[.ca] The Tour de France Companion: A Nuts, Bolts and Spokes ... (ISBN 0761135200)

Just not right:
Bob Roll's "The Tour de France Companion" is terribly disappointing. The number of glaring mistakes and misidentified photos is appaling. I received my copy as a freebie sent to our bicycle club. I cannot recommend it to our members. The effort behind the book is, I believe, honest and it is fairly well written, though obviously lacking in Bobke style. The American understanding of velo-sport is tenuous and Lance-centric at best and so far this book is not helping things. Getting things like Tyler Hamilton's home town and 2003 tour placing is galling, especially to fellow New Englanders. If there is a 2005 version, I hope they check the facts more carefully.

Excellent and not overdone:
Bob Roll is an American who understands not only the Tour, but also how to entice an American to understand the Tour. I have my share of elite cycling experience myself, and one thing that I have noticed is that Americans in elite cycling try to act "cool" whenever someone mentions the Tour and Lance in the same sentence. In other words, "oh, this book is all about Armstrong, this documentary is Lance-centric, the only thing Americans know about the Tour is Lance, and I'm so cool because I don't talk about Lance at all, bla bla bla." Believe me when I tell you, many Americans in elite cycling don't *want* Americans to understand better, because in their transparent insecurity, they enjoy the fact that they know more than the general population. Not so with Bob Roll, who has written a book that is the right amount of Armstrong with the right amount of inside tangential knowledge to entice a variety of readers. Is it a book for the world class touring elite cyclist? Uh, no. It wasn't meant to be. But it fits everyone else.

BOB IS THE MAN:
(...) this is an arriving sport on the american scene and GOOD FOR BOB to stick some material out there that some people can digest. even if it isnt drive thru quality (according to 'them') but i think it's brilliant and please let me know, is kirstin Gumm married?

A kinder, gentler Bob Roll explains the Tour:
"The Tour de France Companion" is a concise and well written introduction to the Tour. As other reviewers have noted, Bob Roll appears to have been working with a strong editor and/or sedatives, and the manic Bobke style only occasionally appears (it's most evident in his comments about Jan Ullrich). As a long-time cycling fan I can't say that I learned anything new about the organization or strategy of the Tour, but there are plenty of historical anecdotes to keep the reading interesting. There are also a few gems, like the 1994 photo of youngsters Armstrong, Pantani, and Virenque climbing together. Ten years and three tumultuous careers later, one wonders what they were thinking then. One might also wonder what Virenque was thinking with that haircut. And, yes, the book is Lance-centric. Sort of like the last five Tours.

A Bit Underwhelming:
I loved Bob Roll's first efforts. However, to really get an emotional feeling for what the tour is like, I suggest reading (before Saturday!) Dave Shield's "The Race." I met the author while competing at this year's Sea Otter Classic. I couldn't put the book down. Nor could my wife. As Lance Armstrong would say, "Out You Go."