The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cov er-ups, and Winning at All Costs

US: Bantam Press, 2012. Hardcover. Very Good/ Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting.The spine remains undamaged. The Secret Race is a definitive look at the world of professional cycling-- and the doping issue surrounding this sport and its most iconic rider, Lanc e Armstrong--by former Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton and New York Ti mes bestselling author Daniel Coyle.   Over the course of two years, Coyle conducted more than two hundred hours o f interviews with Hamilton and spoke candidly with numerous teammates, riva ls, and friends. The result is an explosive book that takes us, for the fir st time, deep inside a shadowy, fascinating, and surreal world of unscrupul ous doctors, anything-goes team directors, and athletes so relentlessly dri ven to succeed that they would do anything--and take any risk, physical, me ntal, or moral--to gain the edge they need to win.   Tyler Hamilton was once one of the world's best-liked and top-ranked cyclists--a fierce competitor renowned among his peers for his uncanny endurance and epic tolerance for pain. In the 2003 Tour de France, he finished fourth despite breaking his collarbone in the early stages--and grinding eleven of his teeth down to the nerves along the way. He started his career with the U.S. Postal Service team in the 1990s and quickly rose to become Lance Armstrong's most trusted lieutenant, and a member of his inner circle. For the first three of Armstrong's record seven Tour de France victories, Hamilton was by Armstrong's side, clearing his way. But just weeks after Hamilton reached his own personal pinnacle--winning the gold medal at.