Gold by Chris Cleave

The front story in this book is about the lives of elite competitors who train for the Olympics as if it were the most important thing. And for them it largely is. The reasons behind that are far ranging, from the need for attention, love of the sport, the thrill of competition, to just plain broken people who can't for the life of them interact with others and the loneliness of the long distance trainer suits them because it fills up that emptiness. This story layers a few complications onto the pile--there is the competition between two closely matched cyclists, Kate and Zoe. Zoe is the stone cold athlete, while Kate has softer edges and while she might not win quite as much, she is happier and more likable. There is a love triangle between Zoe, Kate, and another cyclist, Jack. That remains complicated throughout the book, because while the romance might have gotten sorted out long ago, the connections remain. Then there is Sophie, a daughter who was born around the Athens Olympics, was diagnosed with leukemia at the Beijing Olympics, and relapses before the London Olympics. Such timing this child has. The survivor issues of childhood cancer don't get consideration in this story, the emotional complications that children and families undergo when childhood cancer strikes is right on target.   I have a personal connection with childhood cancer, in the form of my youngest son, so I enjoyed seeing it inserted into a novel, and very much enjoyed this story.