'This is Dan Martin's long-awaited autobiography, full of 'the warmth, sharp insights and vivid colour of his 14-year career' Guardian
Known, thanks to his racing style and attitude, for being one of road cycling's last romantics, Dan has always shied away from revealing too much about himself and his story. Now, having retired at the end of the 2021 season aged 35 and no longer bound by the constraints of the racing circuit, Dan feels the time is right to tell his story in the same forthright and honest manner that he rode his bike.
This book reflects Dan's generous and outspoken spirit, his resilience to pain, crashes, bad luck and, finally, his acceptance of destiny. Each chapter's title has a sub-title based on a typical cyclist's fear: the fear of losing a race, the fear of retiring from the sport, the fear of mountains or downhills, the fear of doping and, ultimately, the fear of death. Dan also discusses every aspect of the professional cyclist's life - food, discipline, money, dreams, friendship and betrayal. Dan is unashamed when it comes to exposing these dark feelings, his weaknesses and how he tried to deal with them, his attitude exemplifying Mark Twain's quote: "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear".
Written with his long-time friend and best-selling author Pierre Carrey, this is the story of a rider who never sought to conform to modern cycling's norms and someone who, in many ways, embodies an age in cycling which has long since disappeared.
This is the celebration of a true cyclist's career, which will appeal to anyone who's embraced the weekend ride whilst dreaming of the mountains.
'[Chased by Pandas] is not a conventional study of wins, losses and conquering mountains but overcoming the mental challenges of a sport into which he was seemingly born' The Times
'Records the brave and tough journey of 'one of road cycling's last romantics' Irish Independent
'Chronicles the former Irish road champion's journey through the ranks of professional cycling' Cycling Weekly
Born in 1986 in Birmingham to an Irish mother and an English father, Dan Martin is the nephew of Irish cycling legend Stephen Roche.
Dan's racing showed bravery and suffering in every way: his body couldn't lie. The good vibes he sent through the peloton were rewarded by a Most Aggressive Rider prize at the 2018 Tour de France, where he took his trophy on the final podium on the Champs-Elysées.
In his free time, Dan wrote a monthly column in Europe's greatest cycling magazine, Procycling, over an unusually long period, from 2008 to 2021. He shared some of his views on a cyclist's life but his most significant stories and strong opinions have been held back for this book.
Dan is a proud husband of Jess, a British long-distance runner who competed in the 2016 Olympics, in Rio, and a proud father of twin daughters, Ella and Daisy, born in September 2018.
Retired from the pro peloton since the end of 2021, Dan is now an active investor in growth and start-up companies as a Partner of Rubix Ventures Inc. and he is building plans to keep a close eye on cycling, especially on young riders that he would like to guide, advise and share his positive energy.
