Robert Millar

dave_1

I hope we celebrate his 50th Birthday with something like a website of his career and photos..., get bikeradar involved :-) , gottheteeshirt deserves remembered I think.

And what did you learn from the book which could help you as a cyclist or help you in giving training advice to the serious young aspiring cyclist? I saw accounts of RM which showed a religious dedication, intelligence and a perfectionist streak which I believe are traits of the elites in any walk of life

martincroxall

I thought it showed how RM was a very sound, nice guy would got a lot of crap because he wouldn't conform. He's also massively under recognised by the main media considering his achievements.

Wherever Robert is now I hope he's happy, surely that's what everyone would really want for him?

dave_1

martincroxall wrote:

I thought it showed how RM was a very sound, nice guy would got a lot of crap because he wouldn't conform. He's also massively under recognised by the main media considering his achievements.

Wherever Robert is now I hope he's happy, surely that's what everyone would really want for him?

Hi Martin
Yes, I know for a fact gottheteeshirt does appreciate the support he gets from cyclist in the UK. Many aspects of the book were interersting from a training point of view-the first is diet.

My first question to any serious cyclist out here is-do you really pay attention to what you eat? Take a look at Millar's weight loss startegy, conscious adjustment of his diet..and also keep in mind Mark Scanlon's recent regrets about his lack of correct diet ast a pro at ag2r.

2. Is you training hit and miss, unstructured... or organised with the kind of religious obsession that gotthreteeshirt appeared to have for it? Look at his use of a certain trainign manual

redddraggon

gottheteeshirt? Is that some sort of codeword for Robert Millar?

ricadus

If you read the Millar book you find out it's the name he used in one of the forums (veloriders?).

dave_1

redddraggon wrote:

gottheteeshirt? Is that some sort of codeword for Robert Millar?

It's what RM chose as his username on a different UK based cycling forum and ,after all, he certainly did that eh

martincroxall

I always remember Millar saying the thing about finishing a training ride in your highest gear as it's good training for time trials although after trying it once I decided I wasn't worthy and gave that up.

Can also remember an article where Millar said that if you feel thirsty you're already dehydrated and struggling. I actually stick to that way of thinking and make sure I drink at set times whether I want to or not.

In terms of remembering RM why on earth isn't "The High Life" released on DVD? Oh and not the one featuring Air Scotia of course!

By the way, why did my original post about RM's birthday vanish?

calvjones

martincroxall wrote:

By the way, why did my original post about RM's birthday vanish?

It's the 'Millar Effect'. Your post hangs around, attracting a lot of positive attention for a while, then falls out with a couple of other postings and vanishes, leaving nothing but a whiff of sweat and a lot of sly innuendo from users with feck all better to do. :roll:

Cyclo2000

Aye I cannae unnerstaun' how the High Life isnae on DVD yet either...WTF?
Youda thought that after the book and the bull last year in the papers that someone woulda transfered the tapes to disk. Ho-hum...

Happy birthday to the fella anyhoo. I met a guy who'd known him as a boy and he said he was always a bit kooky. Good for him! Don'tcha hate conformity?

dave_1

martincroxall wrote:

I always remember Millar saying the thing about finishing a training ride in your highest gear as it's good training for time trials although after trying it once I decided I wasn't worthy and gave that up.

Can also remember an article where Millar said that if you feel thirsty you're already dehydrated and struggling. I actually stick to that way of thinking and make sure I drink at set times whether I want to or not.

In terms of remembering RM why on earth isn't "The High Life" released on DVD? Oh and not the one featuring Air Scotia of course!

By the way, why did my original post about RM's birthday vanish?

Hi Martin, Robert Millar has contributed on a different UK based cycling forum and therefore might see the content here too and he's shown on the other forum comments about his personal life are not welcome, hence I guess the mods watch.

Most interesting of all was the account of one of Millar's training partner's who said Millar, as an amatuer in the 70s, used a training manual- Cycle Racing : training to win by Les Woodland, 1975. Must have been a good book.

dave_1

HungryCol wrote:

Ditto. I expressed a negative personal opinion about RM and before you know it the topic vanishes. Freedom of expression huh?

Hey, Hungrycol, I think the whole thread was removed as through quoted replies, the offensive content was repeated many times over..so they removed it for that reason...not so much your comments about what kind of person he comes across as in the book but the remarks about his personal life.

What did you think of Robert Millar's approach to diet and training?

andyp

Dave_1 wrote:

Most interesting of all was the account of one of Millar's training partner's who said Millar, as an amatuer in the 70s, used a training manual- Cycle Racing : training to win by Les Woodland, 1975. Must have been a good book.

