Robert Millar
Encyclopedia
Robert Millar is a former Scottish
professional cyclist who won the “King of the Mountains
” competition in the 1984 Tour de France
and finished fourth overall – sharing the highest Tour position for a British
cyclist with Bradley Wiggins
, and the first time a Briton had won a major Tour classification. He also achieved the highest finish by a Briton in the Giro d'Italia
, finishing second in the 1987 event
and winning the King of the Mountains classification too. He was a vegetarian. Millar remains the only rider from an English speaking country to have won the Tour de France King of the Mountains title and one of only two Britons to have won a Tour de France jersey competition. He is not related to fellow Scottish cyclist David Millar
.
and at one time destined for a career as a factory
engineer
, he attended Shawlands Academy
in the south of the city. Willie Gibb, a Scottish National Road Champion, recalls what Millar was like growing up 'Even at school he had a total disregard for what people thought of him and he was very obstinate,' explains Gibb. "I mean, I knew him from when we were at primary school and at fifteen you would say he was a bit odd and that didn't change all the time I knew him. He was a loner and he put off a lot of people in Scotland with his attitude" He initially began riding for Glenmarnock Wheelers cycling club
and quickly established himself as a leading amateur road racing
rider. He won the Scottish junior title in 1976 and was Scottish hill-climb
champion the following year.
In 1978, Millar established himself on the British scene. He was 21st in the Milk Race
, and won the British amateur road race championship. He moved to France
in 1979 to join the ACBB (Athletic Club Boulogne-Billancourt), one of Europe
's top amateur teams. Millar was as ever focused and quickly began winning races such the Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers
. This success brought him the admiration of his ACBB manager Claude Escalon. However his single minded persona
was also not going unnoticed. Whilst living in his Paris
flat a young British
rider by the name of Mark Bell
arrives, a little lost, finds a bed and tries to find his feet. Lying in his room, staring at the ceiling, he hears a noise in the kitchen and goes to investigate. He finds Millar, who says next to nothing to him, makes his dinner as Bell looks on, takes it back to his room and shuts the door behind him. Thus it is little wonder Jamie McGahan, a fellow Glaswegian who raced with Millar describes him as being a great rider but never being a very warm character.
In 1980, after retaining his British road title, taking fourth place in the world amateur road championship, claiming five wins 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 hill
y or mountain
ous terrain
.
While other British riders often found living away from home a problem, Millar was happy to travel abroad, and wasn't homesick. He married a French woman, and lived with her in France.
(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, winning stage 10 Pau-Bagneres de Luchon and finishing 14th overall and third in the mountain classification. That year he also came second in the Dauphiné Libéré stage race.
1984 saw continued improvement. In the early season Paris–Nice stage "Race to the Sun" he held the lead for a while before finishing sixth, and in the Tour de Romandie he took fifth place overall, the mountains competition and a stage at Crans-Montana
. It was preparation for the Tour de France
– he finished fourth (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 came sixth in Paris–Nice. He looked set to win the Vuelta a España
when leading overall with just two stages remaining. However a number of factors, including a collusion among the Spanish teams, combined on the penultimate stage to see the yellow jersey pass to Pedro Delgado
. Millar finished second overall before going on to the Tour de France
where he finished 11th. Riding for Panasonic team in 1986, Millar again finished second overall in the Vuelta a España
after another spell in yellow and a stage win at Lagos de Covadonga. He also finished second overall in the Tour de Suisse. In 1987 Millar rode the Giro d'Italia
, finishing second overall, taking a stage 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 position in a one-day 'Monument' Classic
, third in Liège–Bastogne–Liège. In the Tour de France
, he lost the opportunity of a repeat mountain stage win in Guzet-Neige when, sprinting uphill to the finish with Phillipe Bouvatier, both riders mistook a gendarme's signals, took a wrong turn and ceded the win to Massimo Ghirotto.
In 1989, racing for Z-Peugeot, he was close to victory in the Dauphiné Libéré, taking a stage en route to second place. In the Tour de France, he finished 10th and added stage 10 from Cauterets
to Superbagnères
. He also won the Tour of Britain
.
Victory in the Dauphiné Libéré arrived in 1990, along with a fourth place in the Giro di Lombardia. In between, he also took second place in the 1990 Tour of Britain
.
