Now the headings mention phobias but it’s more a theme to explore rather than a catalogue of negatives. I have not read a cycling biography structured by topic as opposed to riders progression through his career. Martin seemed to break a glass ceiling, his win suggested the top steps of the podium weren’t reserved for those entangled in doping scandals. Now you have these incarnations, these super-teams, with the resources to have five young riders behind him, ready to replace him as soon as he dips.

Chased by Pandas by Dan Martin | Hachette UK

Dan also discusses every aspect of the professional cyclist's life - food, discipline, money, dreams, friendship and betrayal. In his free time, Dan wrote a monthly column in Europe’s greatest cycling magazine, Procycling, over an unusually long period, from 2008 to 2021. His time at Quick-Step seems the best, one small anecdote goes a long way to explaining the “wolfpack” mentality: at the December training camp everyone sits down for dinner together, riders, mechanics, soigneurs all mixing.Martin was a top rider as well as an honest pro who is reflective about the world of pro bike racing. He hated the idea of becoming robotic himself but, as he says of Thomas who still rides with Team Ineos which took over Sky: “Geraint is one of the toughest men I’ve ever met. Dan is unashamed when it comes to exposing these dark feelings, his weaknesses and how he tried to deal with them, his attitude exemplifying Mark Twain's quote: Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.

Dan Martin: ‘Cycling is quite boring to watch. It has become

When you read the ad copy after reading a book, you often wonder whether the marketing department even read the book at all. In 2017, as the Tour de France approached the end of its first week, French journalist Pierre Carrey wrote an article for Libération, a panegyric in letter form hymning the praises of Dan Martin, Quick-Step’s Irish puncheur.

Along the way there are oddities, Martin’s been one of a handful to reject traditional post-race massages – they are a ritual, can be relaxing but there’s little evidence to suggest performance gains.

Chased by Pandas: My life in the mysterious world of cycling Chased by Pandas: My life in the mysterious world of cycling

When I started watching races more regularly I for some reason developed an almost instant antipathy to Dan Martin. According to Jonathan Vaughters, Martin’s mother’s genes are the more important, because of something to do with midichlorians and the Force. As an autobiography this saunters through Martin’s career and given plenty happened there’s a lot to cover. Found the timeline jumps a bit confusing though (had to keep checking to see what year we were up to as 2010 and then 2021 get referenced) and the panda subplot felt a bit tacked on (with no resolution either). Now, having retired at the end of the 2021 season aged 35 and no longer bound by the constraints of the racing circuit, Dan feels the time is right to tell his story in the same forthright and honest manner that he rode his bike.He covers this crash on the Mont du Chat in some detail, his thinking of why Porte was a good wheel for the descent, how he had an unwritten pact with Porte for the Tour that year and more. One of the local specialities is Espelette red peppers, which are aromatic, moderately hot, sometimes with a smoky taste. I’m already thinking about dyeing my hair more auburn, heading to the pumpkin patch (the photo above is from last year) and engaging in my annual tradition of watching Scream.