The Road Book 2011 – Cycling Almanack

The Road Book team are at it again: The Road Book 2011 is the almanack of that year's racing, which 'reverently and diligently captures this historically significant cycling season'. The first of these 'blue book' retrospectives appeared last year, setting a high standard for subsequent years to follow – and that quality has been maintained.

> Buy now: The Road Book 2011 for £45 from The Road Book

The Road Book 'red cover' series started with the 2018 season, and has carried on with its successful format ever since; last year the same principles were applied to more distant years for the first time, starting with 1989.

Now it's the turn of 2011 to receive the same treatment. If you are already familiar with the formula, then you will be reassured to know that the quality has been maintained; if you are not familiar, then our previous reviews can help to give you an idea of what to expect.

There are over 150 other years that could have been chosen, and it would be possible to make a strong case for many of them – but editor Andy McGrath makes a compelling argument for choosing 2011, not least for 'the depth of its controversies, tragedies and dramas.' And let's not forget Cav's well-planned victory at the Worlds, as covered in Project Rainbow.

McGrath reckons that 'print was king back then', so magazines of the time were still a valuable resource for research. However, the digital revolution was well underway, meaning that images were more plentiful and statistics were more readily accessible – making that side of the task a little easier than it was for the 1989 edition.

One advantage of waiting a few years before publishing the definitive record is that you have a better chance of showing the correct results: take the 2011 Vuelta a Espaňa as an example, where it took eight years for original winner Juan José Cobo to be 'banned and stripped of his title for biological passport abnormalities'. (This means that Chris Froome was finally awarded his first Vuelta victory a couple of years after he had already won his second!)

> 42 of the best cycling books

Alberto Contador is another major reason for the use of asterisks – and there are a few other culprits as well. Are there any others yet to be unearthed? Who knows, but they certainly don't make it easy for those compiling such reference books.

As we now know to expect from the 'blue books', the main races of the year are expertly encapsulated – just with a little less detail compared to the 'red books'. Other race coverage is even more reduced, or in the case of lesser events, non-existent.

It's all too apparent how few opportunities women had to succeed back then: there simply weren't many top-level races for them – and of those, Marianne Vos seemed to win rather a lot of them.

As editor, McGrath whets the appetite for what it to come with his well-judged five-page summary of the season, which is followed by a variety of other essays, including 'In the winners' words'. These are always a highlight for me – writing from top riders rarely disappoints, and contributors don't come much more significant than Cadel Evans and Chris Froome.

Annemiek van Vleuten hadn't reached her peak in 2011, but her account of the racing year reveals her ambitions. It's a fascinating account of a rider growing into her future role, and I would commend it to all aspiring pros. I hope that there is more like this to come from her.

Emma Pooley is another proven winner, but in her contribution she focuses on her least welcome race, the Ronde van Vlaanderen – where 'the most positive result was that I somehow avoided both crashing and pissing myself… Give me the steep side of the Mortirolo any day'.

Social media was also making its presence felt, giving the opportunity for a page of the best 'Tweets of the year'. Who can forget Lance Amstrong's claim in May of 2011: "20+ year career. 500 drug controls worldwide, in and out of competition. Never a failed test. I rest my case." That didn't age well.

Graham Watson was a well-respected photographer at the time, which was confirmed by his end-of-career book 40 Years of Cycling Photography. He's been back into his archives again, to provide 15 pages of images to reflect the season – they're sure to bring back a few memories.

The Road Book team claim that 'you won't find another publication that captures 2011 quite like this', and they are right – but then there's not a lot of competition. It's early stages for the 'blue' project, but as more historical years are documented, I can see the appeal of the 'blue books' widening. Maybe that'll solve the present buying dilemma for some fans of the sport?

> Buy now: The Road Book 2011 for £45 from The Road Book

Verdict

The Road Book team turn their attention to 2011, with the same dependable result that we have seen before