Descent: My Epic Fall from Cycling Superstardom to Doping Dead End
Written by Thomas Dekker and Thijs Zonneveld
Narrated by Liam Gerrard
4/5
()
About this audiobook
In his tell-all book Descent: My Epic Fall from Cycling Superstardom to Doping Dead End, Dekker reveals a sordid way of life full of blood bags, drugs, prostitutes, and money. Descent tells the story of a years-long bender that exposes the brutal truth of his life as a professional cyclist. And Dekker is not alone; he names those who fell with him and those who aided in his downfall. In Descent, we take an unflinching look at the European peloton as it roars through its modern boom years-the height of the EPO era-and what we see is shocking. You won't be able to turn away from this compelling book about one man's rise, fall, and redemption and what his story reveals about professional sports.
Thomas Dekker
Thomas Dekker is a Dutch former professional cyclist whose talent on the bike quickly took him to the top of the sport. He raced for The Netherlands in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, won two Dutch National Time Trial Championships, and captured victories in the 2006 Tirreno-Adriatico and the 2007 Tour of Romandie. He rode for the Dutch Rabobank superteam and then Silence-Lotto before a retroactively tested sample returned positive for EPO. In 2009, Dekker was suspended for two years for the drug violation, and it was later confirmed during Operaction Puerto that Dekker was among the clients of Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. After his suspension, Dekker joined the American Garmin Development Team and rode for Garmin-Barracuda from 2012-2014. Dekker claims to have ridden clean for Jonathan Vaughters and he became a popular rider in the American peloton. He retired after an attempt on the World Hour Record in 2015.
Related to Descent
Related audiobooks
My World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slaying the Badger: Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, and the Greatest Tour de France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Call of the Road: A Complete History of Cycle Road Racing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Icons: My Inspiration. My Motivation. My Obsession. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Draft Animals: Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shut Up, Legs!: My Wild Ride On and Off the Bike Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tour Fever: The Armchair Cyclist's Guide to the Tour de France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5End of the Road: The Festina Affair and the Tour that Almost Wrecked Cycling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ask a Pro: Deep Thoughts and Unreliable Advice from America's Foremost Cycling Sage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Faster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Obsessive Compulsive Cycling Disorder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Weeks, Eight Seconds: Greg Lemond, Laurent Fignon, and the Epic Tour de France of 1989 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Ride: Racing 2,725 Miles to Mexico Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cycling Plus: The Cyclist's Guide to Weight Loss: Episode 4 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Irondad Life: A Year of Bad Decisions and Questionable Motives-What I Learned on the Quest to Conquer Ironman Lake Placid Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Are an Ironman: How Six Weekend Warriors Chased Their Dream of Finishing the World's Toughest Triathlon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Running Outside the Comfort Zone: An Explorer's Guide to the Edges of Running Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fast After 50: How to Race Strong for the Rest of Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Meb For Mortals: How to Run, Think, and Eat like a Champion Marathoner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Running on Empty: An Ultramarathoner's Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Year of Running Dangerously Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Above the Clouds: How I Carved My Own Path to the Top of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ride the Revolution: The Inside Stories from Women in Cycling Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Break: Life as a Cycling Maverick Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRunning Man: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Running Revolution: How to Run Faster, Farther, and Injury-Free—for Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Personal Memoirs For You
Enough Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Woman in Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Counting the Cost Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Making It So: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wishful Drinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love, Lucy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Pageboy: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Night: New translation by Marion Wiesel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good Girls Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Summer of Fall: Gravity is a bitch, but I'm still standing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Me: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dad on Pills: Fatherhood and Mental Illness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bad Mormon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing into the Wound: Understanding trauma, truth, and language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taste: My Life Through Food Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5While Time Remains: A North Korean Girl's Search for Freedom in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: Built for This: The Quiet Strength of Powerlifting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for Descent
10 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the most tell-all cycling biography that I have read. Dekker really lays out his performance enhancing drug use. He took it all, EPO, testosterone, human growth hormone, cortisone and more. He did blood doping with the infamous Spanish Dr. Fuentes, where he was patient 24. He also seemed to have issues with drugs, alcohol, and women. I would have liked to know more about what he is doing to make a living today.