Peter Winnen - Valse start (02-024)

As you might have noticed, it's holiday time, plenty of time to read. A lot of catching up to do. Though spending hours every day on the Tour de France doesn't help. Luckily combining the two is possible. Especially during the flat stages, there are some long hours with not much happening, in which I can pick up a book. Fear of missing something means I'll still sit in front of the tv, so a difficult book is not recommended. Short stories always work well. This book is a collection of stories and columns. And, to get back to the Tour, it has been written by a former professional cyclist. Already during his cycling days he was called the professor, as he was caught reading a book. Most professional sportsmen tend to find that weird. Winnen was a great cyclist. He won the stage to the famous Alpe D'Huez in the Tour de France twice.

As an author he is not bad either. Since they found out, he has been asked to write columns for papers and magazines. This book is a collection of them. Obviously he writes a lot about cycling, something he knows a lot of. But he also writes about other sports, childhood memories and travels. Whichever subject he picks, he tends to be a bit of an amateur philosopher. Nothing wrong with that, as his columns lose their date and become more timeless, therefore more suitable for a book. I enjoyed reading it, didn't take me much time, always a good sign.