Coyle, a writer for Outside magazine, moved the family to Girona, Spain, and spent a year following Armstrong, Sheryl Crow, and the rest of his entourage around Europe to write this book.
What was Coyle's biggest misconception about Armstrong before researching the book? His nice-guy image. Just because he does good work within the cancer community doesn't make him a saint.
“When it comes to is sport, and especially winning the Tour, niceness is just not part of his decision-making.”
Coyle also talks about Armstrong the control freak, Armstrong and the need to win everything, Armstrong the grudge-holder. He gets into his divorce and his relationships with Sheryl Crow, his mother, his team.
I guess it should be no surprise that Armstrong isn't a saint. Few people are. We tend to put our athletes up on pedestals. Just because they're great in one arena, doesn't make them superior in all aspects of life.
Armstrong is a terrific bicyclist, maybe the greatest, definitely one of the top five ever. So let's focus on that — and whether he'll win a 7th Tour de France this year — and not worry if he doesn't live up to all of our other expectations.
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