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  • Published: 15 October 2017
  • ISBN: 9780143131243
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $35.00

Draft Animals

Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While)





The followup to the cult favorite PRO CYCLING ON $10 A DAY, a story of one man's quest to realize his childhood dream of becoming a pro cyclist, and what happened when he actually did.

From the author of the cult favorite Pro Cycling on $10 a Day and Ask a Pro, the story of one man’s quest to realize his childhood dream, and what happened when he actually did it.
 
Like countless other kids, Phil Gaimon grew up dreaming of being a professional athlete. But unlike countless other kids, he actually pulled it off. After years of amateur races, hard training, living out of a suitcase, and never taking “no” for an answer, he finally achieved his goal and signed a contract to race professionally on one of the best teams in the world.

Now, Gaimon pulls back the curtain on the WorldTour, cycling’s highest level. He takes readers along for his seasons in Europe, covering everything from rabid, water-bottle-stealing Belgian fans, to contract renewals, to riding in poisonous smog, to making friends in a sport plagued by doping. Draft Animals reveals a story as much about bike racing as it is about the never-ending ladder of achieving goals, failure, and finding happiness if you land somewhere in-between.

  • Published: 15 October 2017
  • ISBN: 9780143131243
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $35.00

Praise for Draft Animals

Praise for PRO CYCLING ON $10 A DAY:

"Much of Pro Cycling on $10 a Day spins as pure pleasure-an inside account of what it's really like to race for a living and occasionally be among the sport's elite...The best parts read like an unpretentious insider's diary, full of the kind of wisecracks, gossip and advice traded on memorable long rides." - Wall Street Journal

"At a time when pro cycling has struggled with its image, Phil Gaimon has emerged as a refreshing voice from the peloton - intelligent, humorous, articulate, and above all, transparent. As a college-educated latecomer to the sport, as an outsider who struggled to be given a chance, and as someone with the perspective to laugh at the absurdity of being paid to ride a bicycle for a living, Gaimon's insights into the pro cycling world resonate with a wide audience. His self-effacing humor, commitment to clean sport, and extraordinary talent have made him a bit of an everyman hero within pro cycling - a rider you want to hear from, and know more about, win or lose." - Velo magazine

"In this age of tell-all memoirs from cyclists popped for doping, Pro Cycling on $10 a Day by Phil Gaimon is a refreshing change...It's a witty, revealing look at cycling that will make you want to quit your job and start training for the Tour." - Bicycling magazine

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