NYT Tour coverage is superb...

[bulliedawg]

I don't know how many of you read the NYT, but I do every day. I know there are some folks who think it's a liberal rag, and the op-ed page is surely left leaning, but the reporting is amazing, and the writing is the best you will find anywhere. I read the NYT because it is such a collection of talent.

The reporter who is covering the Tour is a guy named Samuel Abt who impresses me more and more every time I read him. His attention to detail, his ability to capture the atmosphere of the event, and the cadence of his language are all a pleasure. If you haven't been reading him, I highly recommend that you register for the NYT and check him out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/sports/sportsspecial/13cnd-tour.html

[LegendRider]

Abt has been writing about cycling for years and years. He knows his stuff. He wrote a biography of Greg Lemond that's on my bookshelf. He also writes about European cycling for the International Herald Tribune.

[dbrk]

There are only two problems with NYT as far as I am concerned. First, there is never enough Sam Abt and when there is, he is obliged to write for the neophytes to explain the essentials (which is, I suppose, all correct but, alas, boring when he has such a wonderful grasp of cycling and its history). The second is that the Times is not left-leaning enough to even be in the center anymore, but that's just one fella's opinion. Of course, you can't find much cycling in the Wall Street Journal but their editorial and op-ed page is only slightly to the right of Genghis Khan.

left of the sunset,

dbrk

[dmsi]

All uses of the word "lycra" and "spandex" should be banished from the lexicon of neophyte reporters writing about cycling.

Sam Abt certainly does not fall into this category, however...his writing is legendary. I do feel that this year his columns are more narrowly focused on the day's principal action and contain less of his more unusual and entertaining reporting of peripheral subjects like the lanterne rouge. Perhaps his editors have told him to keep it to the basics; perhaps he has gotten tired of chasing the unusual.

[bcm119]

People in the South read the NYT?

;) ;) ;) (is that enough winks?)

[bulliedawg]

I'm the only one, and I skim the hard parts ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) (more winks than you)

I didn't know that Sam Abt is a well-known cycling journalist. Recommendations please...

[Dr. Doofus]

People in the South read the NYT?

;) ;) ;) (is that enough winks?)

of the half-dozen who can read, two.

[weisan]

Recommendations please...

This one's bedside readin' material. I like it b'cos it's reporting about backstage gropes and dark alley liaisons.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1931382069/qid=1121306855 Off to the Races: 25 Years of Cycling Journalism
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1931382069.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[PBWrench]

BD -- thanks. I registered and enjoyed the piece. I've read Abt's Beakaway: On the Road with the Tour De France, chronicling the '84 TDF. Really well written.

[Climb01742]

mr abt is first a gifted writer, then a gifted cycling fan. as a long time reader of the nyt, i've been lucky to read him for years. agree on his sadly missing de'tours this year into the arcane corners of cycling. bullie, maybe try going to amazon and seeing if abt's books can be found there. very very much worthwhile reading...as a fan of cycling...and as a fan of writing.