I'm not so sure - I had a copy of that book and I've never finished on the podium in a grand tour!

dave_1

andyp wrote:

Dave_1 wrote:

Most interesting of all was the account of one of Millar's training partner's who said Millar, as an amatuer in the 70s, used a training manual- Cycle Racing : training to win by Les Woodland, 1975. Must have been a good book.

I'm not so sure - I had a copy of that book and I've never finished on the podium in a grand tour!

Right enough Andy, I used Edward Borysewiczi's training book circa 1980s Bicycle Road Racing..Eddie B had been Greg Lemond's coach...and also, I never finished on the Grand tour podium either :?

iainf72

Dave_1 wrote:

Right enough Andy, I used Edward Borysewiczi's training book circa 1980s Bicycle Road Racing..Eddie B had been Greg Lemond's coach...and also, I never finished on the Grand tour podium either :?

Cor, I used the Eddy B. book, the Greg Lemond AND Bernard Hinault book - No wonder I was confused.

Did you ever go for some horse meat in your diet as recommended by Eddy B?

dave_1

iainf72 wrote:

Dave_1 wrote:

Right enough Andy, I used Edward Borysewiczi's training book circa 1980s Bicycle Road Racing..Eddie B had been Greg Lemond's coach...and also, I never finished on the Grand tour podium either :?

Cor, I used the Eddy B. book, the Greg Lemond AND Bernard Hinault book - No wonder I was confused.

Did you ever go for some horse meat in your diet as recommended by Eddy B?

no I didn't. I found Eddy B's training regime very tough at times at 18 years old dreaming of being pro :oops: ...but he said at the start of the book ...everyone who followed it, would do well. I think he was tough trainer in real life...but Greg credits him a lot.


M,illar looked at every detail it seems...being very disciplined re diet by the looks of it. And Millar's two long training runs per day aproach in the late 70s sounds brutal, as do Wayne Bennington's accounts of training with Millar every week...that led him to physical burn out such was the brutality of the training regimen Millar employed.

HungryCol

Dave_1 wrote:

What did you think of Robert Millar's approach to diet and training?

I think he set a precedent with regard to dieting but perhaps he didn't know it at the time.

In his training he did what was necessary to compete at the highest level but I don't think he had the physical ability to time trial or sprint with the best. He was a mountain goat just like Rasmussen (sp) but not an all rounder. It seemed, in the end, he burned too many bridges with his perceived obtuse personality in the early days to be given a helping hand when most needed later on... to ultimately win the Veluta.

We was very very good but not the best. Hopefully the new British talent on the pro tours and those coming through will better his achievements and hopefully that will be soon.

dave_1

HungryCol wrote:

Dave_1 wrote:

What did you think of Robert Millar's approach to diet and training?

I think he set a precident with regard to dieting but perhaps he didn't know it at the time.

In his trainig he did what was necessary to complete at the highest level but I don't think he had the physical ability to time trial or sprint with the best. He was a mountain goat just like Rasmussen (sp) but not an all rounder. It seemed, in the end, he burned too many bridges with his perceived obtuse personality in the early days to be given a helping hand when most needed later on... to untimately win the Veluta.

We was very very good but not the best. Hopefully the new British talent coming on the pro tours and those coming through will better his achivements and hopefully that will be soon.

I think he had real good genetic talent for cardiovascular sports. His coach in the 70s noted that when Robert was a junior,.he'd log slower lap times than stronger juniors on a timed circuit but that his ability to knock out similar lap times each lap showed good recovery compared to , at the time, bigger stronger juniors who were faster in this circuit but got slower per lap by bigger margins than did Millar...though still more powerful than Millar at the time, so it showed Millar already had a fairly impressive ability to recover, an impressive cardio engine to work with once he totally dedicated himself to the bike! So , perhaps it is genetic talent...though I believe the top guys are obsessive perfectionists too-which the champs jersey alteration he had as defending champ shows-at least his parent was

PhilofCas

so are we sending him a 50th birthday card or what

dave_1

PhilofCas wrote:

so are we sending him a 50th birthday card or what

Well, you could always ask gottheteeshirtif he wants his birthday celebrated

PhilofCas

must admit i'm a bit confused by that ?, why would i have to ask someone if they want a birthday card or not ?

dave_1

PhilofCas wrote:

must admit i'm a bit confused by that ?, why would i have to ask someone if they want a birthday card or not ?

