GOTHAM BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) LLC 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014 USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China penguin.com A Penguin Random House Company Copyright © 2013 by Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O’Connell Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader. Gotham Books and the skyscraper logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) LLC. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA has been applied for. ISBN 978-1-101-63588-9 (eBook) While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. To Sascha, Kathy, Emmett, and Robby—R.A. To Eric—V.O’C. Starting in the 1860s, Americans grew enamored with the bicycle. Cyclists and racers began to refer to themselves as wheelmen. Bicycle racing later fell out of favor as Americans began to rally around stick and ball sports, and the automobile became king. But starting in the late 1970s, a new generation of wheelmen set out on a mission to restore American glory to the sport. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. —ABRAHAM LINCOLN CONTENTS Title Page Copyright Dedication Epigraph CAST OF CHARACTERS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE TRUE BLUE CHAPTER TWO A NEW BEGINNING FOR AMERICAN CYCLING CHAPTER THREE A RAGE TO WIN CHAPTER FOUR THE FIRST MILLION CHAPTER FIVE TEAMWORK CHAPTER SIX SIT-INS AND SADDLE SORES CHAPTER SEVEN LANCE ARMSTRONG INCORPORATED CHAPTER EIGHT HEMATOCRITS AND HYPOCRITES CHAPTER NINE DOMESTIC DISCORD AND THE DOMESTIQUE CHAPTER TEN A NEW GEAR CHAPTER ELEVEN ADIEU AND FUCK YOU CHAPTER TWELVE THE COMEBACK (AGAIN) CHAPTER THIRTEEN BETRAYALS CHAPTER FOURTEEN THE CHASE CHAPTER FIFTEEN SCORCHED EARTH CHAPTER SIXTEEN NOT A SNITCH EPILOGUE PHOTOGRAPHS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES AND SOURCES INDEX