Andy McGrath

How doping killed cycling's 'golden boy'. A shocking, clear-sighted and sympathetic account of a talent destroyed by drugs.

'With his talent, Frank is the Johan Cruyff of cycling. He could win anything.'

A stunning biography of this troubled individual. 320 pages of brilliance.

Superb. A riveting, warts-an-all dive into a complex, deeply flawed rider and man during professional cycling's lowest ebb.

The fact that we know the tragically opaque ending of this story from the start is what lends such a devastating quality to McGrath's careful biography. Soberly told and with a clear affection for its wayward subject, McGrath's account explores the narcotically corrupting power of sport itself.

My favourite cycling book of the year... McGrath has penned arguably the most insightful cycling biography to date. It leaves you both questioning how the sport was so dysfunctional while perversely pining for more stories from the doomed era.

Captures the charisma and chaos of Vandenbroucke's short life perfectly.

Frank Vandenbroucke had the world at his pedals in the late 1990s ... but off [the bike] the Belgian lived in a soap opera, a mess of addictions, marital problems and, finally, death. McGrath is a sensitive yet compelling guide through this turbulence.

'I sometimes wonder if he was too intelligent to be a rider. He was a genius.'

'In Belgium, we need heroes, examples. People who don't break, people who release us from our daily mediocrity. People who can fly, who do things that we cannot. VDB on the Saint-Nicolas.'

'Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke was one of the sport's greatest ever talents - a charismatic but hard-partying maverick who was nicknamed 'God' by his legions of fans. So how did he end up dead in a Senegal hotel room at the age of just 34? Andy McGrath tells his tragic story.'

A cautionary tale. Gripping yet harrowing.

'He was shy and introverted, not the extrovert. We could think that he was macho, but he wanted to be loved.'

'People always love comeback stories. Because they recognise that in life, it's all about falling down and standing up.'

'A riveting, warts-an-all dive into a complex, deeply flawed rider and man'

'McGrath covers the rise and fall of Frank Vandenbroucke with sensitivity and not sensationalism... from winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège to doping and addiction, suicide attempts, court appearances and his death, no stone is left unturned when delivering the truth about 'cycling's great wasted talent'

'Poignant, painful but utterly riveting...covered with careful sensitivity by McGrath, painted in all its grey complexity with an absence of judgment. A captivating read' 
Irish Independent

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022

•SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022• 
•A SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE TIMES AND THE GUARDIAN• 
 
The remarkable untold story of the mercurial cycling prodigy Frank Vandenbroucke, written by William Hill award-winning author Andy McGrath. 
 
They called him God. For his grace on a bicycle, for his divine talent, for his heavenly looks. Frank Vandenbroucke had it all, and in the late Nineties he raced with dazzling speed and lived even faster. 
 
The Belgian won several of cycling's most illustrious races, including Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Paris-Nice and Ghent-Wevelgem. He was a mix of poise and panache who enthralled a generation of cycling fans. Off the bike, he only had one enemy - himself. Vandenbroucke dabbled in nocturnal party sessions mixing sleeping pills and alcohol and regularly fell out with team managers. By 1999 his team had suspended him and this proved to be the start of a long, eventful fall from grace. Depression, a drug ban, addiction, car crashes, divorce and countless court appearances subsumed his life. He threatened his wife with a gun. He tried to commit suicide twice. And when police found performance-enhancing drugs at his house, Vandenbroucke said they were for his dog. 
 
It seemed he had finally learned from his mistakes. Then, on 12 October 2009, aged just 34, Vandenbroucke was found dead in a hotel room in Senegal. 
 
Guided by exclusive contributions from his family, friends and team-mates, William Hill award-winning author Andy McGrath lays bare Vandenbroucke's chaotic, complicated life and times. God is Dead is the remarkable biography of this mercurial cycling prodigy.

Andy McGrath

Praise for God is Dead

How doping killed cycling's 'golden boy'. A shocking, clear-sighted and sympathetic account of a talent destroyed by drugs.

'With his talent, Frank is the Johan Cruyff of cycling. He could win anything.'

A stunning biography of this troubled individual. 320 pages of brilliance.

How doping killed cycling's 'golden boy'. A shocking, clear-sighted and sympathetic account of a talent destroyed by drugs.

'With his talent, Frank is the Johan Cruyff of cycling. He could win anything.'

A stunning biography of this troubled individual. 320 pages of brilliance.

How doping killed cycling's 'golden boy'. A shocking, clear-sighted and sympathetic account of a talent destroyed by drugs.

'With his talent, Frank is the Johan Cruyff of cycling. He could win anything.'

A stunning biography of this troubled individual. 320 pages of brilliance.

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