Who writes an anonymous memoir? You’d never catch Iain TwinBikeRun or Me TwinBikeRun doing that. If Donald Trump asked to see our birth certificates he’d find that we were born TwinBikeRuns and have always been TwinBikeRuns! TwinBikeChild isn’t their real name either?!!?

So, chapeau to Mr The Secret Cyclist or The, as he’s called to his pals. But, as the book says he has won several races including grand tour stages, I have to ask why I can’t find his name in any record. I have searched for Clylist, Secret Cyclist and even Mr but nothing comes up. I guess that’s what happens when you are called The Secret Cyclist, it makes it really easy for tournament organisers to get your name wrong.

“Who won?”

“The Secret Cyclist”

“Oh, okay, I’ll just leave it blank then.”

I thought this was going to be a bit ‘meh’ but it turned out to be more enjoyable than many bigger name riders books for the simple reason that it was told from the perspective of someone who was part of a team, rather than a leader. Since it didn’t have to talk about how much everyone else helped them to win the Tour or cycle the world, it became a lot more about what it means to have a career as a professional cyclist and how the sport has changed over 20 years. The fact the author is anonymous is a nice selling point but I don’t think it had the effect of revealing any secrets that would otherwise have remain unsaid. Occasionally there’s a criticism of a fellow rider but nothing that felt like it couldn’t have been said by any named commentator.

It’s a quick read, each chapter looks at a different part of the sport so it’s easy to dip in and out of it. In terms of revelations I did find his comments on electronic doping interesting. He said that most riders would not want a battery in their bike because the financial penalties for being caught would bankrupt them as the bike manufacturers would not want anyone to think their bikes were fast for any reason other than good design and materials. A battery in a global brand bike like Specialized would destroy their reputation – so he can’t see any other the bike brands having anything to do with electronic doping. It would be far too risky to rely on a rider not being caught. Unless they had a Secret Cyclist, of course… wait a minute… how did he win those races…?