Tyler Hamilton book wins William Hill prize

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Tyler Hamilton and ghost writer Daniel Coyle have won the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award for "The Secret Race”, Hamilton’s confessional account of his career as a professional rider.

“The Secret Race” details Hamilton’s decision to dope during his career and provides a startling insight into the systematic doping programme in place at Hamilton and Lance Armstrong’s former US Postal Service team. Hamilton’s book also heavily implicates his former CSC manager Bjarne Riis in the blood doping practices of Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes.

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe paid tribute to “The Secret Race” for shedding light on the “mysterious world of cycling,” saying it “lifts the lid on that world and delivers a shocking and jaw-droppingly frank account of what it’s like to compete at the highest level.”

“The Secret Race” is the third cycling book to win the William Hill prize, which is now in its 24th year. Paul Kimmage took the award in 1990 for “Rough Ride” while, somewhat ironically, Lance Armstrong and ghost writer Sally Jenkins were feted in 2000 for Armstrong’s memoir “It’s Not About the Bike.”

Hamilton and Coyle receive a £24,000 cash prize as well as a free £2,000 bet with bookmakers William Hill, a specially commissioned hand-bound copy of their book and “a day at the races.”

Published in September, “The Secret Race” recounts Hamilton’s career in the first person but the information is backed up by extensive research by Coyle, who states in the introduction that he interviewed Hamilton more than 60 times and also spoke with numerous independent sources “to verify and corroborate Hamilton's account."