"It wasn't just Weber; Aldag had also said I was fat, and somewhere, deep in my memory, there was also the echo of conversations with Max Sciandri, Dave Millar, and Simon Jones. Maybe they were right and I was the one who had gotten it wrong."

To get right to the point, I recommend reading Mark Cavendish's Boy Racer, I found it to be a "page turner." There is a caveat: If you eschew profanity skip it; otherwise, it really is an entertaining read.

When I first received the book from Velo Press, I immediately looked for the name of the "ghost writer." If you look at the cover of Johan Bruyneel's book We Might as Well Win, it says "with Bill Strickland." Same with Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike, "with Sally Jenkins." In fact, it is pretty rare to find an athlete's book that is not actually written by someone else.  Not so with Boy Racer, no mention of anyone else except at the end of the book under "Acknowledgments." He thanks Daniel Friebe "for his commitment at every stage of the project" in the very last sentence of the book.

My assumption is that Mark actually wrote this book. It may be that he got some "help" from Daniel Friebe, but I would think that if Daniel did write this for Mark, he would have had a much more promenent mention to that effect, like on the front cover.

"So what exactly had Roger Hammond said to convince my new bosses that, when they talked about my program for 2007, they wouldn't have been better off pointing me in the direction of Alcoholics Anonymous's twelve-step program?"

So, if Mark wrote this, I am very impressed. It is well crafted, organized, articulate, entertaining, and as I inferred earlier, "readable."

"I was right about the perks of being a Tour stage winner. There was respect in the other rider's eyes and in their reactions."

I have heard about some criticisims to the effect that Mark is too young to be writing an autobiography.  I guess the opinion is that autobiographies are for old famous people to write, but I don't agree.  This is an inside story of protour cycling from Mark's point of view. Yes, he does start the book by recounting events in his childhood  (in an autobiographical way) that led him on the path to racing, but the majority of the book is devoted to the leadup, and his participation in the Tour de France. As an autobiography, it works OK for me.

"I inherited my physique from my mum's side of the family. The short, muscular legs, the ample backside - sorry, Mum, but you know what I mean."

Each chapter is a stage of Le Tour with "background" information that, more or less, positions us to Cavendish's state of mind. He rips into those he believes have "crossed" him along the way and absolutely showers affection on those who have supported him. A few of the things we learn (some trivia, some soap opera, some interesting):

Why he stayed with HTC/Columbia when offered twice as much money by other teams.

His relationship with Andre Gripel.

How he recognizes George Hincapie when in the mob of the peloton.

Why he beat guys to the finish line who were putting out 400 watts more.

Who the "nicest man in the world is" (not George).

What happened to him at the Olympics with Bradley Wiggins.

What he thinks about the "scientific method."

Which coaches/mentors helped him and how.

"Everyone who's never been there wants to know what's going through your mind in the last kilometer of a sprint. The answer may be a disappointment..."