During the mid-1980s Millar appeared in television commercials for Kellogg's 'Start' cereal. A one-hour Granada Television
documentary about Millar's 1985 racing season, entitled The High Life, which also included appearances by Allan Peiper
and music by Steve Winwood
, was screened in Britain on the eve of the 1986 Tour de France
.
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 won the British road race championship
. However, soon afterwards, his French team, Le Groupement, went bust and Millar retired.
In 1997 he became British coach
, and in 1998 managed the Scottish team in the PruTour
, an eight-day round-Britain stage race.
Millar was also a cycling journalist, testing new products. He then cut his ties with the sport. In 2003 he was inducted to the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame but didn't attend the ceremony.
A 1985 TV documentary Robert Millar - The High Life was rediscovered and screened, simultaneously with the release of the book, at Edinburgh Bike Week Film Festival on 26 June 2007. A DVD version of the documentary was released in 2008.
Millar wrote an article for issue 13 of Rouleur Magazine
.
In 2009, he was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame
.
In 2011, Millar authored analytical opinions for Cyclingnews during the Tour de France.
1979 - 2 wins
1980 - no wins
1981 - no wins
1982 - no wins
1983 - 1 win
1984 - 3 wins
1985 - 1 win
1986 - 1 win
1987 - 2 wins
1988 - no wins
1989 - 4 wins
1990 - 2 wins
1991 - 1 win
1992 - no wins
1993 - no wins
1994 - no wins
1995 - 1 win
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
professional cyclist who won the “King of the Mountains
King of the Mountains
The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race; usually and officially known as the Mountains classification...
” competition in the 1984 Tour de France
1984 Tour de France
The 1984 Tour de France was the 71st Tour de France, run over 4020.9 km in 23 stages and a prologue, from 29 June to 22 July 1984.French rider Laurent Fignon won his second consecutive Tour, beating former teammate Bernard Hinault by over 10 minutes. Hinault was pursuing his fifth Tour...
and finished fourth overall – sharing the highest Tour position for a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cyclist with Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE is a British professional track and road bicycle racer, currently riding for Team Sky. Wiggins' career began on the track, where he specialised in the pursuit and madison disciplines....
, and the first time a Briton had won a major Tour classification. He also achieved the highest finish by a Briton in the Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
, finishing second in the 1987 event
1987 Giro d'Italia
The 1987 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 70th running of the race, was held from 21 May to 13 June 1987, consisting of 22 stages. It was won by Stephen Roche.The defending champion Roberto Visentini returned with a strong team to win his second Giro...
and winning the King of the Mountains classification too. He was a vegetarian. Millar remains the only rider from an English speaking country to have won the Tour de France King of the Mountains title and one of only two Britons to have won a Tour de France jersey competition. He is not related to fellow Scottish cyclist David Millar
David Millar
David Millar is a British road racing cyclist riding for . He has won three stages of the Tour de France, two of the Vuelta a España and one Stage of the Giro d'Italia. He was the British national road champion and the national time trial champion, both in 2007...
.
Early life
Raised in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and at one time destined for a career as a factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, he attended Shawlands Academy
Shawlands Academy
Shawlands Academy is a non-denominational secondary school on the southside of Glasgow, Scotland.-Admissions:It has a roll of approximately 1,250 pupils and 90 teachers...
in the south of the city. Willie Gibb, a Scottish National Road Champion, recalls what Millar was like growing up 'Even at school he had a total disregard for what people thought of him and he was very obstinate,' explains Gibb. "I mean, I knew him from when we were at primary school and at fifteen you would say he was a bit odd and that didn't change all the time I knew him. He was a loner and he put off a lot of people in Scotland with his attitude" He initially began riding for Glenmarnock Wheelers cycling club
Cycling club
A cycling club is a society for cyclists. It can be local or national, general or specialised. The Cyclists' Touring Club, CTC) in the United Kingdom is a national association; i-Team and are internet clubs; the Tricycle Association, Tandem Club and the Veterans Time Trial Association, for those...
and quickly established himself as a leading amateur road racing
Road racing
Road racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...
rider. He won the Scottish junior title in 1976 and was Scottish hill-climb
Hillclimbing (cycling)
A hill climb is a cycling event, as well as a basic skill of the sport. As events a hill climb may either be an individual time trial or a regular road race. A hill climb usually represents an event which gains altitude continuously, usually terminating at a summit. Well known hill climbs...
champion the following year.
