Bloody Minded Ma Life à vélo

Alex Dowsett's pulsating autobiography lifts the lid on a decade of life in the world's greatest pelotons and tells how he succeeded despite being the world's only top sportsperson with haemophilia A.

For over a decade Alex Dowsett had been one of Britain's best cyclists. He has ridden Grand Tours and Classics for elite teams including Sky and Movistar and broke the iconic World Hour Record – the ultimate time trial challenge. With humour, insight and brutal honesty, Alex tells of the challenges he has faced in his struggle to reach the top and his years as a pro-cyclist.

Alex has achieved all this despite being the only top sportsperson in the world with haemophilia A. He describes how the condition – in which falls can be fatal – blighted his young sporting life, and his determination to succeed in cycling. Amazingly, he went on to excel in a sport in which cuts, grazes and bruises are a given.

Every professional cyclist requires courage, but Alex takes fearlessness to another level. With an allstar cycling cast, including Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Lance Armstrong and Mark Cavendish, this pulsating book lifts the lid on life in the peloton at the world's top level. Open and frank in his views, Alex recalls his highs – including his coming of age time trial victory, a famous Giro d'Italia stage victory riding solo for 18 kilometres and famously breaking the World Hour record in 2015 – as well as his frustrations at the injustices he faced in the sport.

Alex announced his forthcoming retirement at the end of the 2022 season and this memoir perfectly chronicles a career in which he was driven equally by love and rage. His compelling personal story combines with his take on being part of the golden age of British cycling and his sometimes outspoken views to produce an inspirational story of sporting endeavour.