robert millar

andyrr

Robert writing a book is something I would not expect to happen - his life is now one that is lived in privacy, away from those with negative attitudes : a book with his name would instantly attract media spotlights.
Some more written pieces like the Procycling bike reviews would be something a fair number of people would like as these were far more interesting than the almost universally uncritical stuff we get at the moment but for the minimal financial reward it would bring it I guess that the attention, again, that doing these might attract would not be worth the while.

Remember seeing Robert at Stirling Castle at the prologue stage of the Prutour about 10 years back : got Roche's autograph on a bidon but didn't have the nerve to approach Robert : must have been starstruck !

I'll need to go off and watch The High Life (on VHS) now - great wee film,.

ynyswen24

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

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 .

Is there anyway that anyone here (or at BikeRadar) can make sure that British Cycling know that Gottheteeshirt2 is still open to discussion?
Good as things are with BC and Team Sky there's still so much Robert could offer, even quietly and behind the scenes. Like he says, he's got the tee shirt...

dulldave

andyrr wrote:

Some more written pieces like the Procycling bike reviews would be something a fair number of people would like as these were far more interesting

Stuff that, I've got a bike. I want him to write about pro racing :0)

Aggieboy

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

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

Politics for you, Robert!

jerry3571

Hello Mr Millar again,
Question1- Do you live in Uk (reports of living in the south west of England??) or is abroad better or a bit of both. I don't like to know where you live as that's your business.
Question2- Do you have to work now or do you do the hobby farming thing and wear a lot of tweed and be a country gent and own a Range Rover?
Question3- Did you think your pro career was an enjoyable experience and did it make your life better or are you spitting nails like Paul Kimmage is still doing and think the who Pro Cycling thing is cursed business?
Question4- Phil Liggett always said that in the Tour you would always be waiting for the Pyrenees Mountains. Were they your most favoured Mountains or is any Mountain good for you?

Any answer is a good answer for me; not fussy at all.

ynyswen24

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

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

What about the Suntour (if I remember right) that you had on the Le Groupment Bianchi's?

sing_for_absolution

I've enjoyed reading this thread. Tried to think of a good question to ask, but I'm too scared. Bit like that time I met Geraint Thomas at Newport velodrome

So Mr Millar, what's your view on race radios?

gotheteeshirt2

ynyswen24 wrote:

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

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

What about the Suntour (if I remember right) that you had on the Le Groupment Bianchi's?

Suntour ???........................then you'll be wanting SRAM or Mavic.

As for the Groupie' Bianchi , I think they had rebranded Campag Ergo levers and a stickered-up Dura Ace rear mech :? . There was mucho swearing from the mecanic's truck in making that combination work :oops:

gotheteeshirt2

sing_for_absolution wrote:

what's your view on race radios?

Tweeting is the future

gattocattivo

gtts2 - it's great to see you posting here - you were my cycling hero when i first started racing as a teenager (too young to have seen the 84 KotM, but vividly recall the stage win against Delgado in 89).

What do you make of the current climbers? Can you see anyone beating Contador in the near future? What advice would you give Wiggins?

(Feel free to ignore these questions )

ynyswen24

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

What about the Suntour (if I remember right) that you had on the Le Groupment Bianchi's?

Suntour ???........................then you'll be wanting SRAM or Mavic[/quote]

Mavic? Not the Mektronic? That worked so well that I remember Chris Boardman unofficially fitting a gripshifter to one of his aero bars in a UK time trial when he was riding for Gan

Do you still have the custom frame you had after retiring that was painted in Bianchi Celeste? I could never see who had built that for you but it looked nice.

Another great memory: You turning yourself inside out to keep Ronan Pensec in the yellow jersey at the expense of your own chances while riding for Z Peugeot. That was a brilliant, selfless ride (But did Pensec really run away to see the Sex Pistols when he was a teenager?)

afx237vi

andyrr wrote:

I'll need to go off and watch The High Life (on VHS) now - great wee film,.

Speaking of which... any chance of this ever being released on DVD? I saw it on Youtube but it's not the same.

ynyswen24

afx237vi wrote:

andyrr wrote:

I'll need to go off and watch The High Life (on VHS) now - great wee film,.

