SIX CYCLING BOOK TIPS FOR A LONG WINTER

Wintertime is the perfect time to slow down a bit. The days are still short, the temperatures still uninviting and all the festivities of December are long past us. So get your feet up, make yourself a warm drink and read a book. Here are the cycling books the LSRF team is currently reading, in Dutch and English.

Ryan Kamp by Sven Mulder (DUTCH)

Cyclocross season is still upon us and it it not too late to discover the stories of new faces and young athletes. One of them is Ryan Kamp, a 24 year old Dutch cyclist, who became more than once European and World Champion in the younger categories and is now trying to find his path in the professional cyclocross world. 

DE MUUR januari 2024 (DUTCH)

Quarterly cycling magazine De Muur never disappoints and in this particular issue we really liked the article 'Every picture tells a story', about the finale of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2015, when Etixx-Quick-Step was surely going to win with three out of four riders in the leading group. But what happened? And of course a big shoutout to friend of the show Sam Oomen for his open letter to Nathan van Hooijdonck.

Op gevoel - Een wielerleven by Tom Dumoulin & Nando Boers (DUTCH)

Mister Tom Dumoulin fell into a pot of magic potion when he was a kid, but doesn't seem to realize it. After his incredible performance in the half marathon of Egmond early January 2025, running a time of 1h08 and having done not more than a couple of training sessions a week, we are convinced this athlete had a few more good years in him left at the pro cycling level. But the mind decided otherwise. How does he reflect on his career?

Anna by Anna van der Breggen (DUTCH)

Very interesting, how her talent hits you in the face when reading her biography. Through her stories and the words written by those surrounding her, you get the idea that she continued to get better at the highest level op sports, but always in a playful way. In that way, she looks a lot like Tom Dumoulin, who also seemed to just get better without too much stress, but with one big difference: she kept having fun.

How bad do you want it by Matt Fitzgerald (ENGLISH)

This book tells the stories of extraordinary moments in endurance sports, when athletes went beyond their physical abilities, and succeeded - by making their bodies do stuff, that was supposed to be impossible. This mental fortitude - the connection between mind, body and brain is impressive to read about and the book also reveals a few tactics on how to train the brain to do epic things.

The Rough-Stuff Fellowship Archive by Mark Hudson (ENGLISH)

A collection of adventures with the world's oldest off-road cycling club, which was founded in 1955 and still active today. It is a beautiful (coffee table) book with stunning images of the pioneers of gravel, these men and women in normal clothes, carrying their bikes on their shoulders and enjoying a cup of tea in the most desolated and rough places like the Cairngorms and the Alps. The quote of Rough-Stuff Archive photographer Bob Harrison 'I never go for a walk without my bike' could not be more accurate when looking at these fun pictures.