Chased by Pandas: My life in the mysterious world of cycling

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The modern chamois memoir, though, is more an exercise in PR and image management than it is an exploration of a sport forever telling us to ignore what goes on in the shadows and just enjoy the spectacle. The good vibes he sent through the peloton were rewarded by a Most Aggressive Rider prize at the 2018 Tour de France, where he took his trophy on the final podium on the Champs-Elysées. As an autobiography this book can’t explore what others thought but this unwitting pioneer angle alone makes him an interesting rider whose career spanned plenty, starting with the old-fashioned way of making his way to a French amateur climb in the hope of attracting attention via results in Europe. The panda was to become a talisman for him though he never discovered who the person was inside the suit.

This book reflects Dan's generous and outspoken spirit, his resilience to pain, crashes, bad luck and, finally, his acceptance of destiny. One thing for sure you can say about him is there’s nothing wrong with his metabolism, he’s got a fully functioning Thyroid. Now, having retired at the end of the 2021 season aged 35 and no longer bound by the constraints of the racing circuit, Dan feels the time is right to tell his story in the same forthright and honest manner that he rode his bike.Twenty of the book’s 26 chapters have the word fear in their title (“The Fear of Doping”, “The Fear of Falling Off”, etc). I’d read in a book about the pass that his [the Tourmalet’s] name means ‘Bad little detour’ in the local patois, because the valley’s inhabitants were afraid of his ravines, his storms, his blizzards and even his bears.

It was explicit in the way it talked about doping, that was an important part of the article, it justified why Carrey saw Martin as a hero, he was a guy who chose to reject doping, with Carrey linking that stance to the careers of Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot. Dan is unashamed when it comes to exposing these dark feelings, his weaknesses and how he tried to deal with them, his attitude exemplifying Mark Twain's quote: 'Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear'. The locals hang them to dry and on the outsides of their houses in the town of Espelette, which they’re named for and where the time trial was due to finish. Dan is unashamed when it comes to exposing these dark feelings, his weaknesses and how he tried to deal with them, his attitude exemplifying Mark Twain’s quote: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear”.In 2017, as the Tour de France approached the end of its first week, French journalist Pierre Carrey wrote an article for Libération, a panegyric in letter form hymning the praises of Dan Martin, Quick-Step’s Irish puncheur. But since then, no, apart from when I was lying in a hospital bed in agony with a broken collarbone (his Giro crash in 2014). In a peloton which sometimes seems populated by smooth-pedalling clones, it was always pleasing to be able to pick out Dan with his distinctive, inelegant but effective style. Dan also discusses every aspect of the professional cyclist’s life – food, discipline, money, dreams, friendship and betrayal. One of the local specialities is Espelette red peppers, which are aromatic, moderately hot, sometimes with a smoky taste.

And, of course, he was the guy who escaped British Cycling’s clutches and chose to go his own way, rejected the offer of hopping on the elliptical treadmill and bringing home the bangles and the baubles on the track, chose to forge his own path on the road. Martin changed teams several times during his career and while signing announcements are usually accompanied by cheery attributed quotes, the autobiography, combined with retirement, allows Martin to be more frank.Weaknesses: At times the book comes close to dealing with darker aspects of professional cycling but backs off in favour of a warm and uplifting view of the sport He won Liège, he won Lombardia, he won stages in all three Grand Tours.