Two authors, both cyclists, but there was only ever one winner

Last month, because life is stranger than fiction, I found myself contesting a bike race with Stephen Roche, one of only two athletes in history (the other being Eddy Merckx) to have won the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the World Championship all in one season. Now 52, Roche still has a huge engine and his legendary tactical nous, so I wasn’t expecting to win.

It was the first race section of the 2012 HotChillee London-Paris ride, and as we all rolled towards the start flag, I was talking with Stephen because it happened that we both had a book out. His memoir, Born to Ride, is a compelling chronicle of that febrile season when he won cycling’s Triple Crown. My novel, Gold, celebrates a psychological duel fought over three Olympiads between two female cycling champions.

In the days before the race Stephen and I had been on our book tours at the same venues, passing each other if not like ships in the night then like cyclists on opposite sides of the road, and it was good to finally get a chance to speak with a hero of mine. As the start line approached I mentioned, not without hubris, that my book was at number eight on the bestsellers’ list. “Is that right?” said Stephen, not without a kindly twinkle. “Mine’s at number four.”

That was when I realised that I absolutely had to beat him.

I reckoned this was possible. I research my novels the way a method actor prepares for a role, and while fine-tuning Gold I had put myself through intensive cycling training, interviewed dozens of athletes and picked up some good racing advice.

I was amazed by how kind and down-to-earth the top riders were with a cycling nobody such as me. They were so generous with their knowledge and enthusiasm. On one ride, Dean Downing of Team Rapha Condor Sharp had told me how to conserve every ounce of energy by riding smoothly. Time trial supremo Michael Hutchinson offered encouragement via Twitter.

The inspirational Yanto Barker, of Team UK Youth, described to me in great detail how he creates a mental mood board of all the positive moments in his life, so that when he is really suffering in a race he can keep himself in a strong place psychologically. The racer and journalist Susannah Osborne gave me her racing tip more concisely: “Just be prepared to feel like you’re going to die, and watch out for trees if you miss a corner.”

Armed with all this, I reached the start line, determined to beat Stephen Roche. I got into a fast group of 10 riders, including him, and we all worked together for the first half of the race section. When I say “worked together”, I really mean that I did some very short turns on the front while my heart rate quickly reached a level I’d never experienced before.