The 2005 Tour de France chronicled by Martin Dugard

CHASING LANCE
The 2005 Tour de France chronicled by Martin Dugard
By Jim Woodman
Active.com
December 18, 2005

For those who followed Active.com's 2005 Tour de France coverage, Martin Dugard's blog was arguably some of the best Tour writing on the Internet. Dugard's daily blog entries brought the Tour's sights, sounds, smells and culinary delights to colorful life -- delivering us a very intimate backstage peek into one of the world's greatest sporting events.

As we mentioned within the blog, Dugard's daily entries were serving as a foundation on which to weave together a compelling story, in a new book aptly dubbed Chasing Lance, describing what it was like to follow the Tour and Lance Armstrong through his final, historic seventh Tour de France victory.

As an acclaimed journalist and best-selling author, Dugard was granted the most exclusive Tour de France credentials to give us a backstage look at what the riders, organizers and fans experience on a daily basis.

Chasing Lance isn't just another bike racing narrative nor is it a Lance Armstrong chamois-sniffing love fest. Dugard, a self-proclaimed history buff, takes us on our own ride through the French countryside with just the right amount of French history sprinkled into each chapter. Instead of designated chapter names, Dugard mostly uses the numbered stages to organize the book.

For those that followed the Tour closely, none of the action will come as a surprise, obviously, but the reader comes away with a very good feel for the French people, the Tour's organization and the press mayhem at the end of each stage. With 2,500 credentialed journalists on hand each day, not to mention the interview requirements that come with the yellow jersey, we understand why Armstrong would gladly give up yellow during the Tour's middle stages in order to snag extra recovery time between stages.

Dugard tiptoes around performance-enhancing drug issues by simply stating that he chooses to believe the testing procedures in place -- specifically that Lance is tested more than any human on the planet and has never tested positive.

I've read Lance Armstrong's War by Daniel Coyle and while I find myself trying to compare the books, Chasing Lance takes an entirely different approach. It's effectively a 2005 Tour de France recap, chronicled by a reporter who clearly has an excellent understanding of the sport, love for his job and fascination with the Tour de France. Dugard's vivid descriptions and analogies range from French cuisine, roadside fans and hoteliers to Lance's main rivals, picturesque countryside and French history.

Dugard compares a Tour de France press credential as "the grown-up equivalent of Willy Wonka's golden ticket." Not only did Dugard never want to remove his prized press credential, he says he even considered not removing it while showering.

The book walks us through the 2005 Tour, stage by stage, beginning with the first stage time trial that set the foundation for Lance's programmed dismantling of all his chief rivals. Since most readers inclined to pick up Chasing Lance already know what happened at the 2005 Tour, including loyal Armstrong teammate George Hincapie's stunning mountain stage win atop Pla-d'Adet, we're left to savor the inside comments and knowledge one only gets from being a certified Tour junkie.

Dugard is certainly that kind of junkie and the fact he's been covering the Tour since, coincidentally, 1999 when Armstrong stunned the world by coming back from a cancer-induced death sentence, gives Dugard an ideal mix of perspective and insight to Lance's illustrious achievements.

Following the Tour is the ultimate road trip and Dugard's journalist cohorts, Sports Illustrated's Austin Murphy and legendary photographer Neil Leifer, are like a few college kids heading to Daytona Beach for spring break. I find it interesting that while Dugard is honored to have Leifer, whom he dubs the "Legend," join Murphy and himself, he gets plenty annoyed with Leifer's idiosyncrasies. At one point, Leifer asks why Dugard and Murphy refer to each other as "dude."

Like the college nerd with a calculator strapped to his belt, Leifer, the equipment-burdened photographer, tries to become part of the "cool" crowd -- that's if we want to go so far as to say writers are cool -- and is soon addressing his travel buds as "dudes."

The reader gets a very interesting backstage look at how a couple American journalists, and a quirky legendary photographer, combine efforts and expenses to follow the Tour de France. While the book claims a lot of insight into Lance's thinking, it mostly comes through other athletes and supporters as it becomes clear Armstrong isn't the easiest one to track down. There is very little one-on-one interaction with Armstrong, which, one can rightly surmise gives the book its very appropriate title.

Chasing Lance is a must read for any Tour junkie or bona fide Lance fan. Those who loved Dugard's blog entries will also embrace the compiling of those blog entries into a celebrated account of Armstrong's last Tour. Dugard does an excellent job of helping us understand the precision-like fashion in which team manager Johan Bruyneel guided Armstrong to his seventh consecutive Tour victory.

Published by Little, Brown and Company, Chasing Lance comes in hardcover format at a suggested retail of $23.95. For more information or to order online, please visit Time Warner Bookmark.