The former Italian time trial champion and stage race rider is known as the professor of the peloton, because he has a degree in industrial management. He is a staunch believer in clean cycling, and dedicated a special chapter of the book to the subject.
"I've told my story and talked about professional cycling without the lies and rhetoric of other books," Pinotti told Cyclingnews the day before the book was official presented in his hometown of Bergamo, north of Milan.
"It's a kind of autobiography that talks about my career and my life as a professional, but also talks about the life we live, about other riders I know pretty well such as Mark Cavendish, about training and diet, and about the races we ride all over the world.
"It's written for cycling fans but also for people who perhaps don't know too much about cycling. I hope it can help people understand another side of professional cycling that has been overshadowed by all the doping news of the last few weeks."
The book is called "Il mestiere del ciclista: Una vita in bicicletta, curiosità, esperienze e consigli" (The cyclist's trade: a life in cycling, secrets, experience and advice).
Sport and cycling are littered with ghost-written autobiographies. Pinotti's book is different; he's written every word himself during the last two years. It ends with a final chapter on the London 2012 Olympics, where he finished fifth in the time trial behind Bradley Wiggins.
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Pinotti told Cyclingnews he will publish a digital version for the Amazon Kindle in the next few weeks.
"I've written a column in the Eco di Bergamo, my local newspaper in Italy, since 2005 and a publisher asked me to put all my thoughts and memories together in a book. It's taken me a while but I also wanted to include something on my experience of the London Olympics. The digital version will also include a chapter on the world championships and my crash."
Pinotti was set to win a medal in Valkenburg but crashed on a corner, fracturing his collarbone. He has now recovered and is back in training, ready for the 2013 season – his second with the BMC Racing Team.
"It was hugely disappointing to crash out while having a chance for a medal but I got over it after a few days and I'm ready to go again," he said.
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
