesis was that there was an oily residue on the road at that point and the dampness in the air had made it slippery. The irrational hypothesis was that it was down to fate. This explanation was both comforting and unsatisfactory, but I liked it. It was written that I would win in 2013 and lose in 2014… PK: Another area of abuse is anti-depressants, tranquilisers and painkillers - Tramadol. So again, what is clean?

chased by pandas inrng : book review – chased by pandas

Chased by Pandas] is not a conventional study of wins, losses and conquering mountains but overcoming the mental challenges of a sport into which he was seemingly born’– The Times You see pictures of me when I was a first-year pro in 2008, 22 years old and looking like I’m 15. In modern cycling I might never have made it to where I did – because I wouldn’t have been allowed the time to develop. How many talented riders are we going to lose now?”Chased by Pandas] is not a conventional study of wins, losses and conquering mountains but overcoming the mental challenges of a sport into which he was seemingly born' The Times DM: Yeah, eventually. But since then, no, apart from when I was lying in a hospital bed in agony with a broken collarbone (his Giro crash in 2014). That’s something I can understand, and I feel like too many cycling books I’ve read seem to centre on the themes of either suffering or doping. Chronicles the former Irish road champion’s journey through the ranks of professional cycling’– Cycling Weekly