Cadel Evans is arguably Australia’s greatest cyclist, but he is by no means a typical sporting hero.

Born in Katherine, north of the central desert in the Northern Territory, he became one of the best mountain bike riders in the world. A master of one of the most solitary sports, Cadel Evans has contested the most sophisticated cycling team sport in the world, finishing second by less than a minute in the 2007 and 2008 editions of the Tour de France.

Co-written by Rob Arnold, Cadel Evans: Close to Flying is the story of an Australian athlete who by his own confession, was physically completely unsuitable for almost all Australian school sports. As an only child raised by a single parent, Cadel practised alone on the road for hours a day throughout his childhood.

Uncomfortable with media attention throughout his extraordinary career, Cadel nevertheless became an ambassador for his sport and helped inspire the new popularity of cycling in Australia. He was targeted by media for his impatient outbursts at people, including policemen on motorcycles who got in his way. He also dared to make statements about Tibetan politics and Aboriginal rights before the media of the world.

In his first ever book, Cadel talks candidly and philosophically about his sport. He speaks with love, respect and also frustration at its imperfections including his many rivals caught on drugs. With Cadel, what you see is what you get. His drive and focus and frustrations are as candid as are his love of his sport and his belief in charities and political causes.

Co-author Rob Arnold is the publisher of RIDE Cycling Review, a quarterly magazine covering competitive cycling. He has written the English content of the Official Tour de France website since 1998. Rob has followed the career of Cadel Evans since his amateur days as a mountain biker in the early 1990s through to his four top-10 finishes in each attempt at the Tour de France.
Hardcover; 304 pages; 160mm x 242mm; Colour Photography; Evans, Cadel; Arnold, Rob