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Inside Team Sky
The inside story of Team Sky's challenge for the 2013 Tour de France.
After the victory of Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky in the 2012 Tour de France , the pressure was on the team to repeat their success in 2013. When Wiggins had to pull out of the defence of his yellow jersey , attention moved to Chris Froome , who had finished as runner-up the year before. Could he bring about back-to-back victories for the UK and for Team Sky? With team principal Sir Dave Brailsford at the helm, the levels of expectation were high. Nothing less than a win would do.
Embedded within the team was top sportswriter David Walsh, who had been covering the sport for four decades. The Sunday Times writer had done more than any other journalist to reveal the lies of Lance Armstrong , he has the reputation for exposing the dark secrets that cycling would want to keep hidden. His inside story, from how Team Sky prepared for the Tour de France through to Froome's emphatic victory, is supported by insights from all the key members of the team, and provides a definitive account of a dramatic race that gripped cycling fans around the world.
After the victory of Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky in the 2012 Tour de France , the pressure was on the team to repeat their success in 2013. When Wiggins had to pull out of the defence of his yellow jersey , attention moved to Chris Froome , who had finished as runner-up the year before. Could he bring about back-to-back victories for the UK and for Team Sky? With team principal Sir Dave Brailsford at the helm, the levels of expectation were high. Nothing less than a win would do.
Embedded within the team was top sportswriter David Walsh, who had been covering the sport for four decades. The Sunday Times writer had done more than any other journalist to reveal the lies of Lance Armstrong , he has the reputation for exposing the dark secrets that cycling would want to keep hidden. His inside story, from how Team Sky prepared for the Tour de France through to Froome's emphatic victory, is supported by insights from all the key members of the team, and provides a definitive account of a dramatic race that gripped cycling fans around the world.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 21, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 4, 2014
"Inside Team Sky" by David Walsh turned out to be somewhat of disappointing read, focusing less on the inner workings of the team, and more on team's struggle for credibility in this "post-Lance era", when any major result is met with a healthy dose of scepticism.
After their impressive results in 2012, having dominated the tour with first and second place finishes (among other feats), cycling fans and pundits alike began to doubt team's credibility and its claims of zero tolerance policy towards doping. The team embarked on a campaign to address such doubts and prove that its achievements are legitimate. What better way to accomplish this then to involve David Walsh, the journalist famous for uncovering the doping program propagated by Lance Armstrong and US Postal Service Cycling Team, by inviting him to travel with the team through 2013 leading up to and including the Tour de France?
David Walsh obliged, and this book is the result. Chapter after chapter filled with praises defending team's policies, and painstakingly outlining anti-doping sentiments of various team members, whether management, doctors, or soigneurs. One begins to suspect that Walsh has been explicitly commissioned to emphasize team's anti-doping stance alone.
The book is not without a few gems. The heart warming story of Mario Pafundi, team's head soigneur, is particularly memorable. Walsh charmingly highlights Mario's team spirit, his dedication to the team, his professionalism and integrity, which Mario attributes to the lessons he had learned from his father. Invariably, however, the story turns to another doping discussion; Mario used as just another tool to promote Team Sky's anti-doping stance.
If you are tired of reading or hearing about doping, then this book is not for you, otherwise it contains just enough substance to satisfy anyone curious to learn about Team Sky and some of its key players.
After their impressive results in 2012, having dominated the tour with first and second place finishes (among other feats), cycling fans and pundits alike began to doubt team's credibility and its claims of zero tolerance policy towards doping. The team embarked on a campaign to address such doubts and prove that its achievements are legitimate. What better way to accomplish this then to involve David Walsh, the journalist famous for uncovering the doping program propagated by Lance Armstrong and US Postal Service Cycling Team, by inviting him to travel with the team through 2013 leading up to and including the Tour de France?
David Walsh obliged, and this book is the result. Chapter after chapter filled with praises defending team's policies, and painstakingly outlining anti-doping sentiments of various team members, whether management, doctors, or soigneurs. One begins to suspect that Walsh has been explicitly commissioned to emphasize team's anti-doping stance alone.