Speaking of which... any chance of this ever being released on DVD? I saw it on Youtube but it's not the same.

www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/shop

or telephone 020 8726 8403, it's £18.99

(they've also got A Sunday In Hell which was previously withdrawn and is THE BEST CYCLING DOCUMENTARY EVER MADE, apparently...

afx237vi

ynyswen24 wrote:

afx237vi wrote:

andyrr wrote:

I'll need to go off and watch The High Life (on VHS) now - great wee film,.

Speaking of which... any chance of this ever being released on DVD? I saw it on Youtube but it's not the same.

www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/shop

or telephone 020 8726 8403, it's £18.99

(they've also got A Sunday In Hell which was previously withdrawn and is THE BEST CYCLING DOCUMENTARY EVER MADE, apparently...

Oooh, nice. I had no idea it had come out on DVD. £19 is a bit steep though :shock:

ynyswen24

afx237vi wrote:

Oooh, nice. I had no idea it had come out on DVD. £19 is a bit steep though :shock:

As far as I know it's got about an hours worth of extras on it that weren't on the VHS.

simon_e

afx237vi wrote:

andyrr wrote:

I'll need to go off and watch The High Life (on VHS) now - great wee film,.

Speaking of which... any chance of this ever being released on DVD? I saw it on Youtube but it's not the same.

http://www.bromleyvideo.com/shop/shop.php?c=viewproduct&pid=283&cat=4

BTW at the bottom of a Times article about Team Sky is a list titled 'Best of British at the Tour'. Robert is included, of course, with the description:

"The enigmatic Scot was King of the Mountains in 1984 and is the only rider from an English-speaking country to win that title"

The emphasis is mine, but when you think of great riders like Hampsten, LeMond, Roche, some bloke from Texas, the Aussies, Kiwis and even the great British contingent from the 50s and 60s.... RM is the only one. And only Hampsten matched him in the Giro.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Mountains

mroli

I just wanted to add my name to the list of people thanking Robert for his time, his input and the inspiration given by his achievements.

If I asked a question, it would be - does he look at the set-up for British cycling now and think that it would have suited him and made him an even better rider? Or does he feel that his character, his idiosyncracies and determination made things possible for him outside of the "system"?

I would love to see him imparting some of his knowledge and wisdom to current cyclists - current British Cycling's thoughts seem to be that you try and get every tiny thing right and that will result in the big things coming right - surely the advice of a Robert Millar would be invaluable.

Garrigou

Is it just me, or does reading this thread leave you feeling like (you imagine) Moses must have done when he'd just had God dictate the Ten Commandments?!

To RM - another thank you. Even the Kelloggs Start advert was fantastic.

I have the good fortune to live just 15 miles from the climb to Superbagneres and I ride it 10 times a year. But I can never go up that final kilometre without the commentary from 1989 buzzing around inside my head. One of the great days....

I guess you'd have quite fancied the Pau-Tourmalet stage of next year's Tour for a 'bit of a dig'?

cloud

aye thanks robert for posting here and respect for everything you achieved on the bike, from another inspired scottish fan.

have a great 2010

cheers

micron

Best thread I've read in ages - took me right back to waiting impatiently for the C4 TdF highlights to come on so I could watch a certain great climber in action. Some amazing memories so would just like to add my own thanks for every one of them and for having had the privilege of watching you ride.

ynyswen24

Yes, this has been excellent. It would be great if Robert felt like coming out to play more often, it's great having him around.

mercsport

Another opportunity to trot out this picture !

Good to see Robert is still about and still interested. I thought he'd like to see what happened to a bike I bought in response to his hearty recommendation in a review of his in Pro Cycling or somesuch magazine of the time. I forget which.

This is, or rather, was, 'a Raleigh Special Products' titanium jobby :



No, I'm not peeved with him at all -grateful in fact - as it was the best bike I'd ever had and had the most fun on. But his conclusion, if I remember right, " last a lifetime", was a wee bit wide of the mark. :shock:

I don't want to worry Robert though. There is a long story as to why it snapped in this manner which involves serial abuse. Otherwise, yeah, it should've lasted a lifetime.

Bronzie

Garrigou wrote:

he'd just had God dictate the Ten Commandments?!

Speaking of which, can anyone remember any of the "top tips for a pro cyclist" that I seem to remember Robert writing in an article (Cycling Weekly?) probably about 15 or 20 years ago now?

