Wheelmen
Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France, and the Greatest Sports Conspiracy Ever
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Remove from Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Wheelmen
Narrated by:
Santino Fontana
Buy Now for $22.19
-
Narrated by:
-
Santino Fontana
About this listen
Lance Armstrong won a record-smashing seven Tours de France after staring down cancer, and in the process became an international symbol of resilience and courage. In a sport constantly dogged by blood-doping scandals, he seemed above the fray. Then, in January 2013, the legend imploded. He admitted doping during the Tours and, in an interview with Oprah, described his “mythic, perfect story” as “one big lie.” But his admission raised more questions than it answered—because he didn’t say who had helped him dope or how he skillfully avoided getting caught.
Wall Street Journal reporters Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O’Connell broke the news at every turn. In Wheelmen they reveal the broader story of how Armstrong and his supporters used money, power, and cutting-edge science to conquer the world’s most diffcult race. Wheelmen introduces U.S. Postal Service Team owner Thom Weisel, who in a brazen power play ousted USA Cycling’s top leadership and gained control of the sport in the United States, ensuring Armstrong’s dominance. Meanwhile, sponsors fought over contracts with Armstrong as the entire sport of cycling began to benefit from the “Lance effect.” What had been a quirky, working-class hobby became the pastime of the Masters of the Universe set.
Wheelmen offers a riveting look at what happens when enigmatic genius breaks loose from the strictures of morality. It reveals the competitiveness and ingenuity that sparked blood-doping as an accepted practice, and shows how the Americans methodically constructed an international operation of spies and revolutionary technology to reach the top. At last exposing the truth about Armstrong and American cycling, Wheelmen paints a living portrait of what is, without question, the greatest conspiracy in the history of sports.
Critic Reviews
"Authoritative and overflows with forceful details….Albergotti and O'Connell write like insiders looking out."
—Los Angeles Times
"A chilling tale, and many of the anecdotes Albergotti and O’Connell collected sound like they were actually crafted in a TV-drama writers’ room."
—The Atlantic
"Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O’Connell uncovered plenty more shocking details about the full extent of Armstrong’s drug use as well as the many people and institutions that helped him."
—The Daily Beast
"The most comprehensive book on the subject … a colorful and thorough retelling."
—USA Today
"Captivating . . . a level-headed view of the culture and business of cycling."
—The Economist
"The book is rich in details, facts, and figures."
—Velo News
"Wheelmen is all the truth-and-reconciliation the sport needs."
—The Philadelphia Review of Books
"The only thing ever missing was the truth. In Wheelmen, we get it."
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A detailed account of Armstrong's eventual descent into disgrace."
—The Guardian (UK)
"The definitive book on Armstrong."
—The Montreal Gazette
—Los Angeles Times
"A chilling tale, and many of the anecdotes Albergotti and O’Connell collected sound like they were actually crafted in a TV-drama writers’ room."
—The Atlantic
"Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O’Connell uncovered plenty more shocking details about the full extent of Armstrong’s drug use as well as the many people and institutions that helped him."
—The Daily Beast
"The most comprehensive book on the subject … a colorful and thorough retelling."
—USA Today
"Captivating . . . a level-headed view of the culture and business of cycling."
—The Economist
"The book is rich in details, facts, and figures."
—Velo News
"Wheelmen is all the truth-and-reconciliation the sport needs."
—The Philadelphia Review of Books
"The only thing ever missing was the truth. In Wheelmen, we get it."
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A detailed account of Armstrong's eventual descent into disgrace."
—The Guardian (UK)
"The definitive book on Armstrong."
—The Montreal Gazette
Where does Wheelmen rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
The most in depth review of the mirky waters of cycling and Lance Arsmtrong that I have read or listened to.In Depth Review
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.