The book is not without a few gems. The heart warming story of Mario Pafundi, team's head soigneur, is particularly memorable. Walsh charmingly highlights Mario's team spirit, his dedication to the team, his professionalism and integrity, which Mario attributes to the lessons he had learned from his father. Invariably, however, the story turns to another doping discussion; Mario used as just another tool to promote Team Sky's anti-doping stance.
If you are tired of reading or hearing about doping, then this book is not for you, otherwise it contains just enough substance to satisfy anyone curious to learn about Team Sky and some of its key players.
February 6, 2014
Not a revelation, just an affirmation of the Team Sky party line. Do we all need to get T-Shirts printed saying "I Believe" before the sport can shed it's tainted image and return to just being about the racing....
November 6, 2019
I was looking forward to this but the content and style were frustrating. For some reason, Walsh decided that after writing a coherent 400 page turner about Lance Armstrong, many years away from cycling warranted a casual, breezy, conversational book about Team Sky, which hasn't aged brilliantly and writing about how he'd approached this with full journalistic scrutiny didn't really fit with the book I read.
I will admit that I am one of the 'haters' who doesn't really like the smugness of Team Sky, and their 'uberdog' mindset (uberdog, which I first saw used by Mark Thomas, has become a favourite word of mine) where despite their huge financial resources, they try and present themselves as plucky outsiders. But I was keen to see what insights Walsh would glean, and perhaps shorn of corporate veneer it would be more palatable. But look. Walsh is at the other extreme. He's so relaxed, he can write in an irritating fashion. No sweat. All book. And it made it a much more difficult read for me.
He also likes to build strawman arguments against Sky, as though there is no middle ground between free of sin and evil. More than once he asks whether an evil team would do such and such, or let someone in, forgetting that it doesn't need to be either extreme. Walsh was probably right to say Brailsford is more open than many, and does acknowledge mistakes when they happen, or admit to poor team performance. But the signs are there that more embarrassing revelations are dealt with much less openly, which with the benefit of hindsight extend to a different attitude towards TUE's than expressed in 2013, and more like their fellow pro teams'.
Walsh may have been granted more freedom than most of the press pack, but beyond a few team talks, this doesn't offer too much that's new. He is also surprisingly defensive of Sky against other journalists, and is too keen to accept arguments such as 'I wouldn't dope because of my kids'. It's not that the testimony is necessarily untrue, but Walsh knows the Andreu's well, and should have remembered the agreement that Frankie would never take drugs again, which was broken when required for his career.
I will admit that I am one of the 'haters' who doesn't really like the smugness of Team Sky, and their 'uberdog' mindset (uberdog, which I first saw used by Mark Thomas, has become a favourite word of mine) where despite their huge financial resources, they try and present themselves as plucky outsiders. But I was keen to see what insights Walsh would glean, and perhaps shorn of corporate veneer it would be more palatable. But look. Walsh is at the other extreme. He's so relaxed, he can write in an irritating fashion. No sweat. All book. And it made it a much more difficult read for me.
He also likes to build strawman arguments against Sky, as though there is no middle ground between free of sin and evil. More than once he asks whether an evil team would do such and such, or let someone in, forgetting that it doesn't need to be either extreme. Walsh was probably right to say Brailsford is more open than many, and does acknowledge mistakes when they happen, or admit to poor team performance. But the signs are there that more embarrassing revelations are dealt with much less openly, which with the benefit of hindsight extend to a different attitude towards TUE's than expressed in 2013, and more like their fellow pro teams'.
Walsh may have been granted more freedom than most of the press pack, but beyond a few team talks, this doesn't offer too much that's new. He is also surprisingly defensive of Sky against other journalists, and is too keen to accept arguments such as 'I wouldn't dope because of my kids'. It's not that the testimony is necessarily untrue, but Walsh knows the Andreu's well, and should have remembered the agreement that Frankie would never take drugs again, which was broken when required for his career.
