robert millar

johny c

guys,


one left, size L (large)

you can contact Brian here: http://www.thewashingmachinepost.net/

claudb

This is a brilliant thread !!!! For there to still be so much interest in Robert is great but his participation is just fantastic. I'd just like to add my own thanks to you Robert for the memories.

jerry3571

"Please Sir, Can you sign my Cycling Weekly??"

Yes, I was that child. I did later grow out of stalking my Cycling Heros at the tender age of 34 years.

Nice one. Suit yourself and keep us guessing. Above all; be happy! 8)


-Jerry
(url below explains the above comments)

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=237675587&albumID=1232171&imageID=18609490

RichN95.

The problem with Millar was that he was there at the very top when I first took and interest in the sport, so I thought there was always going to be some Brit that good. I didn't realise that I'd be waiting 15-20 years for another truly world class talent to come along, so I probably didn't appreciate him as much as I should have done at the time.

gotheteeshirt2

RichN95 wrote:

The problem with Millar was that he was there at the very top when I first took and interest in the sport, so I thought there was always going to be some Brit that good. I didn't realise that I'd be waiting 15-20 years for another truly world class talent to come along, so I probably didn't appreciate him as much as I should have done at the time.

The problem wasn't mine personally , the system in place at that time and afterwards wasn't good enough to support and encourage young riders to pursue a career at pro level . Therefore you were relying on the gifted riders figuring most of it out for themselves and then having the commitment , talent and opportunity to seek out to be competetive where you expected them to be . If it wasn't for very recent developments in the support of road cycling you could still have expected to wait 15 -20 years before you saw a Brit compete on GC at the TdF.

gotheteeshirt2

cswebbo wrote:

As per previous posts.


If you still have time to answer another question.....
What was the best team you rode for and why?
I'm guessing it won't be Panasonic!!!

The riders at Panasonic were fantastic , I learned more there in the first six months than I had during the previous five years . My only problem was with Post the manager not Post the person as I had the greatest respect for who he was , it was just that how he went about things wasn't the best way of helping me perform .
Best team enviroment ....... Z - Peugeot

Daan Hammond

Gtts2 - up late tidying out an old cupboard and it has a 20 year old Z Vetements Enfants carrier bag in it. No wonder why I hung on to that!

Wondering who you have most enjoyed watch climb over, say, the last 5 years? Rasmussen and Contador thrilled me when jousting a couple of years ago but they don't make them like they did in the 80's.

Like so many others on here say - cheers!

northernneil

may I ask a question or 2 if I can be so bold :-
1. were you ever in contention for the sports personality of the year award in 1984 ? i have tried to find this on the internet but can't find it anywhere - it maybe that they did not have a 'shortlist' at that time.

2. I take it you still ride now as you obviously still take an interest in cycling, how often do you get out now ?

many thanks in anticipation

Slapshot

GTTS2: I don't have a question as such but my wife would love to meet you just to give you a thick lug for all the money this fat boy has spent on bikes over the years, It's your fault!! She'd like a crack at Hinault as well though I suspect it's more to do with his accent.

It irks me that we continue to demand of superstars what more could anyone want than the memories that are left behind. The team shirts are neatly tucked away, the books and pics there if I want to look.

Like most of us from the west of Scotland I think we just want to be ourselves, no pretentions, no BS. Do us all a favour, just keep being Robert Millar.

Ratkilla

Thanks Boaby. For showing us what can be done. If you TRY.

gotheteeshirt2

northernneil wrote:

may I ask a question or 2 if I can be so bold :-
1. were you ever in contention for the sports personality of the year award in 1984 ? i have tried to find this on the internet but can't find it anywhere - it maybe that they did not have a 'shortlist' at that time.

2. I take it you still ride now as you obviously still take an interest in cycling, how often do you get out now ?

many thanks in anticipation

1. Yes , I was contacted by the BBC in London to attend but I wasn't able to go . They said I wasn't going to win anything but I could sit on the front row of the sporty celeb crowd :roll:

2. I keep up to date with certain things but it doesn't need to be fanatical now and I only cycle if it's warm , dry , not too windy and most importantly if I feel like it . So not since September then

johny c

Neil,

To fill in a wee bit for the now, till he turns up again, I asked the same question in 1989. I wrote to Dixon Blackstock of the Daily Record / Sunday Mail (scottish tabloid rags) He had a column called "Blackstock's Boot' where he rubbished letters and comments he didn't like.

Then as now, the Scottish pre-occupation is with fitba', which with a few glorious exceptions (like beating the then world champions on their own midden in 1967 and more recently the French on their's) we are rubbish at.

