The Cycling Addiction

'A tour de force' ANDY McGRATH
'Offers not just insight into what drives us to ride, but also a vocabulary for understanding when that drive becomes too much' DR MICHAEL LIEBRENZ
'Cavell interrogates our collective motivations to ride, race and suffer... [and] skilfully weaves evolutionary science, expert analysis, pro racing anecdotes' BIKE RADAR
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE MIDLIFE CYCLIST - WHY WE SUFFER, WHY WE RIDE
'Make pain your friend' is the mantra of cyclists everywhere - but what lies behind our willingness to suffer?
In The Cycling Addiction, bestselling author and bike-fit pioneer Phil Cavell takes you inside the mindset of riders who chase the edge. From weekend warriors to legends of the peloton, he explores the obsession with performance, pain and progression that defines the sport.
Through compelling stories and insights from leading thinkers and icons - including Philippa York, Chris Boardman, Sean Yates, Joe Pidcock and Tim Krabbé - Cavell uncovers the powerful psychological forces that drive us to push harder, ride faster and go further than we thought possible.
Provocative, relatable and deeply insightful, this is a book about more than cycling: it's about ambition, identity and the addictive pursuit of improvement.
Ride fast. Be lucky. Stay humble.

Phil Cavell is joint founder of the pioneering Cyclefit organisation which runs worldwide education programmes and provides bike-fitting services to professional cycling teams and athletes. He is the author of the bestselling The Midlife Cyclist.

Prologue
Introduction
1. The Thing
2. Go. No Go.
3. Machines That Went Ping
4. Deplete Me Not into Temptation
5. The Awkward Squad
6. The Black Box Cyclist
7. Killer Winners
8. Escaping the Algorithm
9. The Warm-Down Lap
Appendix
The Load Curve
The Recursive Black Box by Robin Prior
The Metaphysics of Free Will by Dr Peter Atterton
Neurodiversity and Performance Cycling - Manifesto v1
Afterword