March 22, 2022
Raamat rääkis siis Team Sky (2010–2019, Team Ineos aastast 2019–2020 ja hetkel Ineos Grenadiers) 2013 a. Tour de France loo , mille nende esisõitja C. Froome kinni pani. See lugu oli ajendatud eelnenud Lance skandaalist, peale mida kõik olid kogu jalgratta spordi ümber toimuva suhtes väga skeptilised. David Walshile anti vabad käed uurida kõike teamis toimuvat, et näidata, et puhtalt on ka võimalik asju teha. Raamatus oli muidugi põnev intriig, et 2012 oli B. Wiggins touri ära võitnud ja Froome pidi superdomestique rollis teda seal aitama. Wiggins oli vist Froome rahast ilma jätnud ja see oli paksu verd tekitanud, eriti, et Froome oleks ise võinud 2012 Touri kinni panna. Siis oligi küsimus, et kes keda 2013 aitab. Sky õnneks/õnnetuseks vigastas Wiggins ennast ja ei pääsenud 2013 koosseisu, 2014 olid nad lihtsalt tülis ja Sky otsustas Froome kasuks.
Raamat näitaski selle aja olustikku, kus lihtsalt igal võimalikul viisil üritati tõestada, et keegi on dopinud. Kui mõne tõusu võtsid kiiremini ja said Lance lähedase tulemuse, olid kindlasti dopinud. Iga väiksemat lohakust katsuti ära kasutada. Siiski võtaks raamatu kokku bossi Sir David ‘Dave’ Brailsfordi mõttega : "Cheating would diminish the fun and the sense of achievement."
Raamat näitaski selle aja olustikku, kus lihtsalt igal võimalikul viisil üritati tõestada, et keegi on dopinud. Kui mõne tõusu võtsid kiiremini ja said Lance lähedase tulemuse, olid kindlasti dopinud. Iga väiksemat lohakust katsuti ära kasutada. Siiski võtaks raamatu kokku bossi Sir David ‘Dave’ Brailsfordi mõttega : "Cheating would diminish the fun and the sense of achievement."
June 28, 2025
Not what I thought it would be, but a well written and highly entertaining insight into a professional cycling team in the post-Lance Armstrong era.
The book tells the tale of a journalist «all access» season with Team Sky, with emphasis on transparency and openness as antidotes and rehabilitation of cycling performances from a team that, amongst other things, have a zero tolerance policy on doping. Walsh’s came in with a scepsis, and his reflections on doping, its effects, affects on morals and the cynisism in its aftermath alone is worth the read.
But I also found it to be a highly worthwhile book about leadership and teamwork. Sky’s focus on a highly rational, marginal gains- and matter-of-fact-approach, is inspirational. It continues to amaze me that, as empirical evidence on a new, untraditional and rational approach working enmasses and builds over time, we as humans still run for ridicule and non-productive envy rather than the copy machine.
The book tells the tale of a journalist «all access» season with Team Sky, with emphasis on transparency and openness as antidotes and rehabilitation of cycling performances from a team that, amongst other things, have a zero tolerance policy on doping. Walsh’s came in with a scepsis, and his reflections on doping, its effects, affects on morals and the cynisism in its aftermath alone is worth the read.
But I also found it to be a highly worthwhile book about leadership and teamwork. Sky’s focus on a highly rational, marginal gains- and matter-of-fact-approach, is inspirational. It continues to amaze me that, as empirical evidence on a new, untraditional and rational approach working enmasses and builds over time, we as humans still run for ridicule and non-productive envy rather than the copy machine.
August 6, 2019
A good insightful read. A lot has happened since it was written, which I think proves how much Team Sky learnt (from their mistakes). For sure they had (and still have) big backers, but it takes a bit more than that to become successful and find and nurture successful riders. People hate them, but I actually think they’ve done a lot to push cycling into a new age... and other teams are following on from what they’ve trailblazed as they’ve realised how good their methods are... despite all the rhetoric, this year’s Tour was AMAZING and still ‘Sky’ (sorry, Ineos!) WON!!!
March 12, 2017
Decent. While I do believe Sky are largely genuine in their intent, recent developments clouded this book for me. Style and writing were good and the depth of detail was also solid.
Dunno, harder and harder to maintain any faith at this point.
Dunno, harder and harder to maintain any faith at this point.
November 23, 2017
Could not finish, something about the writing style that made this to much effort to read. English is not my language but I have read a lot of books in English that were hard to put down. This was an easy-to-put-down book :)
August 11, 2019
Great read. Loved some of the insights to Brailsfords masterwork with team building.
Only thing stopping the 5th star was the fact I was expecting a little more scandal!
