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Phil Gaimon

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Draft Animals: Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While) Kindle Edition

by Phil Gaimon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.7 1,286 ratings

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From the author of the cult favorite Pro Cycling on $10 a Day and Ask a Pro, the story of one man’s quest to realize his childhood dream, and what happened when he actually did it.

Like countless other kids, Phil Gaimon grew up dreaming of being a professional athlete. But unlike countless other kids, he actually pulled it off. After years of amateur races, hard training, living out of a suitcase, and never taking “no” for an answer, he finally achieved his goal and signed a contract to race professionally on one of the best teams in the world.

Now, Gaimon pulls back the curtain on the WorldTour, cycling’s highest level. He takes readers along for his seasons in Europe, covering everything from rabid, water-bottle-stealing Belgian fans, to contract renewals, to riding in poisonous smog, to making friends in a sport plagued by doping. Draft Animals reveals a story as much about bike racing as it is about the never-ending ladder of achieving goals, failure, and finding happiness if you land somewhere in-between.

Editorial Reviews

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"A Ball Four for cycling, Draft Animals [is] full of observations about cycling’s less glamorous side." —Jason Gay, The Wall Street Journal

"As a cycling fan, I was completely captivated by Gaimon’s book, and I churned through all 320 pages in one day...[Gaimon] has tremendous insight into this very strange period in the sport’s history and recounts the emotional and psychological fallout from each success and failure...Draft Animals is a blatant attack on cycling’s culture of silence." —Velonews

"Draft Animals is written with raw honesty. . . More than anything else, [Gaimon] makes you want to go jump on a bike right now." —Sports Illustrated

"An easy read that had me laughing and crying . . . At the end of the book, Gaimon had changed my opinion on what I thought it was like to be a professional rider and he had done so in an eloquent and engaging way." —Cyclist

“[Gaimon] shares the emotional roller coaster of long-distance relationships and the stresses of securing contracts with race teams. Highly recommended for anyone interested in cycling, this is a candid account from an outspoken cyclist who pursued his career with passion, a sense of humor, and integrity.” —Booklist

"I enjoyed reading Draft Animals. It's a colourful and personal take on life in the professional peloton, and Phil Gaimon writes with an easy and honest style. If you take one thing away from the book, it's that nothing's really black and white: some people cheat at sport and are otherwise genuine and pleasant human beings, some people are completely righteous in their attitude to fair sport and inscrutable in their personal and business relationships, and the resulting mess is hard to navigate." —Road.cc

About the Author

Phil Gaimon, the author of Pro Cycling on $10 a Day and Ask a Pro, is a cyclist, writer, and entrepreneur. He maintains a website, philthethrill.net, where he chronicles his ceaseless pursuit of the best cookies and milk in America.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06XZQ46G8
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (October 10, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 10, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 22793 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 346 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #473,287 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #41 in Golf Biographies (Kindle Store)
- #76 in Cycling (Kindle Store)
- #182 in Golf Biographies (Books)

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4.7 1,286 ratings

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Phil Gaimon

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Phil Gaimon retired from laziness and computer games in 2004, and began riding a bike to lose weight. Now, after a long career as a pro cyclist, he's dedicated himself to sharing that joy--through books, Phil's cookie-themed Fondo in Malibu, Strava hunts, and podcasts. Keep track on www.philthethrill.net, or @philgaimon on social.

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S. Olson

Unafraid of Burning Bridges

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2018

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With "Draft Animals", Phil Gaimon has written an amazingly candid book that is difficult to set down. Gaimon was, by his own admission, a mediocre WorldTour rider but is a world-class writer, and one who not only doesn't care what bridges he burns but actually shows up with gasoline and a lighter.

Amongst those he absolutely torches in the book: Jonathan Vaughters, David Millar, George Hincapie, Tyler Hamilton, Lance Armstrong, Jens Voigt, Fabian Cancellara, Fränk Schleck, Andy Schleck, Bjarne Riis, Oleg Tinkoff, Pat McQuaid, Andrew McQuaid, Francisco Mancebo, former Bissell Pro Cycling directeur sportif Omer Kem, and, especially, Chris Horner.

Coming in for lesser degrees of criticism: Bradley Wiggins, Rohan Dennis, Levi Leipheimer, Ryder Hejsdal, Ted King, Lawson Craddock, and (although mentioned by his job title at the time rather than by name), Brian Smith. Lasse Norman Hansen is also mentioned once as a brief subject of ridicule. There's also a brief anecdote about Barcelona airport's flooring that puts David Zabriskie in a questionable light.

Alternatively, amongst those who can apparently do little or no wrong in Gaimon's eyes: Dan Martin, Mike Woods, Nathan Haas, Alex Howes, Taylor Phinney, Brad Huff, Jesse Anthony, Jeremy Powers, and, perhaps surprisingly, Thomas Dekker.

Tom Danielson was one of the key figures in Gaimon's career, and his circumstances are treated with a degree of complexity and given a benefit of the doubt that many others don't receive in the book.

