Our world of cycling literature tends towards realism, with not much in the way of fiction. Years after its publication in 1978 Tim Krabb’s The Rider still remains at the top of the list of novels about cycling, with honourable mention for The Yellow Jersey by Ralph Hurne, which appeared in 1973. The latter has even attracted attention from Hollywood screenwriters but has never developed further. In a sport that never lacks for grand spectacle and human drama, maybe reality somehow trumps the imagination but one can still write fiction that transcends the sports novel and addresses greater questions.A fine example of this is Dear Hugo, by British author/Italian resident Herbie Sykes. Sykes is a fine writer of non-fiction cycling books and it has been our pleasure to review several of them here, including Maglia Rosa,, Balmamion, and The Race Against the Stasi,. Dear Hugo is a very different read from his other efforts looking at cycling history, an imaginary construct and a reflection on celebrity and fandom.The book opens with a photograph taken on August 17, 1947 at the Tour de Suisse, showing three boys running alongside Swiss rider Hugo Koblet, and this is where the unnamed narrator appears. He is an 84 year old man who has pulled out an old typewriter in 2021 to recount his story, the story of a very average life. But even if it is not very well executed, with lots of typos, what he is putting onto the pages grips us as…
Pez Cycling News