On specialization and hero worship

Lance Armstrong: Images of a Champion is squarely aimed at the growing market niche made up of die-hard Lance Armstrong fans, and if you count yourself in that crowd it's hard to imagine you won't be thrilled by what this well-made volume has to offer.

But if you are more of a general cycling fan -- as I am -- then chances are you'll decide that this collaboration between Mr. Armstrong and Graham Watson, cycling's photographer of record, is a bit too much of a good thing, a level of hero worship that borders on awkwardness.

That said, Mr. Watson's photography is as always excellent and even if the level of detail in the text doesn't rival that of Mr. Armstrong's two autobiographies (It's Not About the Bike and Every Second Counts) it is really more of a commentary than a narrative, and that saves it from being redundant to the other efforts.

The book has an undercurrent about specialization as a factor of Mr. Armstrong's success -- the same level of specialization that resulted in the book itself.

While Mr. Armstrong's legacy as one of cycling's greatest champions is secure, history may also remember him as the man who proved once and for all the value of focusing on one big race each year rather than simply trying to achieve a good level of fitness and then racing as often as possible, as most previous champions did.

This book is just as specialized: it's not about it's not about a sport, or an event, or a team, or a race. It's not even about a man and all the dimensions that implies. It's about a great cyclist. Now, is that good or bad? The way you answer that question will determine whether or not you should buy this book.

All Lance, All The Time

The following is a well written review that appeared in cyclingnews dot com:

Lance Armstrong: Images of a champion
by Graham Watson & Lance Armstrong
Reviewed by John Stevenson

Essential reading for Lanceaholics
Lance Armstrong: Images of a champion combines over 250 of Graham Watson's images of the five-time Tour winner with commentary by the Boss himself on the progress of his long and varied career.

For readers of English-language cycling magazines, Graham Watson is their eyes at the world's biggest bike races. Ever since he took his first major race photos, of Eddy Merckx riding his final Tour in 1977, Watson has brought his clarity of composition and ability to capture the moment to every major race on the calendar.

Not surprisingly, then, he has a rather massive collection of images of Lance Armstrong - and not just of the lean, post-cancer stage race specialist Lance Armstrong, but also of the earlier, brash young rider who won the world championships at just 21 and had, it's fair to say, a rep as being, in his own word, a bit "impetuous".

Lance Armstrong: Images of a champion is laid out in chronological order so it starts with images of that almost-forgotten incarnation of Armstrong. Armstrong's commentary on his early days with Motorola covers his victory at the world's and his burning desire to win the one-day Classics, and interestingly a name keeps cropping up: Viatcheslav Ekimov. Writing about his second place in the Zurich world cup in 1992, Armstrong says, "I'd gone into the Swiss race believing the course wasn't as hard as people said, that the entire opposition was no better than me, and that therefore I had a chance to win. As it turned out, a great Russian cyclist was more clever than me - Viatcheslav Ekimov." After his early-career tussles with Ekimov, it's no surprise that the Russian is now a valued lieutenant on US Postal.

As well as Armstrong's commentary and captions on Watson's fine pictures, there are tributes from Miguel Indurain, Johan Bruyneel, and Eddy Merckx among others. As in Armstrong's own commentary what comes across in these comments is the man's total determination to win, self-belief and utter disappointment when he loses. As losing is what usually happens to bike racers, even ones as talented as Armstrong, Watson has captured plenty of the less-great moments in Armstrong's career as well as the triumphs.

Of course the bulk of the book comes from the period 1999-2003, chronicling Armstrong's five Tour victories, the preparation that went into them, and the incidents along the route from left-field surprise winner in 1999 to marked man battling just about everything a bike race can throw at you in 2003. Armstrong admits the huge difference between his dominant performance in 2002 and struggles in 2003, and Watson's images show a marked contrast between the confident, smiling Armstrong of 2002 and the worried man of the following year.

Of the difference between those races, Armstrong writes, "2002 was a Tour with little or no mishap at all, 2003 was like a battlefield each and every day - and I was the main target. In hindsight it is hard to know whether I was lucky to make Paris at all or unlucky to have so much get in my way." Watson's images perfectly capture everything that got in Armstrong's way, including his astonishing crash and recovery on the Col du Tourmalet.

Watson says he and Armstrong had to choose from over 1000 pictures, initially selecting 400, then whittling it down to 300 and letting the book's designer choose the final 250 or so that comprise the book. Was it worth it? It's hard to imagine a Lance fan who won't want a copy of this book on his or her coffee table, and even if you're not a died-in-the-wool Lanceaholic, this is a rare and fascinating look at the way a top rider develops both mentally and physically.