What do you think?
Rate this book
Project Rainbow: How British Cycling Reached the Top of the World
Twenty years ago, British road cycling was in the today it is at the top of the world, thanks to Bradley Wiggins's Tour de France win, Mark Cavendish's Road World title and the dominance of the British squad, Team Sky. Cycling has become that rare beast, a story of British sporting success built from the bottom up. As GB Elite Road Coach and Team Sky's Performance Manager, Rod Ellingworth is one of the chief architects behind that success. Here, for the first time, he tells the story of this amazing the meteoric rise of both teams to the top of the road cycling world, and the four-year campaign that led to Mark Cavendish's historic Road World Championships title in 2011. With an introduction by Mark Cavendish.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2013
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 25, 2018
Book Review - Project Rainbow
There are hardly any sports books from India that one can read barring a few from cricket. This book particularly interested me as the topic was about professional cycling a sport that is catching up now in India and the fact that there was a book about how British cycling has reached such a dominant spot in the world made it more appealing to read.
Ideally this book is a worth while read for any sports manager or administrator as it highlights the process that British Cycling used to build such impregnable top class team across all formats of professional cycling be it the team pursuits, track cycling or even road races.
The author himself is a professional cyclist and is about this journey as a coach and what it takes to spot, build and nurture world beating team. The importance of discipline in training is aomwthiythe author keeps stressing upon with various examples and outcomes.
The dominance of the a British cycling ever since this program was put in place is evident from the results that British cyclists have won in the various world championship and Olympics starting form the Sydney Olympics of 2000. The Grass root level talent spotting program has yielded some of the biggest names in the cycling world from team Great Britain.
The likes of Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome who are and were the biggest stars in the cycling world and their journey across the major cycling events be the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia etc etc and the work ethics of team Sky make it a worth while read for any sports affectionado.
There are hardly any sports books from India that one can read barring a few from cricket. This book particularly interested me as the topic was about professional cycling a sport that is catching up now in India and the fact that there was a book about how British cycling has reached such a dominant spot in the world made it more appealing to read.
Ideally this book is a worth while read for any sports manager or administrator as it highlights the process that British Cycling used to build such impregnable top class team across all formats of professional cycling be it the team pursuits, track cycling or even road races.
The author himself is a professional cyclist and is about this journey as a coach and what it takes to spot, build and nurture world beating team. The importance of discipline in training is aomwthiythe author keeps stressing upon with various examples and outcomes.
The dominance of the a British cycling ever since this program was put in place is evident from the results that British cyclists have won in the various world championship and Olympics starting form the Sydney Olympics of 2000. The Grass root level talent spotting program has yielded some of the biggest names in the cycling world from team Great Britain.
The likes of Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome who are and were the biggest stars in the cycling world and their journey across the major cycling events be the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia etc etc and the work ethics of team Sky make it a worth while read for any sports affectionado.
July 15, 2020
Great account of the development of the 'golden age' of british cycling, leading up to Mark Cavendish's rainbow jersey.
Written in a very readable style and enjoyable whether you are a cycling fan, sports fan or just a patriotic brit!
Highly recommended.
Written in a very readable style and enjoyable whether you are a cycling fan, sports fan or just a patriotic brit!
Highly recommended.
August 22, 2023
Terrific and honest account of the groundwork and development behind the ‘golden age’ of British cycling. Thoroughly enjoyed discovering the attention and level of detail that went into the project and the coaching.
April 26, 2018
An honest book. Rod shares his experiences without holding back. Nice read. A good story about hard work, attention to details and perseverance.
May 24, 2023
This is a readable account of aspects of the author's career in cycling, mainly in coaching. The focus is on the specific project to get a Briton to win the World Road Race Championship.
January 15, 2017
Book concentrating on Ellingworth's road coaching career (establishing the academy, working at Sky, working on Team GB) but all focused on the aims of a Worlds man's road race gold medal in 2011 and Olympic medal in 2012. Reading a book on Team GB techniques entirely focused on the road is interesting. Ellingworth's main techniques including: breaking down a goals into the different steps needed to achieve it, and then the steps to achieve those etc; strict discipline with youngsters and amateurs; listening to those he is coaching (especially when they are more senior) and respecting their requirements (letting them develop the rules and for example selection criteria, allowing for the reality of a professional lifestyle so that training camps aren't compulsory); understanding the differences between people; motivating people to focus on a goal; a strong concentration on pre-planning of logistics. The only downside to the book is it can feel a little repetitive as although the timeline is moving on, Ellingworth's approach and pre-occupations are constant.
December 29, 2015
Rod Ellingworth's book shows the take on cycling the new generation needs and details the use of the now-popularized marginal gains approach to optimize cyclists' performance. A detailed count of his plan to set up the Academy, these pages reveal the way GB got to the top with Olympic medals & World Championship victories; notably with Mark Cavendish. A must-read for any cycling enthusiast who wants to see what it takes to be the best in the new era of pro-racing.
Thanks Rod!
Thanks Rod!
March 1, 2014
Great insight into the success of british cycling and the dedication it took from the guys who didn't get the credit. A must for any british cycling fan!
March 11, 2014
Very interesting insight into how British Cycling became such a success story. There are lessons in here that can be applied to success in any other aspects of life.
March 23, 2014
great insight into the programme and planning that went into the first British world champion in over 50 years. fascinating reading.
August 12, 2014
A really good view into a chapter of cycling history - Ellingworth's planning fervour had a strange positive impact on my own life. Hadn't anticipated that!
September 3, 2014
Very interesting, great insight on British Cycling start up however there is far too much Cav loving. It's basically another biography for Cav.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews