Bloody Minded: My Life in Cycling

by Alex Dowsett

Overview

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CYCLING BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2024

IMAGINE COMPETING IN THE WORLD'S MOST BRUTAL CYCLE RACES, KNOWING THAT A CRASH COULD BE FATAL

Alex Dowsett is one of Britain's greatest cyclists. He has ridden Grand Tours and Classics for elite teams including Sky and Movistar and broke the iconic World Hour Record – the ultimate time trial challenge. With humour, insight and honesty, Alex recounts his years as a pro-cyclist and the challenges he has faced in his struggle to reach the top.

Alex has achieved all this despite being the only able-bodied elite sportsperson in the world with haemophilia A. He describes how the condition – in which falls can be fatal – both blighted his young sporting life, and boosted his determination to succeed. Every professional cyclist requires courage, but Alex takes fearlessness to another level in a sport where injury and suffering are a given.

With an all-star cycling cast, including Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Mark Cavendish and Lance Armstrong, this pulsating book lifts the lid on life in the peloton at the world's top level. From his highs – including Giro d'Italia stage victories – to his frustrations at the injustices he faced in the sport, Alex's memoir perfectly chronicles a career in which he was driven equally by love and rage.

'Immensely readable and revealing'

The Guardian

'A story like no other in cycling'

Ned Boulting

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399406413
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	06/17/2025
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.79(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Alex Dowsett is a former professional road racing cyclist who has been cycling for over a decade at the world's top level. He was a time trial specialist and in 2015 he broke track cycling's World Hour Record. @AlexDowsett

Table of Contents

Not Horrific, Just Terrible - The Hour Record, 2015

The Day My Dad Stopped Whistling - Diagnosis 1990

Freedom - The Commonwealth Games, 2014

One Evening, on the River Blackwater - The beginning, 2001

Hunger Games - The British Academy, 2007-2010

The University of Livestrong - Riding for a legend, 2010

Treading My Own Path - Team Sky to Movistar, 2011-2013

Letting Go of the Bike - The Giro, 2013

The Armstrong Comment - The Start Line, Beijing, 2012

Growing Up – On the road with Cavendish, 2013-2015

Mummy's Boy - Sub-title? 2016

Heartbreak and Glory - The Olympics and The Commonwealths

Mayhem - Katusha-Alpecin, 2018-2019

Life Expectancy - The Tour de France, 2019

An Arm around my Shoulder - The Worlds, 2019

Stage 8 - Giro d'Italia, 2020

Winners and Losers - The Hour, 2021

Born Lucky - Leaving the World Tour, 2022.

Editorial Reviews

Immensely readable and revealing” —Donald McRae, The Guardian

“A story to tell like no other in cycling” —Ned Boulting

“A great champion in sport and in life, and a credit for all young aspiring people to follow. A must read” —Phil Liggett, MBE, international commentator

“The humblest super-talent in the peloton, proving nice guys can win. A wonderful book” —Carlton Kirby

“Such an inspiring tale. Poignant and moving, and told with forthright honesty” —Peter Cossins

“An inspiration for anyone who wants to do whatever they're told they can't.” —Michael Hutchinson

“Unembellished and honest. Alex tells what life as a professional cyclist is really like” —Rick Zabel

“Truly compelling.… a must read book for any cycling fan” —Alan Murchison

“Compelling” —Phil Cavell

“A fascinating insight into the mindset of an elite sportsman who overcame great odds to reach the very top” —Simon Brotherton

“Truly inspirational” —Cycling Weekly

From the Publisher