Colombia es Pasíon by Matthew Rendell

I can't find a review of this book on Podium Café, but inrng did a nice piece that got me to buy it and read it. It was well worth the purchase (I read the online version).

Some quick pluses and minuses from my point of view:

+ Does a good job covering the background that the Colombian riders came from - in terms of their childhood environments, the country's history, and the cycling bureaucracy and coaches.

+ Has a thorough, well-researched chapter on pretty much every Colombian rider you've heard of in the last ten years because of good race results (also a chapter on Richard Carapaz, who grew up on the border and got his start in the Colombian racing scene).

+ Be warned: If you're not a Nairo fan, you are likely to be one after reading this book. That stoic expressionless face hides a man who speaks truth to power and works at making a difference and helping others - as well as being a talented cyclist.

+ Well written, as you'd expect from Rendell. But:

- This book desperately needs a map of Colombia showing the terrain (altitudes), major cities, and the hometowns of all the major riders, clubs, teams and coaches mentioned.

- It also needs a timeline. Because each chapter covers a particular rider, we move backwards in time repeatedly, and it gets hard to keep track of things. The civil war with FARC is an important factor in Colombian cycling (and in all else Colombian) and I had trouble keeping major events in register as we moved around the country and back and forth in time.

I'm posting this now because:

a) The book is a good way to fill in the void in cycling news these days,

b) It got me wondering how my fantasy team would have looked different if I had read the book first: Higuita? Sosa? Ramirez? Hodeg or Gaviria? hmmm... I definitely would have picked Nairo, given my newfound fandom.

c) Nairo just came out with a statement about predatory agents and young Colombian cyclists that I paid more attention to because I had read the book and now know more about the cycling scene in Colombia and about Nairo's credentials as an honest and forthright commentator on that scene.

(Did you know that "Nairoman" Is pronounced "Nairon-man", to rhyme with "Iron Man"?)