In 1978, Millar established himself on the British scene. He was 21st in the Milk Race
Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, and won the British amateur road race championship. He moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1979 to join the ACBB (Athletic Club Boulogne-Billancourt), one of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's top amateur teams. Millar was as ever focused and quickly began winning races such the Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers
Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers
Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers is a road bicycle race held annually near Lillers, a commune in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. The editions 1964-1995 were reserved to amateurs...
. This success brought him the admiration of his ACBB manager Claude Escalon. However his single minded persona
Persona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
was also not going unnoticed. Whilst living in his Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
flat a young British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rider by the name of Mark Bell
Mark Bell (cyclist)
Mark Bell was an English professional cyclist from Birkenhead. He rode for Britain in the Olympic Games, won the national road championship as an amateur and then a professional and was the first foreigner to win the Étoile de Sud stage race in Belgium. He died at 49 after collapsing at his home...
arrives, a little lost, finds a bed and tries to find his feet. Lying in his room, staring at the ceiling, he hears a noise in the kitchen and goes to investigate. He finds Millar, who says next to nothing to him, makes his dinner as Bell looks on, takes it back to his room and shuts the door behind him. Thus it is little wonder Jamie McGahan, a fellow Glaswegian who raced with Millar describes him as being a great rider but never being a very warm character.
In 1980, after retaining his British road title, taking fourth place in the world amateur road championship, claiming five wins in France and winning the French 'Best Amateur' Trophy, he turned professional for the Peugeot cycling team
Peugeot (cycling team)
Peugeot team was a French professional cycling team that promoted and rode Peugeot racing bikes.It is listed as the most successful cycling team of all time, on www.cyclingranking.com, with a large margin on the second placed team, Alcyon.-History:...
, and as a climbing specialist focused on single-day road races and stage races in hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
y or mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
ous terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
.
While other British riders often found living away from home a problem, Millar was happy to travel abroad, and wasn't homesick. He married a French woman, and lived with her in France.
Professional career
His early professional career included high positions in the Tour of Vaucluse (3rd in 1980), Criterium du Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (7th in 1981 and second in 1983), Tour de RomandieTour de Romandie
The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs in the Romandie region, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling....
(7th in 1981 and 1982) and Tour de l'Avenir
Tour de l'Avenir
Tour de l'Avenir is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents. Riders competed in national teams...
(second in 1982).
In 1983, he rode the Tour de France
1983 Tour de France
The 1983 Tour de France was the 70th Tour de France, run from 1 to 22 July 1982 in 22 stages and a prologue, over a total distance of 3862 km., won by French rider Laurent Fignon. Sean Kelly of Ireland won the green jersey, and Lucien Van Impe of Belgium won the polka dot jersey...
for the first time, winning stage 10 Pau-Bagneres de Luchon and finishing 14th overall and third in the mountain classification. That year he also came second in the Dauphiné Libéré stage race.
1984 saw continued improvement. In the early season Paris–Nice stage "Race to the Sun" he held the lead for a while before finishing sixth, and in the Tour de Romandie he took fifth place overall, the mountains competition and a stage at Crans-Montana
Crans-Montana
Crans-Montana is a ski resort in western Switzerland, in the heart of the Swiss Alps in the canton of Valais. It is located on a plateau above Sierre at an elevation of about 1500 m above sea level, allowing good view over the Valais Alps and Weisshorn in particular...
. It was preparation for the Tour de France
1984 Tour de France
The 1984 Tour de France was the 71st Tour de France, run over 4020.9 km in 23 stages and a prologue, from 29 June to 22 July 1984.French rider Laurent Fignon won his second consecutive Tour, beating former teammate Bernard Hinault by over 10 minutes. Hinault was pursuing his fifth Tour...
– he finished fourth (surpassing Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson was the most successful English road racing cyclist of the post-war years. He infamously died of exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage of the Tour de France in 1967...
's sixth place in the 1960s) and won "King of the Mountains
King of the Mountains
The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race; usually and officially known as the Mountains classification...
", aided by another mountain stage victory on stage 11 from Pau to Guzet-Neige.
In 1985, he won the Volta a Catalunya and came sixth in Paris–Nice. He looked set to win the Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
when leading overall with just two stages remaining. However a number of factors, including a collusion among the Spanish teams, combined on the penultimate stage to see the yellow jersey pass to Pedro Delgado
Pedro Delgado
Pedro Delgado Robledo , also known as Perico, is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989....
