Book review: "My World," by Peter Sagan (2018)

Live life every day. Not because we are bulletproof, but precisely because we are not. Be kind to each other. Be careful with each other. And live life every day.

-- Peter Sagan

As long as I breathe, I attack.

-- Bernard Hinault, Five-time Tour de France winner

To describe Peter Sagan in a sentence or two is an improbable task. Multiple green jersey winner at the Tour, winner of two Monuments, UCI #1 rider, three-time world road racing champion, most stage wins at the Tour of California -- his accomplishments merit a discussion of their own. But the race results can only show us finish line for these races, they seldom reflect the hours of racing before it. Nor do the races where he did not win or show up on the podium reflect his failures - far from it, Sagan is probably the most consistent rider in top-10 finishers of his generation. As such, any analysis/reflection on his career is best left to the best source - Peter himself.

"My World," is not an autobiography in the strictest sense. It covers the chronological period between 2015-2017, when Peter won the UCI World Championship three times in a row - interspersed with topical chapters that cover his journey as an individual and a professional cyclist so far. The memoir is divided into three sections, titled after his WC wins in Richmond, Doha and Bergen, and each year is split into the four seasons, beginning with Winter (the typical pre-racing period in the Northern Hemisphere,) and followed by Spring, Summer and Autumn, the traditional season for the World Championships. As such, it follows the rider's calendar and helps orient the reader to how professional cyclists measure the flow of time on an annual basis.

Peter is often considered the 'jester' or 'casual' due to his antics on the bike. But here, we hear his side of the story - he considers his job as a professional cyclist as both an entertainer and elite athlete. If we measured every race by just the list of finishers, he argues, what would be the need for fans to line up on the roads, bearing all kinds of weather, only to cheer the riders who whizz past them in the blink of an eye? It is this obligation to make sure that the fans remember their experience of the race that drives his interactions with the fans. He may not be a GC contender, but he is surely the most popular rider of his generation. He is universally loved by fans who cheer for their favorite teams  (and riders) up until they see the familiar sight of Peter riding by them - it is not unusual for the famed Dutch corner on the Alpe, the Norwegian or Colombian contingent, or the passionate Italian tifosi to break into a unified chanting of his name when he rides past. For his part, Peter is known to give his fans his utmost attention, even during the Tour itself (see below.) In a sport that idolizes riders, he is the undisputed rockstar!

What is also revealed in the topical chapters is his pride at being a Slovakian, and his efforts to promote cycling at the grass-roots level through his academy that aims to create new heroes for the next generation of Slovakians. His personal appeal has helped the explosive popularity of all forms of biking in Slovakia.

Peter is also known for his "chill" attitude on and off the bike, and the book show us the progression and maturity in his personality as he discusses various aspects of road biking - Slovakia, family, teams, teammates, races, tactics, colorful personalities (Oleg Tinkov!) in his unique style. Although the memoir is co-written with John Deering, the voice is unmistakably Peter's - right down to his use of idiosyncratic grammar by virtue of being a non-native English speaker. While some may have criticized this aspect - I find it charming and appropriate because that is the only way you can hear the words on the page in your mind, in his distinctive voice without it feeling pretentious. 

The brief section on doping, or rather, anti-doping measures should give even the skeptics of the sport something to think about -- imagine having to pee in a cup for strangers who may show up unannounced on your doorstep at any hours of the day (4 am??) and then having to do it on average of two-to-three times a week, and almost every day in Grand Tours and like. Even the staunchest indulger in performance enhancing substances will harbor serious doubts about the efficacy of going through the measures to beat detection if that takes up most of their time!

"My World" is very, very different from a typical biking memoir in that while it touches on familiar topics in professional biking, it does so from a very unique perspective of a very unique rider. As Peter says - "If there are a hundred riders at the start of the race, there will be a hundred different stories told at the end." (He uses this "hundred riders, hundred stories" as a recurring motif to describe the races in the book.) He has nothing but respect for his fellow riders, and admiration for his direct competitors in Classics and stage races.

This book is a good easy read that also sheds light on the personal life (and mischief) of one of the most influential riders of our times. Highly recommended!