I wrote to him asking why, in 1989 when Robert won his country's premier cycle event, against most of his peers from the pro peleton, why he never even got a mention in that year's Scottish Sports Personality of the year awards on STV's (so called) Scotsport.

I can't remember what exactly I said, but I more or less asked him why, to use a footballing metaphor, that in 1989 when we have a Scottish sportsman at the top of his game WHO IS GENUINELY WORLD CLASS that he never got a mention in his own country's sports awards. I regret to say, as a Scot, that we're a small minded, parochial bunch of eejits at times.

Anyhow, I never received a reply. Didn't even get the 'Blackstock Boot"

I remember roaring at the telly that year, as I watched Robert shooting past Martin Earley and Sean Kelly in the big ring, going uphill, as he later put 15 mts into them going over the Tumble. Magic, to me. Maybe it was just 'another day at the office' to Robert, I don't know.

here's a wee clip from the prologue that year with Robert featured:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBxPMU-l-v8&NR=1

I've begged the poster, Matteomjb, to put up the section I mentioned earlier, which he told me he does have, hopefully he will one day.

ps. wow, speak of the devil.....

ynyswen24

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

I only cycle if it's warm , dry , not too windy and most importantly if I feel like it . So not since September then

Like the rest of us then! Nice day for a ride and a brew up today though...

shockedsoshocked

johny c wrote:

here's a wee clip from the prologue that year with Robert featured:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBxPMU-l-v8&NR=1

One of my favourite youtube vids (part 1 and 2).

Curran and Elliot could have done a great deal more I think! Not that their careers weren't impressive enough mind you!

johny c

I'm not sure what Paul Curran is doing now, but I think big Malcolm, in between modelling asignments, is still racing somewhere. I saw him a couple of years ago at the Girvan 3day. I think he's got a picture in the attic.

I saw Robert race only once, I forget which year exactly, but it was a stage of the Kellogs tour which finished in George Square Glasgow. I was stood inches from him after the finish, a really grim rainy day. My mate Jose shouted for him to just glance our way for a photo, but we got the 'rubber ear'. Still, we were in good company, Graeme Obree got the same in Douglas once.

However, it has to be said that I got blanked by Graeme another time, on the train to Glasgow. I seem to have this effect on people, or maybe it's just that some stars just don't like fans. So it goes.

Langman

Robert I have a question, it would be great if you could answer it.

Have you not been approached by British Cycling in recent times to advise or help them in anyway. It seems that you are a hero to most UK cyclists and respected by all, has Team Sky for example asked you? WOuld you advise a team if asked?

Thanks again.

brakelever

bloody amazing , i post saying how much i enjoyed the millar book , little did i realise how much interest there is still in him , i think judging by the number of posts on the subject there is a huge amount of goodwill and huge huge respect for how he rode and what he achieved as a rider . its a shame that gottheteeshirt2 doesnt sit down and put pen to paper and write his side to the story of his years on the bike !!!!!!!!!!!!!! what about it ? best wishes .

iain_j

Robert, I don't have a question for you (relief!), but despite being from before the time I was interested in cycling, I know the name and know you're a legend, and thanks very much for gracing us with your presence at bikeradar and all the best for the future

gotheteeshirt2

Langman wrote:

Robert I have a question, it would be great if you could answer it.

Have you not been approached by British Cycling in recent times to advise or help them in anyway. It seems that you are a hero to most UK cyclists and respected by all, has Team Sky for example asked you? WOuld you advise a team if asked?

Thanks again.

No-one from the new BC has ever asked for any help or advice , not one rider or official .
Would I be interested ?........Yes certain aspects of cycling I find interesting and challenging .

dulldave

Hi Robert. I reckon your writing can help inspire people in cycling. I truly wish you'd do more.

I may be jumping to a conclusion to say that the administration/bureaucracy of organisations such as British Cycling isn't really to your liking. I have a personal belief that you only joined cycling clubs in order to ride in groups and compete rather than to be in a club. That might be bullsh1t. It's just my opinion, perhaps because I feel the same.

The way you wrote in Rouleur was fantastic. It was similar to Jean Bobet's piece about the Ventoux. In the present tense, with no pretence about how you were feeling and realistic assessment about what was going on around you. This is the stuff we (well I) wan't to read about.

I've got a question though. Did you ever take to the Andouillette? Or did your status as a pro rider give you special dispensation not to eat it?

[Edit - Doh! you were/are a vegetarian so you got away with it. How did the whole vegetarian thing go down in France? Not many classic dishes to choose from other than ratatouille]

dave_1

like thousands of other teenagers of the 1980s there's a high chance I'd also never have been inspired to take up a great sport like cycle racing had it not been for Robert Millar in 1984, Also have hung on to press cuttings for 25 years , hope gtts doesn't mind this one- , written for Cycling (Cycling Weekly now)

Having had a go at cycling like most, realised how hard it is, am tempted to say cycling has got nothing much to do with build, size and everything to do with the psychology. personality traits/flaws/ IQ of the person and how badly they want to achieve...all shapes and sizes have won every big race.