. Millar finished second overall before going on to the Tour de France
1985 Tour de France
The 1985 Tour de France was the 72nd Tour de France, taking place June 28 to July 21, 1985, over 4109 km in 22 stages and a prologue.Bernard Hinault would attempt to equal the records of Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx who had each won the Tour de France five times. Hinault was unable to...
where he finished 11th. Riding for Panasonic team in 1986, Millar again finished second overall in the Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
after another spell in yellow and a stage win at Lagos de Covadonga. He also finished second overall in the Tour de Suisse. In 1987 Millar rode the Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
, finishing second overall, taking a stage 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
Fagor
Fagor is a large domestic and commercial appliance manufacturer based in the Basque Country, Spain. It is run by the Mondragon Corporation and is one of the fastest growing businesses in European Union...
team and managed his best position in a one-day 'Monument' Classic
Classic cycle races
The classic cycle races are one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. Most of the events, all run in western Europe, have been fixtures on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest ones date back to the 19th Century. They are normally held at roughly the same...
, third in Liège–Bastogne–Liège. In the Tour de France
1988 Tour de France
The 1988 Tour de France was the 75th Tour de France, taking place from July 4 to July 24, 1988. It consisted of 22 stages over 3281 km, ridden at an average speed of 38.909 km/h...
, he lost the opportunity of a repeat mountain stage win in Guzet-Neige when, sprinting uphill to the finish with Phillipe Bouvatier, both riders mistook a gendarme's signals, took a wrong turn and ceded the win to Massimo Ghirotto.
In 1989, racing for Z-Peugeot, he was close to victory in the Dauphiné Libéré, taking a stage en route to second place. In the Tour de France, he finished 10th and added stage 10 from Cauterets
Cauterets
Cauterets is a spa town, a ski resort and a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.-Geography:Cauterets is located southwest of Lourdes in the beautiful valley of the Gave de Cauterets and borders the Pyrenees National Park....
to Superbagnères
Superbagnères
Superbagnères is a ski resort above the town of Bagnères-de-Luchon in the French department of Haute-Garonne in the Midi-Pyrénées region.-Overview:...
. He also won the Tour of Britain
Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
.
Victory in the Dauphiné Libéré arrived in 1990, along with a fourth place in the Giro di Lombardia. In between, he also took second place in the 1990 Tour of Britain
Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
.
During the mid-1980s Millar appeared in television commercials for Kellogg's 'Start' cereal. A one-hour Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
documentary about Millar's 1985 racing season, entitled The High Life, which also included appearances by Allan Peiper
Allan Peiper
Allan Peiper is a former Australian road cyclist, who competed in five Tour De France races, with the last being the 1992 Tour de France. He is now a directeur sportif with Team Columbia....
and music by Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, was screened in Britain on the eve of the 1986 Tour de France
1986 Tour de France
The 1986 Tour de France was the 73rd Tour de France, taking place July 4 to July 27, 1986. The total race distance was 4094 km, distributed over 23 stages and a prologue. It was won by Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour...
.
Later career
The final years of his career were less successful. Riding for the Dutch TVMTVM (cycling team)
TVM was a Dutch road bicycle racing team. It folded in 2000, two years after suffering a doping scandal. Farm Frites continued as a sponsor in 2001 with the new team, .-Names:-Riders:...
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 won the British road race championship
British National Road Race Championships
The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
. However, soon afterwards, his French team, Le Groupement, went bust and Millar retired.
In 1997 he became British coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
, and in 1998 managed the Scottish team in the PruTour
Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, an eight-day round-Britain stage race.
Millar was also a cycling journalist, testing new products. He then cut his ties with the sport. In 2003 he was inducted to the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame but didn't attend the ceremony.
A 1985 TV documentary Robert Millar - The High Life was rediscovered and screened, simultaneously with the release of the book, at Edinburgh Bike Week Film Festival on 26 June 2007. A DVD version of the documentary was released in 2008.
Millar wrote an article for issue 13 of Rouleur Magazine
Rouleur Magazine
Rouleur is a bi-monthly British cycling magazine first published in 2006 by sportswear brand Rapha and now as a part of Rouleur Ltd. The focus is road racing but there have been excursions into areas such as cyclo-cross and Track Racing. It is edited by co-owner and founder Guy Andrews and it is...
.
In 2009, he was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame
British Cycling Hall of Fame
The British Cycling Hall of Fame was established in 2009 as part of British Cycling's 50th anniversary celebrations.On 17 December 2009, the names of fifty riders to be inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame were announced...
