Inside Team Sky

I'm a cyclist and as such, like to read about the pros in my sport. I'm one of those that watches EVERY day of the Tour de France every July so you've been warned!One of the fun things about watching the Tour is trying to identify the dynamics and inner workings of the teams. You just know that there has to be stuff going on there that we don't know about (just like the NFL or MLB). This book actually takes you into the inner workings of Team Sky as observed by a journalist who was invited to embed with them. The time period that Walsh covers is approximately the period between the 2012 and 2013 tours.Pretty much every aspect of running a bike team is explored here. You don't get just the cyclists' story but also the story of all the people it takes to get a cycling team to the Tour (and it's a LOT as it turns out). The characters behind the scenes are just as interesting as the public faces that you see (the sougniers are a particular hoot).Walsh doesn't shy away from the doping aspects of the sport either. Like it or not, that pretty much dominates every conversation about cycling these days. Maybe someday it won't but not quite yet. Team Sky is famous (infamous?) for having an extreme zero-tolerance policy on doping and Walsh explores that subject thoroughly.I'm always suspicious of writers getting too close to their subjects when they spend that much time with them but I think David Walsh was pretty even-handed. He even wonders at a couple points if he is being objective enough or is starting to drink the Sky kool-aid. I tend to believe that if he is asking those questions, then he's probably doing okay. Walsh doesn't shy away from asking about controversial subjects either such as a doctor that Sky hired who turned out to be involved in doping previously in his career. He also writes about the Chris Froome-Bradley Wiggins relationship and the tension that exists there. There are some parts that I remember reading and thinking that Team Sky would definitely not like this particular passage so I think that Walsh tried to be even-handed.Walsh was one of the journalists that was suspicious of Lance Armstrong and is honest about how he felt very betrayed by that whole scandal not just as a journalist but also as a cycling fan. I liked that particular passage because I felt quite the same and it was nice to have it articulated in a concise manner.

A good read, an honest look behind the scenes of Sky in 2013. Great insights into the personalities that run the team.

Interesting book. A good read. Not only as a cycling introspective but as a read on team dynamics. Well written.

I never was and I'm still not a Team Sky fan, but this book gives insight into the workings of the team and why they are such a successful team. I hope for the sake of cycling that the team is as clean as it seems, and not another US Postal...

I wanted more about about the Team, particularly the cyclists, in the 2013 Tour, and less of the author's reflections and ruminations.He clearly was not "Inside Team Sky", and a better title might have been "On the fringes of Team Sky"

An inspiring book that takes away some of the dissappointment the Lance years have left us with. Well written ease to read.One more time David Walsh shows us his knowledge of the subjet and good journalism.!!

I admire David Wash for being the only journalist with the courage to go after Lance Armstrong when he was the alpha dog of cycling, but this book was a big letdown. I agree with the other reviewer, way too much time is wasted on denials of doping. That's bad enough, but when he is not reiterating how clean Sky is then he is describing everyone on the team in terms designed to make you believe they walk on water. It's the most un-subtle hagiography I've ever read.When he finally talks about the race itself, it's interesting but it almost comes as an aside. Before long he is back to denials of doping and more hagiography.I've been following cycling for almost 40 years, starting in the days when the entire TDF would be run without a single mention in the US media other than in cycling magazines. I have loads of books on the sport and this is the only one I've been unable to finish.

Just read it. If you are a Sky fan you will enjoy the book. Very quick read with plenty of insight in the Sky brain.

I enjoy watching cycling, especially the Tour de France. So found this deeper insight into Team Sky interesting. Yes the book has its faults but still an enjoyable read if you are a cycling &/or just want to more about the sport.

This book acts as an interesting counterpoint to Walsh's other on Lance Armstrong, which is full of consternation and sadness at the depths to which Cycling as a sport has plunged. Given unfettered access to Team Sky, you can see that Walsh wants to be both fair but also not let anyone off the hook at the slightest wiff of scandal, should it become apparent, during his 12 months with the team. This is book both a great read and a refreshing antidote to all the negative press that both Sky and the sport have taken in recent years. Describes how a clean team can succeed, but not necessarily win popularity stakes at the same time. Enjoyable whether you are a cyclist or not. Recommended.

Ok, so, having David Walsh (on of the fiercest critics of Lance Armstrong) to live with your cycling team and observe everything with a full open door policy is in theory a sign of good health.However through some passages of the book you get the feeling that the allure of a silky white situation that's being presented before him has overtaken his sense of criticism. And it comes as a surprise, given the author's past, that he doesn't dig deep at all into some of the "less than clean" situations that arise with some of the team staff.All in all, if you want to learn how the logistics of a TDF winning team go, and what it takes to improve in every single aspect there is to it (those marginal gains you've been hearing all along). This is certainly a good place to learn about that.

A fascinating insight into the world of Team Sky.The meticulous planning of Dave Brailsford, their attitude to the ongoing drugs problem and the jealousy of other teams is highlighted.David Walsh is a very well respected journalist who first probed the Lance Armstrong affair and was proven right.I think that this book is a really good introduction to anyone who wonders how cycling teams operate.

This is an enjoyable read into the inner workings of Team Sky. I know David Walsh fought bravely to out the likes of Lance Armstrong and reveal doping within cycling, and his intention here was to prod and poke into the nether regions of Team Sky, but this can get a little samey when Walsh keeps coming back to the same points about doping again and again. A good read, but not a great one.