Would recommend
Only thing stopping the 5th star was the fact I was expecting a little more scandal!
Would recommend
June 26, 2021
Excellent. Access all areas, very insightful.
July 12, 2022
Great insight
Not a huge road cycling fan but great insight into the inner workings of a progressive sports team post doping era
Not a huge road cycling fan but great insight into the inner workings of a progressive sports team post doping era
February 23, 2025
Really enjoyed the book but struggled with the pacing and the structure.
August 16, 2018
Walsh is the Sunday Times journalist who pointed the finger at Lance Armstrong, so for Team Sky to invite him to spend a year on the road with them in 2013 speaks volumes.
Lots of fascinating behind-the-scenes stuff about the team setup and the famous marginal-gains philosophy etc, but the writing isn't as good as I expected, the cliches betraying the newspaper man.
Lots of fascinating behind-the-scenes stuff about the team setup and the famous marginal-gains philosophy etc, but the writing isn't as good as I expected, the cliches betraying the newspaper man.
January 14, 2017
The book is really about Walsh’s conviction from his time inside the team that Sky aren’t doping.
This is based on the complete lack of any circumstantial evidence (despite his digging, the anti-doping attitude of the team and their willingness (even if they do get stressed sometimes) to try and discuss the issue – all in complete contrast to US Postal. He goes further in regarding the suspicion of clean riders as a kind of second defeat for the sport by the dopers.
He does address some of the obvious issues (eg Leinders or the l’Equipe scientist that endorsed Froome’s performances as possible but did the same for Amstrong).
Where he is perhaps weaker is in claiming that others are making up for the fact that they were foiled by Armstrong, as he doesn’t really acknowledge those like Kimmage who have been cynical about he sport even pre-Armstrong and who unlike Walsh himself are more worried about the longer history of the sport and not fully focused on Armstrong.
POST REVIEW
I wrote this review in 2014 - subsequent events have proven that perhaps Walsh should have been a little more cynical at the time and at least investigated some anomalies.
This is based on the complete lack of any circumstantial evidence (despite his digging, the anti-doping attitude of the team and their willingness (even if they do get stressed sometimes) to try and discuss the issue – all in complete contrast to US Postal. He goes further in regarding the suspicion of clean riders as a kind of second defeat for the sport by the dopers.
He does address some of the obvious issues (eg Leinders or the l’Equipe scientist that endorsed Froome’s performances as possible but did the same for Amstrong).
Where he is perhaps weaker is in claiming that others are making up for the fact that they were foiled by Armstrong, as he doesn’t really acknowledge those like Kimmage who have been cynical about he sport even pre-Armstrong and who unlike Walsh himself are more worried about the longer history of the sport and not fully focused on Armstrong.
POST REVIEW
I wrote this review in 2014 - subsequent events have proven that perhaps Walsh should have been a little more cynical at the time and at least investigated some anomalies.
December 11, 2014
A good read from an excellent journalist. It gives some good insights into the workings of the team and some of the key personalities. I do not concur with the criticism that the author has received for supposedly giving Team Sky an easy ride (ho ho...). Quite the opposite: I think he has gone to great lengths to try to answer the question of whether Sky or any of their riders or personnel are involved in doping and I accept his reasoning, although it still wouldn't surprise me if there were a rotten apple remaining to be discovered.
Well worth reading for cycling fans and also for those with an interest in the subject of doping, in the journalistic issues surrounding same, and in sports science.
October 27, 2014
It's good to see the author David Walsh spend a year with Team Sky and getting an insider perspective of a cycling team. However, I think the book tries to cover too much or tries to cover many different topics, from doping to the team mechanics, to Chris Froome. Somewhat confusing at times as to where the book is heading or what the focus is. Nevertheless, a good insight to the world of cycling.
December 13, 2016
An excellent journalist, Dave Walsh has produced several worthy books now, including some ghost-written. This one gives some good insights into the workings of Team Sky and some of its key staff. He tries hard to try to answer the question of whether Sky or any of their riders or personnel are involved in doping. A very good read for cycling fans and also for those with an interest in the subject of doping, whatever your sport.
January 28, 2014
Detailed but uninspiring account.
July 15, 2015
Knew very little of workings of race team. This opened my eyes.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews