Off to the Races: 25 Years of Cycling Journalism

by Samuel Abt, Graham Watson (Photographer)

In Samuel Abt's decades of writing about road racing, he has covered the careers of such legends as Greg LeMond, Miguel Indurain, Sean Kelly, Mario Cipollini, Lance Armstrong, and many others. Organized chronologically, this collection covers the stars and their sport with the drama and insight readers have come to expect from the man widely regarded as the best commentator on professional cycling.

Genres: Cycling, Sports

354 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2002

About the author

Samuel Raphael Abt was an American sports journalist and author who covered professional cycling for 31 years, publishing articles in the New York Times and International Herald Tribune, among others. He devoted much time to chronicling the careers of English-speaking riders, especially Lance Armstrong and Greg LeMond.

Reviews

[Jtomassetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read through bicycle magazines in 30 minutes. Thus cost per minute of enjoyment is quite expensive with magazines. Off to the Races is a book of magazine articles. I left it in the living room and read a couple of articles from time to time. So it took me about 3 months to read.

The book was published in 2002 so the newest stories in the book occurred over 10 years ago. So for current readers it is bicycling history. However, when each story was written it was a current event. Thus the book has a much different tone than book written about bicycling history. I enjoyed that. I also enjoyed that thebook covered many of the not-so-famous riders and races.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

more great writing from Abt, who is arguably one of the greatest English language cycling journalists.

as opposed to the wonderful 'Up the Road' collection, 'Off to the Races' seems like it would hold more of an appeal to cycling fans as many of the stories are straight forward sports reporting. However, since this is Abt, there are many stories that focus on the lesser knowns,those around the periphery, and the atmosphere/history of the sport and why it means so much to the fans and the small towns of Europe.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool stories of cycling history.Learn about the greats as well as about some of its lesser known characters. Fun stuff, especially if you're a cycling fan.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting behind the scenes look at the cycling profession.