Tino Tabak Media Releases

Media Releases

Tino Tabak reveals drugs, race fixing and career highlights in biography

Tino Tabak, New Zealand’s highest achiever in the Tour de France cycle race, today revealed what happened to his dream of European road cycling success in a first time biography.

The biography entitled Tino Tabak – Dreams and demons of a New Zealand cycling legend, was written by respected cycling author Jonathan Kennett. It reveals the drugs, alcohol and race fixing that were part of Tabak’s high achieving career and that ultimately saw him crashing out of European cycling.

Kennett wrote the book, involving 74 hours of interviews with Tabak and extensive research, after interviewing him for a National Library of New Zealand oral history project.

“After a fascinating full day interview, just as the tape deck was packed away, Tino asked me to write his biography. Over the six years we worked on the book, I was impressed by his honesty about what happened to his European dream and how rigorous he is about his achievements,” Jonathan Kennett says.

Tino Tabak’s 18th place in the Tour de France in 1972 is still the highest placing by a New Zealander in the world’s supreme cycle race – this year Hayden Roulston was placed 79th in the event.

“I gave my life to the Tour de France and professional cycling. The first time I rode it in 1971, I remember at the start line turning to Joop Zoetemelk and saying ‘At last, my dream has come true’. It was an honour to ride the Tour, but I should have gone there to win, not to ride.”

“My greatest achievement was winning the Dutch Professional Road Championships in 1972. It was like a dream. But I wasn’t strong enough to handle all that. Mentally I wasn’t ready for it. It was far, far too much. The whole professional world is crazy.”

Following publication the 34 tapes of interviews that went into the book will be deposited in the Oral History Centre of the Alexander Turnbull Library. The book will be launched on 3 November, 2009.

Ends

Tino Tabak is available to be interviewed: contact Jonathan Kennett, ph 027 2845599.

Images of Tino Tabak and the book cover are available for media download on http://www.kennett.co.nz/index.php/Books/NewsMediaResources