There are several good books that peel back the curtain into the elite and secretive world of professional cycling. Now, thanks to Australian journalist Sophie Smith, we can add another book to that list — Pain and Privilege: Inside Le Tour.
While Smith focuses mostly on professional Australian cyclists, she provides insight for cycling fans around the globe who start their day with VeloNews or CyclingTips or only follow pro cycling during the Tour de France.
Peeling back the curtain on the WorldTour
The book is an engrossing behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional cycling. Smith offers an inside look at just how brutal and exhausting, and rewarding and thrilling, professional cycling can be. The book also is a coming of age story for Smith herself. She takes us on her professional journey as she develops from a cub reporter to an experienced and knowledgeable journalist.
Smith writes about some of the challenges of covering pro cycling. For example, getting access to the riders was never easy, but always doable. Now, in the era of COVID, some teams have used safety protocols to put more distance between reporters and the riders, as well as assert more control over their public relations efforts. But Smith is well-sourced and the riders frequently open up and talk to her.
Sadly, and not surprisingly, as a woman, it is not easy covering a sport that is mostly white and male. Smith recounts sexist and inappropriate behavior from some of her male colleagues that ranges from cringeworthy to gross. One of the most egregious examples Smith relays in the book is when Sven Spoormakers, a former Belgian pro cyclist turned journalist, complained on Twitter that he would never get the same access to a male pro cyclist if he had to compete against a female reporter wearing a tanktop.
Smith quickly took to Twitter and fired back at Sven Spoormakers, who has since deleted the offending tweet, with biting sarcasm writing, “So it’s her fault because you can’t stop looking at her boobs? What’s she meant to do, wear a potato sack so you don’t get excited? If I take a picture of you at work, post it and comment on how small your dick looks in a pair of shorts would you be alright with that?”
Spoormakers ended up apologizing to the Argentine journalist in the photo he tweeted, but not to Smith.
“Sadly we’ve both experienced that sort of treatment before but I wanted to apologize to her initially because it was my words that made headlines but her image that was published everywhere. I didn’t anticipate the exchange would go viral, which kind of proved my point. No one blinked an eye when he wrote about her, but when I turned the tables the conversation it blew up. That he apologized to her I took as a win,” Smith wrote in an email.
What it takes
Only one Australian, Cadel Evans, and one American, Greg LeMond, have won the Tour de France. US and Australian riders face similar challenges in making the leap to riding in Europe: It’s not only the racing that is at a higher level, but also the culture shock of moving halfway across the world.
“You have to be really motivated to make that journey,” Smith said. “One thing a lot of riders talk about is general loneliness. You’re starting from scratch, you’re all alone, trying to establish a sense of community. It requires an extra amount of drive. You really have to want it.”
A new generation takes over
Smith, 35, now faces an unexpected challenge: The riders she covered early in her career are starting to retire and leave the sport. Riders like Robbie McEwen and Tejay van Garderen have retired and others like Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas are nearing the end of their careers.
“There’s a whole new generation that I have to get to know. Riders are much younger now. Hopefully, I am young enough to relate and old enough to write how they’re different—if they’re different. They’re definitely an exciting group of riders,” she said in an interview.
Going behind the scenes with the teams’ support
Two subjects in the book could have been a book in and of themselves.
Smith is among the first to examine the role of soigneurs and chefs. While they labor behind the scenes, the teams could not function without them. The soigneurs, especially, are not only there to heal a rider’s body after a hard day of racing, but they also become sounding boards and unofficial psychologists. So while Smith provides insider access to what it is like to work in professional cycling, she’s really writing about mental health.
The second subject is diet: What the riders eat and, more importantly, what they do not eat.
“[Riders] are commonly objectified over what they tip the scales at,” Smith writes. “The entire industry is guilty of leering at competitors.” The obsession is understandable but puts many riders on the verge of developing or having eating disorders.
A rider’s weight signals a rider’s fitness and, therefore, his potential. Smith recounts a story of interviewing Chris Froome, a four time Tour de France winner, in a café in Tasmania during a training camp. Smith told Froome, who is just over six feet tall and 147 pounds, that he looked fit. Froome replied that he needed to lose weight.
“The difference between winning and losing the Tour comes down to what you eat,” Smith said.
What’s next?
For now, Smith will use cycling’s off-season, like the riders themselves, to plan for next year. She will cover the Tour Down Under and some of the early season races in the Middle East. Those races, she said, offer a good opportunity for journalists to network and get acquainted with riders. And then it is onto the Spring classics and the Grand Tours.
Smith is a solid writer and can weave a compelling narrative. Whether she wants to bring her talents and ambition to other sports or issues is an open question. She remains passionate about cycling and, for now, she’s all in.
“Covering bike racing is a serious challenge,” she said. “But it is fun.”