Sir Dave Brailsford reportedly having "serious doubts" on publishing autobiography

Sir Dave Brailsford, architect of Team GB’s Olympic success as well as back-to-back Tour de France wins for Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, is said to be having “serious doubts” over whether to publish his autobiography, due out next year.

The book, called What It Takes, is due to be come out next year, and Mail Online reports that Brailsford’s agents as well as publishers Penguin expect it to be released as scheduled.

But according to Mail Online, “Brailsford is having serious doubts about whether he wants his life story and super successful strategies to be published any time in the near future, citing ‘personal reasons’ when asked about the delay.”

The success of Team GB’s cyclists at Beijing in 2008 and again at London last year as well as Wiggins’ Tour de France win last year saw Brailsford receiving offers both from other sports and the world of business.

Prospective employers were attracted by his record in planning for and achieving success, but Brailsford confirmed in November however that he had rejected those approaches and would continue to lead the Great Britain cycling team until at least the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

His reported reticence in making public his winning recipe does not appear to be shared by others who have been involved in British Cycling and Team Sky, however.

Rod Ellingworth, Great Britain’s elite head coach and performance manager at Team Sky, has just published his autobiography, co-written with William Fotheringham.

The book, Project Rainbow – How British Cycling Reached the Top of the World, focuses on the successful campaign to make Mark Cavendish road world champion, the Manxman winning the rainbow jersey at Copenhagen in 2011.

Next June sees the publication of Chris Boardman’s autobiography by Ebury Press. The former world and Olympic champion and wearer of the yellow jersey in the Tour de France headed up the R&D department – nicknamed the Secret Squirrel Club – at British Cycling in the run-up to London 2012.

Sean Yates, who was sports director at Team Sky until leaving a year ago citing health and family reasons - coincidentally, at the same time as Bobby Julich and Stephen De Jongh left its management in the wake of the Lance Armstrong scandal - has recently brought out his autobiography, It’s All About The Bike, which includes his insider’s account of the rivalry between Wiggins and Froome at last year’s Tour de France.

While Brailsford may be reticent about revealing his secrets, one short e-book that came out earlier this year has attempted to find out what makes him tick; Mastermind: How Dave Brailsford Reinvented the Wheel, written by journalist and author Richard Moore, and available for £2.99 from Amazon.co.uk.