Robert Millar

Robert Millar is an old runner Scottish cyclist born the September 13rd 1958 with Glasgow.

Millar is originating in Gorbals, a working district of Glasgow. Of modest milieu it uses initially the bicycle as means of transport, then discovers the cycling of competition at the 16 years age, immediately showing exceptional aptitudes for this sport since the road rises. In 1978 he is crowned champion of Great Britain amateur. He decides to try his chance on the continent and lands in France with AC Boulogne-Billancourt, one of the largest clubs amateurs of the time which accommodates each year several anglophone runners. Very a good season 1979 with the punctuated ACBB of one victory to the Road of France is worth to him a professional contract with the prestigious Peugeot team.

The professional beginnings of Robert Millar are difficult. Shy person, vegetarian, individualist, the Scot and his loop of ear have evil to be melted in the mould of a very traditional French team. It is characterized nevertheless by a beautiful service with the championships from world 1980 from Sallanches, accompanying the future winner Bernard Hinault until the last turn of circuit to finish finally 11th. Millar settles in Troyes and binds friendship with its fellow-member Pascal Simon. It improves in French and dream to make his beginnings in the Tour de France. However time passes and Maurice To moult, mythical sport director of Peugeot continuous to consider Millar too fragile and fundamentally limited apart from the mountain. To moult offer to him few days of races and the few certificates of merit glanés by the Scot at the time of races with one week stages hardly impress it. The day before the departure of the Turn 1982, Millar is isolated of the Peugeot team at the last time with the profit of the Chalmel veteran. Furious, the Scot develops the things at the time of the Turn of the Future 1982 qu ' it finishes in the 2nd place behind untouchable a Greg LeMond. The following year it hangs the podium on the Dauphine one and can finally take part in the Tour de France. It gains the Pyrenean stage, whereas the Peugeot team deplores the bad luck of Pascal Simon which, victim of a fall, cannot defend its yellow jersey in the Alps.

In 1984, a tandem made up of Roland Berland and Roger Legeay replace Maurice To moult with the head of the sporting group Peugeot. Millar is seen entrusting new responsibilities within the team and appears with the height of the challenge, obtaining the 4th place with the Tour de France as well as the shirt with pea of better climbing. Discrete the small climbing Scot became the leader in fact of Peugeot, which is not without causing some squeakings of teeth within the team. In 1985, the Scot finishes 2nd Turn of Spain behind Pedro Delgado. It is about a bitter defeat for Millar, victim of a not very glorious coalition of all the Iberian sporting groups whereas he increases the shirt of leader to two days of the arrival. Millar retains especially this mishap the weakness of Peugeot and the naivety of its owner Roland Berland. It does not hide any more its intention to change air in order to find a team enabling him to give a new dimension to its career. Environment is thus not with the good shape at Peugeot during Tour de France 1985 that Millar finishes in disappointing a 11th place. The Scot maintains his row by gaining his first race with stages in the pros, the Turn of Catalonia removed to the nose and the beard of Sean Kelly. It is at that time that Millar marries Sylvie, the sister-in-law of Jerome Simon (the brother of Pascal) who will give him a son, Edward. As he had said, Millar leaves the Peugeot house for the powerful formation Panasonic Dutchwoman directed by the very martial Peter Post, this transfer constituting an excellent operation for the British on the financial plan. Millar fails however still Vuelta, beaten this time by Alvaro Pino. In the Tour de France 1986, very mountainous, one presents it like one of the principal rivals of Hinault and LeMond. Millar makes illusion to the Alps then explodes literally, to the great displeasure of Post. In 1987 the Scot aligns himself with the Turn of Italy within a very strong Panasonic formation, which will place four men in the ten first of general classification. Pulled about between the ambitions of its young team-member Erik Breukink and its friendship with Stephen Rock, Millar carries out a race far too wait and see and must be satisfied with a news 2nd place with the final classification, with the Grand Prix of the mountain and a stage like consolation prizes.

