I am an avid follower of professional cycling, both male and female, and am always glued to the TV set when the major races are on. I have also read plenty of bios of the big stars, including Cadel Evans, our other great Australian rider. But I don't think I have enjoyed a cycling book so much as I did with this one on Australian cyclist Stuart O'Grady.
I have a copy of the original hardcover version, published in 2014. This blurb summarises the book well.
His never-say-die attitude has inspired people everywhere and he is a true hero to anyone who has enjoyed The Tour over the past two decades. Recounting his incredible 20 year career including 17 Tour de France starts, Battle Scars recounts the highs and lows of Stuart's cycling journey, including the culture in elite international cycling and the pressure on young teenage cyclists to perform, which led to his now infamous choice to take performance enhancing drug EPO in 1998. But in this up-front and honest autobiography Stuey reveals more than just headlines. From growing up in a talented cycling family and starting a training diary at age 13, to his career success in the velodrome, and his eventful years as a professional road cyclist, his style is absolutely candid, down-to-earth and genuine. Stuart O'Grady is an inspirational but very human sports hero, and Battle Scars is an enthralling read for anyone interested in elite sport.
What a superb book and what an inspirational read.
A prodigious talent from an early age, he was matching it with the top SA bike riders in training at 14 years of age, was picked up as part of the elite training squad at age 16 and, from then on, was never out of the limelight. He quickly developed into one of Australia’s finest ever track cyclists, eventually winning four Olympic medals including gold in Athens in 2004 and seven Commonwealth Games gongs. Success came early with silver in the 4000m team pursuit at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona at age 18.
On the road, he rode himself to 29 victories, including two stages of the Tour de France.
Consider the stats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_O%27Grady)
- Represented Australia in 6 Olympic Games (1992-2012), winning gold in the Madision at the 2004 Games
- Inaugural Tour Down Under winner in 1999 and won it again in 2001. He is the current race director.
- 17 Tour De France participations, with 15 finishes, 3 Tour stage wins, 9 days in the maillot jaune and second in the points classification in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2005.
- Green Jersey wins in the Tour de France on 4 occasions.
- Winner of the revered Paris-Roubaix in 2007 - He had a puncture midway but recovered to rejoin the field before arriving alone in the Roubaix Velodrome.
His training sessions were the stuff of legend, with 300km training days his way of putting the final icing on the cake in preparation for the big races. His crashes and major injuries were also the stuff of legend. His attidude was one of win, regardless of the cost. Win or crash. These were his only 2 alternatives. Known as ‘Mr Indestructible'. Take this one example: he fractured eight ribs, a shoulder blade, collarbone, three vertebrae and punctured his right lung - all in one Tour de France.
Ok, he was not spared from the shadow of drugs use. In July 2013, a day after finishing his record-equalling 17th Tour De France, he was named in the French Senate report detailing EPO use in the 1998 Tour de France as having returned a sample suspicious for EPO use. He confirmed the same day in an interview with an Australian newspaper that he had taken EPO prior to the 1998 Tour de France, but stated that the arrests around that Tour scared him off doping in the rest of his career. After 19 years of professional racing, he then announced his retirement, aged 39.
This announcement created some controversy amongst cycling fans, as O'Grady had been a vocal critic of the doping culture that existed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As a result of his doping admission, the Australian Institute of Sport indefinitely suspended him from its 'Best of the Best'. But time has put things into better perspective and he is now regarded as one of our best ever cyclists.
On a personal front, he set up and financially supports an Australian junior cycling development team, CSC Team O'Grady, which was established in 2005. He is today a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organisation.
A 5 star book about a 5 star cyclist.
