Former cyclist, Olivier Haralambon is now a journalist and writer. After “the Runner and his shadow”, published in 2017, he has just published “My imaginary runners” (Premier Parallèle ed.), a book in which he portrays twelve fictional cyclists, in part inspired by figures from the peloton.

BibliographyObs. Why did you choose fiction for this book, rather than portraying real runners?

Olivier Haralambon. I didn’t want to write portraits of existing runners because as soon as you name people, you can’t say anything about them. But what interests me about runners is what we don’t see or know about them. With this exercise, I wanted in particular to try to understand and show how excellence takes root in such athletes, and to tell their doubts, their melancholy. It was therefore necessary that I enter into their privacy. These portraits are nevertheless strongly inspired by reality. For some, it is not difficult for the reader to recognize famous figures, like Lance Armstrong for example.

Bernard Chambaz: “By bike, I am the king of the world”

There is no racing scene in this book. Why ?

The racing moments are not the most interesting. The race actually reveals very little of the characters themselves. Perfect control of the body is generally presented as a means of expression. This is forgetting that it has long been worth as a cover-up: mastering your attitude