I don't always agree with Gaimon's views and opinions in the book, and he occasionally crosses the border between being a smartass and just being an ass, but all-in-all this is a wildly entertaining read from an unapologetic author who simply doesn't give a damn who he upsets within the sport.

4 people found this helpful

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J. T. Gotsick

A rare and candid glimpse inside pro cycling

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2017

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If you ever had daydreams about what it would be like to join the big leagues of cycling, but never quite got around to it, here's your chance to hear what it would really be like. Most of us could only dream of having power numbers like Phil, but he tells us how little that ability really means in a world where incredible talent is so commonplace that it's treated like a fungible commodity. The specter of doping hangs over everyone, both because it was once so common that many recent stars were known to have engaged in it, and because of the shadow of doubt that it has left over everyone who succeeds today. Phil tells the in truth about what he knows and his suspicions, which are ones that everyone who follows pro cycling is already well acquainted with. Phil also shows the toll that the pro cycling life can take on one's personal life, because it's a dream that consumes everything, including all your other dreams. I think perhaps the most insightful thing he describes is his decision to stop chasing the dream, despite the fact that he clearly has the talent to ride with the best. He got to live the dream for a while, but realized there were more dreams left to chase, and he's getting on with that now. I wish him the very best of luck, and hope I get to meet him again, hopefully somewhere other than on the starting line of an Atlanta crit.

2 people found this helpful

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George Mitchell

Love Phil and loved his first book a bunch

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2017

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Love Phil and loved his first book a bunch, but I think he misses the moral of the story in draft animals. You judge people not necessarily by reputation (dopers), but by the way they treat others. This explains his conflicted friendship with Tom D. and his animosity with JV. Vaughters in particular comes off as a pretty big jerk, but I think Phil makes a lot of excuses for him because of the anti-doping crusade. He also throws a lot of shade at guys like Hincapie and Millar without ever getting to know them (they were dopers who made money from ghostwritten memoirs so whatevs!)

That aside this is a great read -- good writing and Phil's sense of humor doesn't disappoint. Top notch cycling book!

3 people found this helpful

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DC JAKE

Great book if you are into pro cycling, but much less accessible if you are not

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2017

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This book is best if you have already followed professional cycling for a while, because many of the personalities, references, annecdotes and "inside jokes" simply will not resonate much if you haven't. In some ways, this book reminds me of Joe Parkin's "Dog in a Hat" (great book), but brought forward to the contemporary professional cycling scene and told in Gaimon's inimitable style. He has a clear perspective of his former profession, and generally isn't afraid to pull punches; if you've read his other books, you know where his punches will land. Further, for better or worse, he isn't afraid to let his personality show through in his writing, and in many places the writing descends to just above locker room humor. Above all, it offers a different perspective on pro cycling by somebody who knows how to write and isn't afraid to step on toes and take on any number of heroes (some of whom have their own books, so you can decide who to believe). This isn't great literature, and maybe it is just a glorified string of blog entries, but it is very entertaining, which is why I give it 5 stars. What's hardest to judge from the book is the fairness to Gaimon's own career. It's more honest/clear-headed than some of his other writing about whether he could have really made on the World Tour, but sometimes it seems that he just had a few axes to grind, and this book was the place to do it.

12 people found this helpful

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torogris

Not the usual cyclist, not the usual book about a sports career: smart & humorous

Reviewed in Germany on October 19, 2021

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Devoured the book in three consecutive nights and enjoyed the read very much. Had to laugh out aloud every now and then. As a self-proclaimed clean athlete Phil has achieved a lot. Also being a profiled character who certainly has his own mind and stands his ground by outsmarting others. It may have slowed his progress in professional teams.
Sharing sport teams insights with its dynamics to fun, pranks, banter.... Maybe some of Phil‘s potential was never utilized on the road. But it certainly unfolded in his books. Thanks for the ride!

NicM

It's very good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2021

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This has moved to No.1 spot on a rather long list of cycling books I've read, knocking "Slaying the badger" (Richard Moore) out of top spot. It's a candid, insightful and hilarious personal account of cyclist trying to "make it" in the murky waters of the post-EPO era (we hope). Well done Phil, you have Real Talent.

Amazon Customer

Insightful and well written.

Reviewed in Canada on February 16, 2019

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A look at Phil and pro cycling that only a pro can give. He was able to raise emotion in me and I found it hard to put down. Well written and honest, I bet there are some put off readers from his life. look forward to his next project.

C. Martinez

Un vistazo al mundo del ciclismo profesional

Reviewed in Mexico on April 5, 2018

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Es un libro genial en el cual Phil Gaimon nos cuenta como pasó de ser un ciclista profesional en los Estados Unidos, a cumplir su sueño de formar parte de un equipo internacional como lo fue con el Garmin-Sharp, a la vez que nos relata sobre los altibajos en su vida y lo que aprendió en el camino con buen humor. Recomendado para fans del ciclismo.

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Draft Animals: Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While) Kindle Edition

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