King of Sports by Peter Ward

This reprint of King of Sports arrives into a very different setting than the original did. It reflects best practice in the late 1960s, but so much of the sport has changed beyond recognition since then. I liken it to looking at an old map: while it can be fascinating to see how things used to be, you probably wouldn't want to rely on that information entirely for something that you were doing today.

Nor surprisingly, most books we get to review here are new publications, alongside the occasional updated edition, such as The Dancing Chain or The Monuments. Sometimes we also get a straight reprint of a classic work, such as The Rider, or The Great Bike Race, where messing with the original isn't desirable.

More recently, we reviewed a reprinted book that could have been updated, but it wasn't really necessary: The Bicycle Wheel. Written in the heyday of handbuilt wheels, most of it is equally relevant today. While King of Sports is another in that vein, by contrast it does suffer from having increasingly outdated information that hasn't stood the test of time quite so well.

King of Sports came out in 1968, which was before my interest in racing, so I never had an original copy. Instead, I read Cycle Racing by Frank Westell and Ken Evans in 1985 when I first started competing myself, quickly moving on to Bicycle Road Racing by Edward Borysewicz – because I could.

As Brian Cookson says in his foreword for this reprint, King of Sports was 'the first book in the English language on the subject of cycle road racing', for which many will have been grateful; 20 years later, there were several books for me to choose from, and the range of comparable publications has only increased since.

I can appreciate that this book has some historical significance, but it is still going to have rather niche appeal; while there are some principles that are still valid today, there is also a lot of rather dated information.

You could use it to help a little bit with your current cycling, but it is better suited as an insight into the sport at the time it was written. For example, the coverage of training advice is old-school, but could still have some validity: the recommendations for winter training would still be of benefit, including running, circuit training, weights, and (of course) long, steady rides. On the other hand, discussion about clothing recommends wool-rich shorts with a natural chamois, to be supplemented with braces – simply reflecting what was available at the time.

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When it comes to racing, the recommendation is to take no food or drink for anything under 50 miles, but by 80 miles you are allowed 'one full bottle, three sandwiches, a handful of sultanas, one banana, a handful of sugar lumps, orange (peeled), bar of chocolate'. Although that might not be seen as an optimum nutrition strategy today, we would all be grateful for such food if better plans were going awry – so dated, but potentially useful in certain situations.

Furthermore, 'should you carry a flask of sherry ... only drink it if you have a chance of winning'. This is one of many pieces of advice that makes me view this book as more of an historical curiosity than valuable guidance – they really did do things differently back then.

In trying to cover everything about the sport, there are a few unexpected topics as well: from the role of mechanics in the team, through guidance on race organisation, to suggestions to manufacturers on what information to include in their handbooks. All this might have been revelatory back in the day when there were few alternative sources of information, but like all such books that try to cover a lot of ground, it's at the expense of detail – just as we found with a modern day equivalent recently, Chris Sidwells' The Cycling Bible.

There's no question that Ward enjoyed his cycling, and really wants to encourage others to enjoy the sport as much as he does. Some of his opinions might surprise you, but they give an interesting perspective into the views of the time: 'Teenagers who start street fights or damage property are often physically keyed up. An athlete unwinds in training or competition. I have yet to meet a racing cyclist who is a thug.'

In choosing to reprint this book, the publisher recognises that 'first and foremost this is an artefact', with which I agree – although part of the appeal of an 'old map' can be in having one of the originals, which obviously this isn't. Assess it on that basis and you won't be disappointed. Where I think we start to differ is the extent to which 'it still feels relevant, even for the weekend cyclist like myself'. If you just want to improve your own cycling, this book might help to some extent, but there are better (ie more current) options out there.

Verdict

A rare insight into the sport during the 60s, but of limited benefit to your cycling today