The Crooked Path to Victory

In today's world of doping controversy, this book is refreshing. Sure there's no shortage of drug-using tales and a needle does decorate the front cover, but The Crooked Path to Victory isn't only about doping. Les Woodland's book is a wealth of information covering cheating of all types in the cycling world: course cutting, sabotage and even shoving.

The Crooked Path takes the reader from the earliest days of the sport straight through to recent scandals, visiting seemingly everything in between. Horrifying tales of "hovering between life-and-death exhaustion" and hilarious stories of absurd, simple-minded cheating are presented side by side in an upbeat and entertaining fashion (like the sprint finish in the 1930 Tour de France where all that kept Alfredo Binda from victory was a competitor's tug on the jersey). But the best thing about this book is the facts. Even the most experienced cyclists are guaranteed to learn from Woodland.

Like any history lesson, the abundance of trivia gets a little overwhelming and boring in patches. Clever illustrations help pick up the pace and sidebars offer brief distractions, but readers lacking the desire to learn may lose interest--especially with the absence of mountain bike racing content. Even though there's been plenty of cheating on the dirt over the years, they don't get a single mention in the 179-page book. It's chock-full of foreign names and places that can make untrained eyes skip blankly.

The refreshing aspect of this book is that Woodland doesn't blame or humiliate anyone. He simply demonstrates what happens when the desire to win overpowers rational thought and rules. If you want to learn about cycling's history and you aren't scared off by foreign names, check out The Crooked Path to Victory. Spend some time looking through it and before long you'll be the most knowledgeable of all your riding friends. That alone is worth the $16.95 price.