In 1988, tired by the role of leader and the pressure which it implies, Millar decides to be put at the service of his/her friend Roche within the Fagor team. Unfortunately the Irishman is wounded during the major part of the season and the relationship with the sponsor becomes increasingly tended to the wire of the months. Millar, passably tested, scrambled with Rock, then decides to return to the " bercail" in fact Peugeot, become since two years Z-Peugeot. It finds there Roger Legeay and the pleasure of running. It gains, inter alia, the Dauphine one as well as the Turn of Great Britain and does not hesitate to pay its person to assist Ronan Pensec and Greg Lemond at the time of the Turn 1990. At 33 years, Millar leaves however Z for Dutch group TVM and a beautiful handle of guilders. On the decline, it hardly any more shines, and its career will remain sullied by a positive control with testosterone, at the time of the Tour of Spain 1992. The last employer of Millar is the Grouping in 1995, new formation whose leader is Luc Leblanc. It is with the fiasco bringing the premature end of this in June team that the professional path of Robert is completed… three days after it has just gained at 37 years, and for the first time of its career, the championship of Great Britain at the professionals.

Reprocessed groups, Millar remains in the medium of the bicycle initially as consultant for the British federation of cycling (BCF). In 1997 it deals with the amateur team of Great Britain, officiating for example with the Turn of the Future in the capacity as sport director. Wearied ceaseless quarrels within the BCF, it throws sponge in 1998 however. Between 1996 and 2002 Millar also collaborates in many English magazines and American, evoking the competition or the material with a feather incisor. , Mined since it by tax and family problems on the two sides of the English Channel seems, Robert Millar gradually disappeared from the landscape cyclist then very short landscape, so much so that one could not say today in which country it resides, whereas the most insane rumors run about it to England. A biography of this cyclist with share left on the other side of the channel in June 2007 and its title is eloquent: In Search off Robert Millar is in the search of Robert Millar.

Prize list

Among amateurs:

Champion of Great Britain 1978 and 1979
Paris-Evreux 1979
Road of France 1979
4th of the championship of the world with Valkenburg (Netherlands)

At the professionals:

2nd of the Turn of the Future 1982
3rd of the Critérium of Dauphiné Libéré 1983
5th of the Turn of Romandie 1984
4th of the Tour de France 1984
2nd of the Turn of Spain 1985 and 1986
1st Turn of Catalonia 1985
2nd of the Turn of Switzerland 1986 and 1990
4th of the Turn of Romandie 1984
2nd of the Turn of Italy 1987
5th of Liege-Bastogne-Liege 1987
3rd of international Critérium 1988
3rd of Liege-Bastogne-Liege 1988
3rd of the Turn of Romandie 1989
2nd of Critérium of Dauphine-Released 1989
1st of Critérium of Dauphine released 1990
4th of the Turn of Lombardy 1990
2nd of the Turn of Romandie 1991
4th of Critérium of Dauphiné Libéré 1991
Champion of Great Britain 1995

Successive professional teams

1980 to 1981: Peugeot - Esso - Michelin (France)
1982 to 1985: Peugeot - Shell - Michelin (France)
1986: Panasonic (Netherlands)
1987: Panasonic - Isostar (Netherlands)
1988: Fagor - MBK (France)
1989: Z - Peugeot (France)
1990 to 1991: Z (France)
1992: TVM - Sanyo (Netherlands)
1993 to 1994: TVM - Bison Kit (Netherlands)
1995: The Grouping (France)

Tour de France

Its best final classification on the Tour de France was 4th in 1984. It gained three stages in 1983, 1984 and 1989 and the Grand Prix of the mountain in 1984.

11 participations of 1983 to 1993,
1984: Victoire with the classification of best climbing,
its classifications: 4th in 1984, 10th in 1989, 11th in 1985, 14th in 1983, 18th in 1992, 19th in 1987,24e in 1993,72e in 1991,
3 victories of stages,

1983 stage n°10: Pau Bagnères-of-Luchon (201 km),
1984 stage n°11: Pau Guzet-Snow (226,5 km),
1989 stage n°10: Cauterets Luchon-Superbagnères (136 km),

13 passages or arrivals at the head at the tops of the collars.

Random links: