Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.620944
EAN: 9780618879373
ISBN: 0618879374
Label: Houghton Mifflin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2008-06-04
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Studio: Houghton Mifflin

On the tour and inside the mind of Johan Bruyneel, the winningest team leader in cycling history and the mastermind behind the success of the world's most celebrated champion, Lance Armstrong

Johan Bruyneel knows what it takes to win. In 1998, this calculating Belgian and former professional cyclist looked a struggling rider and cancer survivor in the eye and said, "Look, if we're going to ride the Tour, we might as well win." In that powerful phrase a dynasty was born. With Bruyneel as his team director, Lance Armstrong seized a record seven straight Tour de France victories. In the meantime, Bruyneel innovated the sport of cycling and went on to prove he could win without his superstar -- in 2007 he took the Tour de France title with a young new team and a lot of nerve, sealing his place in sports history forever.

We Might as Well Win takes readers behind the scenes of this amazing nine-year journey through the Alps and the Pyrenees, revealing a radical recipe for winning that readers can adapt from the bike to the boardroom to life. We witness Bruyneel's near-death crash and comeback as a rider. We are privy to the many ways he and Armstrong outsmarted their opponents. We listen in on the team's race radios to hear the secret strategies that inspire greatness from a disparate team. We learn how to make sure "not winning" isn't the same as "losing" as Bruyneel struggles to prove himself -- post-Armstrong -- with new riders, new strategies, and skeptics around every corner.

Whether mounting a difficult climb, or managing a team of thirty riders and forty support staff from a miniature car hurtling along narrow European roads, or looking a future legend in the eye and willing him to believe, Bruyneel is, and has always been, the consummate winner. Readers will relish this inside tour.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Comment: Book is an easy read, with some really enjoyable stories. I particularly liked hearing the bike racing strategy behind many of the great TDF moments I witnessed on TV.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A great read for anyone interested in competitive sports
Comment: Johan Bruyneel reveals some of the thinking and psychology that went into creating one of the greatest sporting dynasties of the modern era. This book dwelves into the mindset of a champion - both of the athlete, Lance Armstrong, and of his sporting director, Johan himself. The narrative is delightfully sprinkled with tales both from the Armstrong - U.S. Postal/Discovery Team era and from Bruyneel's own racing past. Although this short book is sparse on detail, it is an entertaining read and will leave you wanting for more.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good "Business of Sports" Story
Comment: Do you like to read about leadership in competition? This is an excellent story of how accepting one's own limitation combined with relentless pursuit of a greater goal than one's self will lead to success. Of course this success only comes with the acceptance (and enjoyment) of countless, repetitive struggling efforts to improve. If you aspire to improving your competitiveness, be it professional or at the local amateur level, than this story will be a role model for you.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: CA cyclist
Comment: Hello,

So far the book is good, I like the fact that it goes into details on the strategies used during the race.

John

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Customer Rating:
Summary: We Might as Well Win
Comment: In all my years of watching and reading about Le Tour I've wondered what was happening behind the scenes. The logistics of running a team and finding the talent to create a machine that would win the greatest bicycle race on earth. In this book Johan answers many of those questions. It's a wonderful insite to the inner world of pro cycling and a look into the mind of one of the greatest team managers of all time. How he was raised, how he raced and lived his life and how he made some difficult choices along the way. Good reading for anyone but especially for those who follow the sport. Highly recommended.

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