Philippa York
Template:Cyclist infobox Robert Millar (born 13 September 1958) is a former Scottish professional cyclist who won the “King of the Mountains” competition and finished fourth in the 1984 Tour de France – the highest ever Tour finishing position for a British cyclist, and the first time that a Briton has won one of the major Tour classifications. He also achieved the highest ever finish by a Briton in the Giro d'Italia, finishing second in 1987 and winning the King of the Mountains classification too. He is also notable in that he was a vegetarian sportsman. He is not related to fellow Scot and cycling namesake David Millar.
Early life
Raised in Glasgow and at one time destined for a career as a factory engineer, Robert Millar was a leading amateur road racing rider. Riding for Glasgow Wheelers cycling club, he won the Scottish junior title in 1976 and was Scottish hill-climb champion the following year.
In 1978, Millar established himself firmly on the British scene. He was 21st in the Milk Race, and won the British amateur road race championship. He then moved to France in 1979 to join the elite ACBB (Athletic Club Boulogne-Billancourt), then Europe's top amateur team. A year later, after retaining his British road race title, taking fourth place in the world amateur road race championship, claiming five race victories in France and winning the French 'Best Amateur' Trophy, he turned professional for the Peugeot cycling team, and as a climbing specialist focused on single-day road races and stage races in hilly or mountainous terrain.
Professional career
His early professional career included high finishing positions in the Tour of Vaucluse (3rd in 1980), Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré (7th in 1981 and second in 1983), Tour of Romandie (7th in 1981 and 1982) and Tour de l'Avenir (second in 1982).
In 1983, he rode the Tour de France for the first time, finishing 14th on general classification and winning stage 10, Pau-Bagneres de Luchon. That year also saw him take second place in the Dauphiné Libéré stage race.
1984 saw continued improvement. In the early season Paris-Nice stage "Race to the Sun" he held the overall lead for a while before taking 6th place, and in the Tour de Romandie he took fifth place overall, the Mountains competition and a stage win at Crans-Montana. It was all good preparation for the Tour de France – he finished fourth overall (surpassing Tom Simpson's sixth place in the 1960s) and won "King of the Mountains", aided by another mountain stage victory on stage 11 from Pau to Guzet-Neige.
In 1985, he won the Volta a Catalunya and took another sixth place in Paris-Nice. He also raced well in the Vuelta a España, finishing second overall and taking a stage win (both feats he repeated in 1986), but in the Tour de France he finished 11th. Riding for the Dutch Panasonic team in 1987, Millar got his first taste of the Giro d'Italia, finishing second, taking a stage victory and the mountains competition. In the Tour de Romandie, he finished fourth; in the Tour de France 19th.
In 1988, Millar rode for the French Fagor team and managed his best finishing position in a one-day 'Monument' Classic, grabbing third in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
In 1989, racing for the Z-Peugeot team, he was close to victory in the Dauphiné Libéré, taking a stage en route to second place overall. In the Tour de France, he finished 10th and added another final stage victory to his palmares, taking stage 10 from Cauterets to Superbagnères. He also won the Tour of Britain.
Victory in the Dauphiné Libéré finally arrived in 1990, along with a fourth place in another Classic, the Giro di Lombardia. In between, he also took second place in the 1990 Tour of Britain.
During the mid-1980's Millar could also be seen appearing television commercials for Kelloggs Start cereal.
Later career
However, the final years of his professional career were relatively less successful. Riding for the Dutch TVM Squad, he completed the Tour de France in 1991 (72nd), 1992 (18th) and 1993 (24th), and the Vuelta in 1992 (20th) and 1993 (15th), and achieved numerous top 10 finishes, but victories eluded him. His final major victory came in June 1995 when he dominated and won the British road race championship. However, soon after, his French team, Le Groupement, went bust and Millar quietly retired from the professional ranks.
However, he retained an interest in cycling. In 1997 he became British coach, and in 1998 he managed the Scottish team in the PruTour, an eight-day round-Britain stage race.