Stuff like:
- "Don't stand when you can sit, don't sit when you can lie down"
- "Don't have the window open in car, you'll get a chill"
- "Don't have an ice-cold drink after a race, it'll make you sick"

I'd never really realised until then how much the immune system is weakened by the extreme nature of professional cycling. These guys were spending most of their free time trying to avoid picking up infections. A fascinating insight into some of the realities of being a professional athlete at the highest level.

yourpaceormine

..don't wear slippers 'til you're old




Sorry, been too in awe to post. GTT2 - thank you for being the rider you were/probably still are. As a callow youth I was dead proud of my Peugeot Robert Millar autograph bike. Shame I spray painted it blue when I was about 19!

hazychris

Thoroughly enjoyable thread - many thanks to Robert for being himself, and to all the other contributors for respecting that.

I'm really looking forward to more of the same!

Season's greetings to all.

lfcquin

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

Tweeting is the future

Are you tweeting then? Would you share your profile name? It would be great to hear your views on cycling and other subjects on a regular basis.

As many others have mentioned thanks for taking the time to answer questions and give us your insights.

gotheteeshirt2

lfcquin wrote:

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

Tweeting is the future

Are you tweeting then? Would you share your profile name? It would be great to hear your views on cycling and other subjects on a regular basis.
As many others have mentioned thanks for taking the time to answer questions and give us your insights.

NO I don't tweet

In place of race radios I'd expect to see some form of messaging appear on bike computers when orders need to be given and even more likely GPS based updates on when something important /dangerous is approaching on race routes .No more DS shouting in earpieces will be replaced by ringtone alerts :shock:
Crazy frog anyone ?

nick hanson

mercsport wrote:

Another opportunity to trot out this picture !

Good to see Robert is still about and still interested. I thought he'd like to see what happened to a bike I bought in response to his hearty recommendation in a review of his in Pro Cycling or somesuch magazine of the time. I forget which.

This is, or rather, was, 'a Raleigh Special Products' titanium jobby :



No, I'm not peeved with him at all -grateful in fact - as it was the best bike I'd ever had and had the most fun on. But his conclusion, if I remember right, " last a lifetime", was a wee bit wide of the mark. :shock:

I don't want to worry Robert though. There is a long story as to why it snapped in this manner which involves serial abuse. Otherwise, yeah, it should've lasted a lifetime.

sem to rmembr you used it for heavy duty touring?
There is such a thing as 'fit for purpose'!!
Ps, I have a Raleigh titanium ( the version with the mega downtube) & It's ace
built into a very light bike with Record 10 speed etc

dave_1

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

lfcquin wrote:

gotheteeshirt2 wrote:

Tweeting is the future

Are you tweeting then? Would you share your profile name? It would be great to hear your views on cycling and other subjects on a regular basis.
As many others have mentioned thanks for taking the time to answer questions and give us your insights.

NO I don't tweet

In place of race radios I'd expect to see some form of messaging appear on bike computers when orders need to be given and even more likely GPS based updates on when something important /dangerous is approaching on race routes .No more DS shouting in earpieces will be replaced by ringtone alerts :shock:
Crazy frog anyone ?

Virtual DS's too? :shock: Where would it end? What would teams need other than race mechanic behind the race? and how long till race convoys get trimmed down by legislation relating to carbon emissions by organisers of all major sports events?

mercsport

nick hanson wrote:

sem to rmembr you used it for heavy duty touring?
There is such a thing as 'fit for purpose'!!
Ps, I have a Raleigh titanium ( the version with the mega downtube) & It's ace
built into a very light bike with Record 10 speed etc

"you used it for heavy duty touring?
There is such a thing as 'fit for purpose'!"

Yes, indeed. :oops:

Plus, I'd rear ended a car two or three years beforehand and verticalised the head-tube. After straightening it all out again, a crease remained on the underside of the down-tube adjacent to the head-tube. But everything seemed to be true enough and it rode as well as before. Strangely, perhaps, the snap occurred further down the tube than the crease. I haven't worked that one out yet. :? But, yes it was "ace". 8)

On the 'Reminiscences of Robert' here : the last time I saw the lad was at the bottom of Holme Moss where he was shoulder to shoulder with Chiapucci, and a bunch of others. The 'Leeds Classic' was it ? Did Chiapucci win it that day ? :?

This picture was whipped from the Wiki' on Robert.