Breaking the Chain: Drugs and Cycling - The True Story

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Breaking the Chain was a truely disappointing book for me. Although the sub-title is "the true story" it seemed that the text reflected more innuendo than it did "truth" concerning drug use in the cycling world. In a time when the cycling world is trying to get back on it's feet after being rocked with gossip about drug use (particularly EPO), the book seems to add to, rather than take away from, the culture of rumor. I finished the book with the feeling that the author wrote it not to inform the world of drug use in professional cycling, but rather as a means of making money (now that he was without employment). I am sorry that I may have contributed to his retirement fund by purchasing the book.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Breaking the Chain was a truely disappointing book for me. Although the sub-title is "the true story" it seemed that the text reflected more innuendo than it did "truth" concerning drug use in the cycling world. In a time when the cycling world is trying to get back on it's feet after being rocked with gossip about drug use (particularly EPO), the book seems to add to, rather than take away from, the culture of rumor. I finished the book with the feeling that the author wrote it not to inform the world of drug use in professional cycling, but rather as a means of making money (now that he was without employment). I am sorry that I may have contributed to his retirement fund by purchasing the book.

Rating:
Summary: The book that had to be written
Review: While this is anything but a great book, it's a book that had to be written. A story that had to be told. And judging by the continued show of doping (drug use) in professional cycling, a story that needs to be told repeatedly.

Willy Voet was the trainer for the infamous Festina team who was caught driving over the French border with a carload full of performance enhancing drugs, just before the 1998 Tour de France. Voet at first claimed the drugs were all his. Then, he recanted under pressure. The team dropped out of the Tour, as did many others under Police crackdowns, and Voet went to jail for 16 months. When he got out, he forever cemented his career to ruin by spiling his guts in this book (originally in French, "Assembly Line Massacre" - a fitting title). He wrote this very detailed, very disturbing, morbid read of some very sinister goings on. Unfortunately led by himself perhaps most of all. If you want to know most (not all, but most) of the deep, dirty, nasty, evil goings on in professional cycling, that is never spoken of, then read this book. In the 5 years since it's publication, not much has changed, judging by the frequent positive tests, and admissions of guilt by riders.

There is a negative to this book though. First, it's written in a rather self-serving manner. While Voet admits what he was doing was wrong, he seems to want to shake some element from his torrid past, and acts like coming clean is a way for forgiveness, then treats much of what he did in his career as matter of fact, with only fleeting elements of remorse. Coming from a rather sinister man, it makes the book hard to read at times. The book also contains too many personal viewpoints, and a lack of hard facts. While there is no denying what he did, and what others do, there needs to be another book written on this subject. One written from more researched, fact based information. There are many studies, admissions from riders, positive tests, arrests, lawsuits, etc. to fill binders of information. Some journlist with guts needs to sift through all that information and put together an old-school, hard jouranlistic, non-emotional, fact based book. Until that time, if you want to know about the deep details of drug use in professional cycling, this is about all there is. And taken within the context of who the author is, it should be recommended reading for all young athletes.