Kniha sportovní reportérky New York Times a absolventky Columbijské univerzity Juliet Macurové je strhujícím příběhem vzestupu a pádu nejslavnějšího sportovce naší generace, cyklisty Lance Armstronga. Na základě dosud nezveřejněných dokumentů autorka odhaluje zákulisí Amrstrongova života – jeho rodiny, zápasu s těžkou formou rakoviny, strmé sportovní kariéry, ale hlavně objasňuje příčiny toho, proč se Armstrongovi dařilo tak dlouho udržovat při životě mýtus o své bezúhonnosti, a jak se stalo, že se nakonec tak rychle zbortil.
In June 2013, when Lance Armstrong fled his palatial home in Texas, downsizing in the face of multimillion-dollar lawsuits, Juliet Macur was there - talking to his girlfriend and children and listening to Armstrong's version of the truth. She was one of the few media members aside from Oprah Winfrey to be granted extended one-on-one access to the most famous pariah in sports. At the center of Cycle of Lies is Armstrong himself, revealed through face-to-face interviews. But this unfolding narrative is given depth and breadth by the firsthand accounts of more than one hundred witnesses, including family members whom Armstrong had long since turned his back on - the adoptive father who gave him the Armstrong name, a grandmother, an aunt. Perhaps most damning of all is the taped testimony of the late J.T. Neal, the most influential of Armstrong's many father figures, recorded in the final years of Neal's life as he lost his battle with cancer just as Armstrong gained fame for surviving the disease. In the end, it was Armstrong's former friends, those who had once occupied the precious space of his inner circle, who betrayed him. They were the ones who dealt Armstrong his fatal blow by breaking the code of silence that shielded the public from the grim truth about the sport of cycling - and the grim truth about its golden boy. Threading together the vivid and disparate voices of those with intimate knowledge of the private and public Armstrong, Macur weaves a comprehensive and unforgettably rich tapestry of one man's astonishing rise to global fame and fortune and his devastating fall from grace
The definitive account of Lance Armstrong's spectacular rise and fall. In June
2013, when Lance Armstrong fled his palatial home in Texas, downsizing in the
face of multimillion-dollar lawsuits, Juliet Macur was there--talking to his
girlfriend and children and listening to Armstrong's version of the truth. She
was one of the few media members aside from Oprah Winfrey to be granted
extended one-on-one access to the most famous pariah in sports. At the center
of Cycle of Lies is Armstrong himself, revealed through face-to-face
interviews. But this unfolding narrative is given depth and breadth by the
firsthand accounts of more than one hundred witnesses, including family
members whom Armstrong had long since turned his back on--the adoptive father
who gave him the Armstrong name, a grandmother, an aunt. Perhaps most damning
of all is the taped testimony of the late J.T. Neal, the most influential of
Armstrong's many father figures, recorded in the final years of Neal's life as
he lost his battle with cancer just as Armstrong gained fame for surviving the
disease. In the end, it was Armstrong's former friends, those who had once
occupied the precious space of his inner circle, who betrayed him. They were
the ones who dealt Armstrong his fatal blow by breaking the code of silence
that shielded the public from the grim truth about the sport of cycling--and
the grim truth about its golden boy, Armstrong. Threading together the vivid
and disparate voices of those with intimate knowledge of the private and
public Armstrong, Macur weaves a comprehensive and unforgettably rich tapestry
of one man's astonishing rise to global fame and fortune and his devastating
fall from grace.
Lance Armstrong und das Rad der Lügen: Juliet Macur, Sportreporterin bei der New York Times, liefert die erste umfassende Darstellung, wie das System Armstrong über Jahrzehnte funktionieren konnte. Kollegen, Kontrolleure, Sportorganisationen, Sponsoren, Medien und selbst die Familie – sie alle wurden von Lance und seinen Helfern belogen, betrogen und unter zum Teil massiven Druck gesetzt. Das Buch, das auf intensiven Gesprächen mit Lance Armstrong und zahlreichen Interviews mit alten Weggefährten basiert, enthüllt die Zusammenhänge des größten Dopingskandal der Geschichte und liefert das beeindruckende Psychogramm eines scheinbar vollkommen gefühlskalten Egomanen. Spannend von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite – nicht nur für Radsport-Fans!