Ask if he wants the any kind of fuss or recognition made of his birthday I mean. I guess he'd say no though, based on the 20 years celebration in 04 of his kom jersey..he didn't want the fuss made over it even though it wass a good achievement

martincroxall

I've stilll got that Les Woodland book, Cycle Racing Training to Win. I seem to remember following the schedule of training for one hour per day and it really improving my fitness, strength and speed. Mind you I also remember it being very hard so I won't be doing that now I'm appreciably older.

By the way, I've also got RM's autograph at home. My mother got it at a Tour of Britain start, even RM wouldn'tdare say no to her!

dave_1

martincroxall wrote:

I've stilll got that Les Woodland book, Cycle Racing Training to Win. I seem to remember following the schedule of training for one hour per day and it really improving my fitness, strength and speed. Mind you I also remember it being very hard so I won't be doing that now I'm appreciably older.

By the way, I've also got RM's autograph at home. My mother got it at a Tour of Britain start, even RM wouldn'tdare say no to her!

I found RM's double training sessions within the same day a sign of complete single mindedness. I managed it only a few times before beingovertrained, exhausted...either riding a road race of 70 miles on a sunday and then ridiing 30-40 miles home afterward or 70 miles in the morning and a 23 minute 10 TT in the evening with 10 mile ride down and up after a 3 day stage race 2 days previous.....to tax the body in that way daily , as well as mind, at these intensities...few can manage to maintain the quality in it..not end up pottering slow and too tired to make it count as quality mileage. .

bipedal

The High Life has been posted on Youtube in 6 or 7 parts... perfectly watchable video quality

Bernie S

I miss the mans comments in the Tour Guides of the various magazines he wrote for. Obviously written weeks in advance but spot on about the various stages. Wonderful comment about Bedoin as you approach Ventoux. "Theres a left hand bend which is where
the non climbers fall out of the plane."

dave_1

Bernie S wrote:

I miss the mans comments in the Tour Guides of the various magazines he wrote for. Obviously written weeks in advance but spot on about the various stages. Wonderful comment about Bedoin as you approach Ventoux. "Theres a left hand bend which is where
the non climbers fall out of the plane."

indeed...stages wins are the limit of what I see for Brits in the next few years..it may still be a long wait till we have a Brit on the final GC podiums at Grand tours-Robert Millar was something very special...even with the Brailsford/Keen prog- WCPP or Under 23 Academy...it is very rare to produce a GC rider. Even Dan Martin had to go it alone...as Millar did in 1980 to ACBB

Millar should be invited back by Brailsford.

* of course our Chris of track and RTTC 10 mile racing was cheated out of the 1996 TDF cause of all those EPO users...lol :-)

Mar ge

where is Millar these days?

dave_1

Mar ge wrote:

where is Millar these days?

He does not want found...he said so on veloriders last year

andyp

Dave_1 wrote:

indeed...stages wins are the limit of what I see for Brits in the next few years..it may still be a long wait till we have a Brit on the final GC podiums at Grand tours-Robert Millar was something very special...even with the Brailsford/Keen prog- WCPP or Under 23 Academy...it is very rare to produce a GC rider. Even Dan Martin had to go it alone...as Millar did in 1980 to ACBB

Millar should be invited back by Brailsford.

Here we go again. :roll: Millar didn't have the people skills to be a successful coach. That's why they didn't renew his contract.

And where do you get your "Dan Martin had to go it alone" cack from? He chose to ride for Ireland when he was 19 but if he had decided to ride for GB you can be damn sure he'd have been welcome with open arms by BC.

Anna Robic

andyp wrote:

Dave_1 wrote:

indeed...stages wins are the limit of what I see for Brits in the next few years..it may still be a long wait till we have a Brit on the final GC podiums at Grand tours-Robert Millar was something very special...even with the Brailsford/Keen prog- WCPP or Under 23 Academy...it is very rare to produce a GC rider. Even Dan Martin had to go it alone...as Millar did in 1980 to ACBB

Millar should be invited back by Brailsford.

Here we go again. :roll: Millar didn't have the people skills to be a successful coach. That's why they didn't renew his contract.

And where do you get your "Dan Martin had to go it alone" cack from? He chose to ride for Ireland when he was 19 but if he had decided to ride for GB you can be damn sure he'd have been welcome with open arms by BC.

That's rubbish. BC weren't interested in him because he didn't want to do the track. That is why he decided to ride for Ireland and go his own route.

alanmcn1

RM: The reason I cycle!!

My tag line i use all the time says it all for me