GCN The Complete Fan's Guide To Pro Cycling

GCN's The Complete Fan's Guide To Pro Cycling provides an intriguing insight into the world of professional cycling without putting you to sleep. Whether you're watching a five-hour Grand Tour stage, a UCI cyclocross race or even an individual time trial, it's the ideal book to have lying around when you have a question that needs answering. Written by Peter Cossins and featuring insights from current professional cyclists, alongside GCN's host of ex-pros, you'll stay informed without falling asleep!

If you haven't heard of GCN, I'd recommend checking them out on YouTube – and you could argue they're the cycling world's equivalent of Top Gear. What started out as a group of ex-pro cyclists presenting information on cycling tech, races and more has morphed into an all-encompassing group of passionate presenters offering daily tech updates, complete race coverage and everything in between. So naturally, it makes sense that they'd publish a book alongside the highly regarded cycling author and former editor of Procycling magazine, Peter Cossins.

The result is an easy-reading book featuring facts, figures and insight into the world of professional cycling – from the 'Principles of Pro Cycling' through to Race Tactics and Peloton Trivia. Not only does this make the book a refreshing page-turner, but it also ensures you can pick it up mid-stage as you try to understand why the race leader chooses not to follow the breakaway, or why team soigneurs can't give their flagging riders musettes whenever they need them.

You'd be forgiven for thinking this guide would focus purely on road racing. After all, the Grand Tours that dominate cycling's calendar and are often the global image of cycling. However, Peter Cossins and GCN's experts have also taken the time to introduce cyclocross racing, even extending to the tactics deployed by individual riders. There's also a brief introduction to gravel riding and racing, which is perhaps unsurprising considering the discipline's phenomenal growth over the last few years.

Scattered throughout the guide are excerpts and perspectives from both current and former riders, many of whom are household names. Equally refreshing, is the fact that GCN's guide doesn't solely focus on the male talent for perspectives and insights. Lucinda Brand is one of many female riders whose perspectives and pedigree are put centre stage when she discusses the most important aspect of cyclocross racing – spoiler alert: it's the start. These add a level of authenticity that you'd struggle to find when reading a Wikipedia article. Sure, the 'Pro's Perspective' is an opinion piece and not necessarily backed up by hard facts, but it gives you an authentic insight into the mentality of a professional cyclist.

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A little frustratingly, it seems that Peter Cossins and the GCN team of editors were in two minds when writing The Complete Fan's Guide To Pro Cycling. On the one hand, it's incredibly easy to read, making it perfect for new fans wanting to learn more about professional cycling – yet cycling jargon has been used that simply wouldn't make sense to the uninitiated.

Equally, at times there is a significant lack of depth to the writing for the cognoscenti who might be hoping for a deeper explanation. Having said this, if GCN were to truly provide a complete guide to pro cycling, the book would be the size of an encyclopedia rather than one perfectly suited to grabbing at a moment's notice. In this sense, The Complete Fan's Guide To Pro Cycling is the perfect place to begin or continue your pro cycling education and it can also direct you to further research.

My main bugbears are the photo captions and the lack of an index. The captions are practically hopeless on half the images because the small writing blends into the image. GCN should have put dialogue boxes underneath each image. This would have increased the book's size – but it would have made it significantly more informative, and I wouldn't have strained my eyes striving for additional insight. An index would have made it much easier to find answers to your questions at short notice.

But overall, GCN's Complete Fan's Guide To Pro Cycling is a fascinating read, offering an insight into the world of professional cycling, from race craft and tactics to bicycle design and income streams. Okay, it's light on details at times, but it's not designed to be treated as an encyclopaedia. Instead, pick it up when you're watching a stage of the Vuelta or a UCI World Cup Race and you have a question that's bugging you – you'll likely find the answer you're after... and if you need more information, you'll have a basis to begin searching online.

Verdict

Informative yet easy reading for fans of the world of professional cycling, both new and old