Cheers to gtt2 for posting. Would imagine gtts , having had whole organisations back his grand tour campaigns in the 80s, will be able see the bigger picture at new teams like Sky, so a shame they don't ask him...also I imagine gtts will be quite good at spotting riders with the attributes to become TDF GC winners

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33744960@N ... 4/sizes/l/

top_bhoy

Dave_1 wrote:

Cheers to gtt2 for posting. Would imagine gtts , having had whole organisations back his grand tour campaigns in the 80s, will be able see the bigger picture at new teams like Sky, so a shame they don't ask him...also I imagine gtts will be quite good at spotting riders with the attributes to become TDF GC winners

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33744960@N ... 4/sizes/l/

Totally agree with the above sentiments. Successful athletes (in any sport) don't always make the best team managers/leaders once they retire but even if it isn't to be manager/leader, it is sad/negligent that the talents of Robert Millar cannot be utilised in some meaningful capacity with either Sky or BC. The UK is not blessd with the talents of the stature of Robert Millar that it can afford to ignore them.

Captain Fagor

johny c wrote:

However, it has to be said that I got blanked by Graeme another time, on the train to Glasgow. I seem to have this effect on people, or maybe it's just that some stars just don't like fans. So it goes.

I have this effect on people too. Usually just women though.

Aggieboy

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

northernneil wrote:

may I ask a question or 2 if I can be so bold :-
1. were you ever in contention for the sports personality of the year award in 1984 ? i have tried to find this on the internet but can't find it anywhere - it maybe that they did not have a 'shortlist' at that time.

2. I take it you still ride now as you obviously still take an interest in cycling, how often do you get out now ?

many thanks in anticipation

1. Yes , I was contacted by the BBC in London to attend but I wasn't able to go . They said I wasn't going to win anything but I could sit on the front row of the sporty celeb crowd :roll:

2. I keep up to date with certain things but it doesn't need to be fanatical now and I only cycle if it's warm , dry , not too windy and most importantly if I feel like it . So not since September then

Fantastic as it is to have Robert posting on here again, I think you're all evading the most difficult but important question. Someone's got to ask, so it may as well be me. So Robert, Campag or Shimano!?

Oooh, I can't wait to give my '25th' shirt an airing in France this Spring and Summer!

Langman

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

Langman wrote:

Robert I have a question, it would be great if you could answer it.

Have you not been approached by British Cycling in recent times to advise or help them in anyway. It seems that you are a hero to most UK cyclists and respected by all, has Team Sky for example asked you? WOuld you advise a team if asked?

Thanks again.

No-one from the new BC has ever asked for any help or advice , not one rider or official .
Would I be interested ?........Yes certain aspects of cycling I find interesting and challenging .

I do find it odd that they have not approched you. I would have thought Wiggins would have tried to speak to you, listening to him speak he seems to hold yourself and Tommy Simpson in very high regard.

Do you have any regrets about your career? Which day do you think was your best in the saddle?

simon_e

brakelever wrote:

i think judging by the number of posts on the subject there is a huge amount of goodwill and huge huge respect for how he rode and what he achieved as a rider

Absolutely. What Robert achieved was pretty special and inspired many people (aka old f@rts that now spend their spare time reminiscing/remonstrating on internet forums).

The fact that he's not part of the BC/CTT exec or popping up with a quote or three in the cycling press means threads like this (and, it seems, a superb article in Rouleur) are the only glimpses we get of what he did and the significance of his achievements. Perhaps we should pester Yatesy, who's now in the inner circle, to consider him as an adviser...

Pross

Always like hearing Robert's comments when he texts in to Eurosport - they ought to go the whole hog and get him on some races in a similar role to Sean Kelly.

gotheteeshirt2

Aggieboy wrote:

So Campag or Shimano!?

That's easy , if you are on Campag equipped bike you wish it was Shimano and if it is a Shimano equipped bike you wish it was Campagnolo

notanotherhill

Great rider, comes across very well on here. Like many I started as a kid in the 80's and even my Dad used to roaring support for Millar when I was watching C4's half hour highlight reel....might not sound unusual but the man hated the sport...used to just shake his head when he seen me in lycra...mind you my wife does exactly the same thing now so maybe he wasnt too far off the mark with that one.....

brakelever

well then gottheteeshirt2 what about a book , your bike reviews were always well written and put together , sure there would be a huge amount of interest in your point of view on your career , make no mistake it would be a best seller