Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike

Posted on 13 October 2017 by William Fotheringham

The first ever English language biography of Eddy Merckx, the greatest cyclist of all time, by William Fotheringham, Britain s top cycling writer Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pel to football quite simply, the best there has ever been Throughout his professional career Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories Lance Armstrong, by comparison, has managed fewer than 100 For Britain s leading cycling writer, William Fotheringham, the burning question remains, why What made Eddy Merckx so invincible Merckx was a machine It wasn t just the number of victories it was his remorseless domination that created the legend Once, already comfortably leading the 1969 Tour de France, Merckx hammered a further eight and a half minutes out of his nearest rivals during an 85 mile solo break in the Pyrenees But his triumphs only tell half a story that includes drug busts, horrific injury and death He was nicknamed The Cannibal for his insatiable appetite for victory, but the moniker did scant justice to this handsome, sensitive, and surprisingly anxious man In Half Man, Half Bike, Fotheringham goes back to speak to those who were there at the time The result is the extraordinary and definitive story of a man whose fear of failure would drive him to reach the highest pinnacles before ultimately destroying him. Best Download [ Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike ] author [ William Fotheringham ] – kino-fada.fr Everybody with even a passing acquaintance of cycling as a sport has probably heard of Eddy Merckx Anybody who has an interest in the sport will also know that Merckx was the greatest cyclist the sport has had The greatest there is the greatest there was the greatest there ever will be to steal and change a line from Bret Hart What I didn t realise until I read this book was quite how great that great was That such a cyclist doesn t seem to have written an autobiography, let alone had Everybody with even a passing acquaintance of cycling as a sport has probably heard of Eddy Merckx Anybody who has an interest in the sport will also know that Merckx was the greatest cyclist the sport has had The greatest there is the greatest there was the greatest there ever will be to steal and change a line from Bret Hart What I didn t realise until I read this book was quite how great that great was That such a cyclist doesn t seem to have written an autobiography, let alone had it translated into English, seems like a great oversight An oversight that William Fotheringham and Daniel Friebe both seem to have decided to resolve both releasing their own biographies of Merckx in the same year I m sure I ll read them both eventually but, due to some birthday book vouchers last year, I got to readMerckx Half Man, Half Bikefirst.Covering the full range of Merckx s career from his early amateur races when other riders would often not bother turning up when he rode th...I finished Friebe s The Cannibal immediately prior to reading Fotheringham so naturally my instinct is to compare the 2 generally both books come toor less the same conclusions regards Merckx, what drove him etc Fotheringham does have the advantage of actually having interviewed Merckx himself although this turns out to have been in 1997 As a summary of Merckx s career, this is well structured and draws on a wide range of interviews from those who worked with or against The Cannibal Th I finished Friebe s The Cannibal immediately prior to reading Fotheringham so naturally my instinct is to compare the 2 generally both books come toor less the same conclusions regards Merckx, what drove him etc Fotheringham does have the advantage of actually having interviewed Merckx himself although this turns out to have been in 1997 As a summary of Merckx s career, this is well structured and draws on a wide range of interviews from those who worked with or against The Cannibal There is plenty here to amaze and educate those not lucky enough to see the man when he qctually competed and it shows why it is not simple hyperbole to describe Merckx as the greatest cyclist ever To be honest if I had to choose between Friebe and Fotheringham I would find it difficult t...A well researched book providing a detailed insight into this great cyclist Merckx was before my time so this was a journey into the relatively unknown What I learned was amazing this guy truly dominated the sport I know about Hinault, Lemond, Indurain, Armstrong Merckx was head and shoulders above His obsession to entertain, to perform in every race, to allay his fears, to push himself at every opportunity was fascinating He took the definition of selfishness, of dedication to his profes A well researched book providing a detailed insight into this great cyclist Merckx was before my time so this was a journey into the relatively unknown What I learned was amazing this guy truly dominated the sport I ...Merckx Half Man, Half Bike is a very thorough account of Eddy s Merck x cycling career While the book does an admirable job of retelling the history of his races and competitors, it does not tell us much about his motivation and personality.i like cycling books but this was a little monotonous similar to the guy s racing I guess.During the height of Lance Armstrong s successful run of Tour de France victories, I began to watch a some professional bicycle racing on TV and the Internet I even watched a criterium in Arlington where I live in person But once the doping aspect becameobvious, I lost interest in current bicycle racing I guess I couldn t tell you the name of three people who will be racing in the Tour de France this year, as one example of my lack of present interest.I am still interested in cycling ge During the height of Lance Armstrong s successful run of Tour de France victories, I began to watch a some professional bicycle racing on TV and the Internet I even watched a criterium in Arlington where I live in person But once the doping aspect becameobvious, I lost interest in current bicycle ...Half Man, Half Bike is another one of the books I read in my cycling biography phase This one falls somewhere between Sex, Lies, and Handlebar Tape about Jacques Anquetil and Slaying the Badger Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault While not as captivating as the latter, it is much better than the former Eddy Merckx was always to me a revered name in cycling with one of the most incredible resume of victories Before this book, however, I knew little of the man He was from Belgium, spoke Flemi Half Man, Half Bike is another one of the books I read in my cycling biography phase This one falls somewhere between Sex, Lies, and Handlebar Tape about Jacques Anquetil and Slaying the Badger Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault While not as captivating as the latter, it is much better than the former Eddy Merckx was always to me a revered name in cycling with one of the most incredible resume of victories Before this book, however, I knew litt...A thoroughly researched and well structured book that does an excellent job of detailing Merckx s astonishing career on a bike It takes you in detail from his early days as a junior rider through to the epic grand tour triumphs and the burned out finale of his career It is an interesting read, but if anything, lacked the personal touch, and occasio...Despite I already knew Fotheringham s Writing style lots of data, many as he was a child, he wanted to be , and despite I found it sometimes boring, I gave it a new chance, because I love to read anything related to cycling Anyways, every cycling fan should know in a good way who has been his God, and God on two wheels has been represented as Eddy Merckx It is nice to read Fotheringham s books in order to get in touch with years, Teams and moments, but I personally prefer the books which Despite I already knew Fotheringham s Writing style lots of data, many as he was a child, he wanted to be , and despite I found it sometimes boring, I gave it a new chance, because I love to read anything related to cycling Anyways, every cycling fan s...A fascinating book about THE biggest legend in cycling About focus, about obsession, about victory after victory brought about but talent, yes, butthan anything by sweat and tears and sacrifice I loved the story and the writing.

English
13 October 2017

William Fotheringham