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In Search of Robert Millar
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Unravelling The Mystery Surrounding Britain`s Most Successful Tour De France Cyclist
By Richard Moore
Paperback - 336 pages
PB723502
`A classic bird-like climber, light ands wiry in build, Millar was the best British cyclist, all round, since Tom Simpson`. William Fotheringham
Not just a sports biography but a probing insight into the mysterious and often flawed world of pro cycling.
`This book is by far the best cycling book that I have read bah none!`
The compelling story of perhaps Britain`s best-ever cyclist -- one of the most enigmatic, complex and contradictory athletes in any sport -- and the unravelling of the puzzle surrounding his sudden and dramatic disappearance. Robert Millar came from one of Europe`s most industrialised cities, Glasgow, and yet excelled in the most unlikely
terrain -- over the high mountain passes of the Pyrenees and the Alps.
He was crowned King of the Mountains during the 1984 Tour de France and remains the only ever Briton to finish on the podium of the world`s toughest race.
In attitude and appearance he was unconventional -- the malnourished-looking young Scot with the tiny stud in his ear who could be prickly, irascible and unapproachable -- but to many followers he was the epitome of cool. Flying the flag for British cycling, this one-off original became a cult hero.
In Search of Robert Millar traces his career, from his tough childhood on the streets of Glasgow in the 1960s to his move to France and success including the controversy surrounding his positive drugs test and his enforced retirement from the sport at the age of 36. It examines what set Millar apart from all other British cyclists who tried, and failed, to make an impact in this most European of sports, describing his single-mindedness, his eccentricity and the humour and intelligence that emerged only towards the end of his career.
It also proffers explanations for his subsequent disappearance, which repeated a familiar pattern: he vanished from Glasgow and never returned; he left his wife and son and his adopted country, France. Now, it appears, he has turned his back on cycling amid rumours that he had undergone a major trans-gender operation.
Through interviews with his friends, acquaintances and cycling colleagues author Richard Moore helps to unravel the mystery of this maverick Scotsman.
`THE HIGH LIFE` The brillant film featuring Robert Millar is now available on DVD. Buy both and save £ 5.00.
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