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in search of robert millar by richard moore 352pp illus. published by harpersport june 4 2007 hardback £15.99

king of the mountains in the tour de france, second in the tour of italy, twice second in the tour of spain, king of the mountains in the tour of italy, winner of the dauphine libere, and the only british rider to win stages in the three major tours...

if you've read thewashingmachinepost and its associated offerings often enough over the years, you should by now be well acquainted with robert millar. or at least with his sporting legacy. there are countless numbers of cyclists, scots and of other descent, who were first introduced to this most beautiful of sports by robert millar's success in the 1984 tour de france. having watched millar climb rather quickly up a few alps, i figured it would be a piece of cake to do likewise over dundonald hill in ayrshire. needless to say i never received the call up from the peugeot team.

and it is because of this inspiration and legacy that thewashingmachinepost searched the archives (with much willing assistance from other millar devotees) to give them a home here. fortunately someone far more able than i, has had the presence of mind to put it all in a book - richard moore was a member of the 1998 scottish team entered in that year's pru-tour managed by robert millar.

i doubt that it can be presented too often that this diminutive scotsman from the gorbals in glasgow, not only wore the polka dot jersey to the podium in paris in 1984, but came fourth overall. to date, this is still by far scotland's (and by inference, britain's) finest result in this annual extravaganza of world cycling. he was also part of the 'british legion', the heyday of british cyclists abroad, that included sean yates, malcolm elliot, joey mcloughlin et al. robert 'retired' from professional cycling in 1995, arguably on a high (he won the british championship) but also on a low, since the team to which he was contracted for that year - le groupement - folded before reaching the tour de france, leaving robert high and dry and one tour short of equalling the british record of tour starts.

interestingly, the first real public face experienced by the british reading public was of a millar very much at odds with the reputation gained as a professional rider. he edited a special edition of cycle sport magazine before ending up as a regular bike tester for procycling magazine. and in each case his writings were warm, accurate, humorous and enlightening.

if you've ever watched the 1985 granada tv documentary 'the high life' which followed millar's post polka dot season (during which the same level of success eluded him in le tour) you will have cringed with sympathy for poor keith bingham trying to interview him at the end of a mountain stage. millar's brusque, 'don't suffer fools gladly' persona was one that seems to have been cultivated (consciously or otherwise) in his teenage years and carried on into his cycling career. To quote from the book: '...Robert wouldn't become one of the crowd...He wouldn't mix because he was focused on what he wanted to do.'

millar wasn't in cycling for the glory, he was in it to win, and to be the best cyclist he could manage. everything else was of secondary importance if, indeed, it even merited such status. One of robert's former managers is quoted as saying: 'The challenge with Robert was to get him to tell people to fuck off in a courteous way.'

richard moore has left no stone unturned in his search for robert millar. he has tracked down and interviewed many associated with robert's early career such as billy bilsland, and several of his team mates throughout his professional career: alan peiper, wayne bennington, atle kvalsvoll, sean yates and many others. suffice it to say that all hold millar in high esteem. moore has also detailed many facets of millars post racing career, including his brief flirtation with national coaching, where he often rode the races in order to watch the progress (or otherwise) of his charges.

after ceasing monthly bike tests for procycling magazine, millar effectively disappeared off the face of the earth. one or two kept in touch, most notably former motorola pro and now cycling.tv commentator brian smith, but it appears that contact is entirely at millar's discretion. unable to speak face to face with millar, richard made contact with millar through a third party to inform him he was about to embark upon the book project. 'the response was surprisingly positive, by which i mean that he didn't tell me to fuck off.'

and the crowning glory, after millar saying that he wouldn't/couldn't help with the book is the final chapter: millar's e-mail correspondence with richard moore - one of the most enlightening and exciting chapters i have ever read anywhere, anytime, any genre. it makes me immensely proud to say that richard asked me to proof the original draft of this book at the end of 2006, and i was so consumed by the whole thing, that i was reading and proofing quicker than richard was writing - he e-mailed, and i read.

in january 2007 harper collins sent me a draft copy, and i read the whole thing cover to cover (over 350 pages) again over the course of a couple of days. it really is that good, if not better. every now and again, a book comes along that effectively transcends its subject matter; by which i mean the reader needs not to have an specialist interest, because it's just a great book. the last one to come by that fitted this description was tony hewson's 'les nomades du velo anglais.'

it's all here in 'the search for robert millar', start to finish, warts and all, refreshingly written and without the sensationalism implied by the precis that appeared on amazon.co.uk late last year and subsequently reprinted on the post's robert millar pages. the book also reveals several photos from millar's career that you will not have seen before. it's published on monday june 4, so please form an orderly queue, and buy a second copy for someone you like.

'Millar's only real 'presence' these days is thanks to an unoffical web-based fan club run from the small island of Islay off the west coast of Scotland - which somehow seems suitably obscure.'

richard moore will be presenting a talk at the old kiln cafe, ardbeg distillery on the evening of 17th june 2007 and will sign copies of 'in search of robert millar'

if you've arrived at this page from a search link, and you'd like to see thewashingmachinepost in all its glory, click here. you will still be able to access all the robert millar pages from the navigation.

in search of robert millar by richard moore 352pp illus. published by harpersport june 4 2007 hardback £15.99

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