Millar also was employed as a cycling journalist, mainly testing out new products due to his expert background, but in more recent years he has cut his ties with the sport. In 2003 he was inducted to the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame but didn't attend the induction ceremony.
A book about Millar - In Search of Robert Millar, written by Richard Moore - was published by HarperCollins in 2007.
Palmares
- 1980 - no wins
- 3rd Tour of Vaucluse.
- 8th Tour of Romandie.
- 5th National Championship.
- 1981 - no wins
- 7th, Tour of Romandie.
- 7th Dauphine Libere.
- 5th Tour de l'Aude.
- 5th GP Gippingen.
- 1982 - no wins
- 7th Tour of Romandie.
- 2nd Tour de l'Avenir.
- 1983 - 1 win
- Tour de France
- winner stage 10
- 14th place overall
- 3rd Dauphine Libere.
- 1984 - 3 wins
- Tour de France
King of the Mountains- Winner stage 11
- Tour of Romandie: Winner stage 2
- Midi Libre: Stage 11
- 2nd Nice-Alassio.
- 2nd Tour of Haut Var.
- 6th Paris-Nice.
- 5th Tour of Romandie.
- 4th Midi Libre.
- 4th Tour de France.
- 6th World Championship.
- 7th Volta a Catalunya.
- 1985 - 1 win
- Volta a Catalunya overall.
- 7th Tour of Haut Var.
- 6th Paris-Nice.
- 6th Criterium International.
- 6th Tour Midi-Pyrenees.
- 2nd Tour of Spain.
- 9th Dauphine Libere.
- 4th GP Wallonia.
- 3rd Tour of Piedmont.
- 1986 - 1 win
- Vuelta a España:
- 2nd place overall
- Winner stage
- 6th Tour of Aragon.
- 2nd Tour of Switzerland.
- 7th Montjuich hill-climb.
- 1987 - 2 wins
- Giro d'Italia
- 2nd place overall
- Winner stage 21
- 6th Tour of the Mediterranean.
- 7th Catalan Week.
- 5th Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
- 4th Tour of Romandie.
- 1988 - no wins
- 9th Paris-Nice.
- 3rd Criterium International.
- 3rd Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
- 6th Tour of Spain.
- 3rd Rut de Sud.
- 2nd Bicicleta Vasca.
- 8th Volta a Catalunya.
- 1989 - 4 wins
- Tour of Romandie: stage 4
- Dauphiné Libéré: Stage 7
- Tour de France: stage 10
- Tour of Britain: overall
- 7th GP Bessesges.
- 8th GP Cannes.
- 8th Paris-Camembert.
- 8th Tour of Vaucluse.
- 2nd Gp Wallonia.
- 3rd Tour of Romandie.
- 2nd Dauphine Libere.
- 6th National Championship.
- 9th GP of Americas.
- 1990 - 2 wins
- Winner Dauphiné Libéré
- Winner Stage four, Tour de Romandie
- 4th Tour of Andalucia.
- 7th GP Rennes.
- 9th Fleche Wallone.
- 2nd Tour of Switzerland.
- 2nd Tour of Britain.
- 4th GP Ouest France.
- 4th Giro di Lombardia.
- 1991 - 1 win
- Winner stage five, Tour of Switzerland.
- 2nd Tour of Romandie.
- 2nd Classique des Alpes.
- 4th Dauphine Libere.
- 5th Tour of Switzerland.
- 4th Tour of Britain.
- 5th GP of Americas.
- 1992 - no wins
- 9th Catalan Week.
- 9th Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
- 9th Tour of Britain.
- 6th Tour of Lazio.
- 7th Tour of Piedmont.
- 1993 - no wins
- 9th Classique des Alpes.
- 7th Tour of Asturias.
- 6th Midi Libre.
- 2nd Tour of the Mining Valleys.
- 5th National Championship.
- 1994 - no wins
- 9th Tour of Galicia.
- 4th Climber's Trophy.
- 6th Coppa Piacci.
- 7th Coppa Sabatini.
- 1995 - no wins
- National Championship run as the Manx Trophy.
- 9th Classique des Alpes.