.
In 2011, Millar authored analytical opinions for Cyclingnews during the Tour de France.
Palmares
1978 - 2 wins- 23rd Commonwealth GamesCommonwealth GamesThe Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
, Road race - 6th Overall, Sealink International
British National championshipBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Amateur)- 1st Tour of the Peak
1979 - 2 wins
- 1st Grand Prix de la Ville de LillersGrand Prix de la Ville de LillersGrand Prix de la Ville de Lillers is a road bicycle race held annually near Lillers, a commune in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. The editions 1964-1995 were reserved to amateurs...
- British National championshipBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Amateur)
1980 - no wins
- 3rd Tour of Vaucluse.
- 8th Tour de Romandie.
- 5th National Championship.
1981 - no wins
- 7th, Tour de Romandie.
- 7th Dauphiné Libéré.
- 5th Tour de l'Aude.
- 5th GP Gippingen.
1982 - no wins
- 7th Tour de Romandie.
- 2nd Tour de l'Avenir.
1983 - 1 win
- Tour de France1983 Tour de FranceThe 1983 Tour de France was the 70th Tour de France, run from 1 to 22 July 1982 in 22 stages and a prologue, over a total distance of 3862 km., won by French rider Laurent Fignon. Sean Kelly of Ireland won the green jersey, and Lucien Van Impe of Belgium won the polka dot jersey...
- winner stage 10
- 14th place overall
- 3rd Dauphiné Libéré.
1984 - 3 wins
- Tour de France1984 Tour de FranceThe 1984 Tour de France was the 71st Tour de France, run over 4020.9 km in 23 stages and a prologue, from 29 June to 22 July 1984.French rider Laurent Fignon won his second consecutive Tour, beating former teammate Bernard Hinault by over 10 minutes. Hinault was pursuing his fifth Tour...
King of the MountainsKing of the MountainsThe King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race; usually and officially known as the Mountains classification...- Winner stage 11
- Tour de Romandie: Winner stage 2
- Midi LibreMidi LibreMidi Libre is a French daily newspaper in Montpellier that covers general news. It began publication in 1944.In 1949 the newspaper organised a multiple-stage cycling course Grand Prix du Midi Libre.-External links:* * , Mondo Times* , 1 December 2006...
: Stage 11 - 2nd Nice-Alassio.
- 2nd Tour of Haut Var.
- 6th Paris–Nice.
- 5th Tour de Romandie.
- 4th Midi Libre.
- 4th Tour de France.
- 6th World Championship.
- 7th Volta a Catalunya.
1985 - 1 win
- Volta a Catalunya overall.
- 2nd Vuelta a EspañaVuelta a EspañaThe Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
- 7th Tour of Haut Var.
- 6th Paris–Nice.
- 6th Critérium International.
- 6th Tour Midi-Pyrenees.
- 2nd Tour of Spain.
- 9th Dauphiné Libéré.
- 4th GP Wallonia.
- 3rd Tour of Piedmont.
1986 - 1 win
- 2nd Vuelta a EspañaVuelta a EspañaThe Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
- Winner stage
- 2nd Tour de Suisse.
- 6th Tour of Aragon.
- 7th Montjuich hill-climb.
- 27th Tour of IrelandTour of IrelandThe Tour of Ireland is a bicycle stage race held in August. The first race debuted in 1953 and ran until 1957. It was revived in 1965 and ran until 1985. In 1985 the 5 day Nissan International Classic took over as the Tour of Ireland. This lasted for 8 years until 1992...
1987 - 2 wins
- 2nd Giro d'ItaliaGiro d'ItaliaThe Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
King of the MountainsKing of the MountainsThe King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race; usually and officially known as the Mountains classification...- Winner stage 21
- 4th Tour de Romandie.
- 5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
- 6th Tour of the Mediterranean.
- 7th Catalan Week.
1988 - no wins
- 2nd Bicicleta Vasca.
- 3rd Critérium International.
- 3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
- 3rd Rut de Sud.
- 6th Tour of Spain.
- 8th Volta a Catalunya.
- 9th Paris–Nice.
1989 - 4 wins
- Tour de Romandie: stage 4
- Dauphiné Libéré: Stage 7
- Tour de France: stage 10
- Tour of Britain: overall
- 7th GP Besseges.
- 8th GP Cannes.
- 8th Paris–Camembert.
- 8th Tour of Vaucluse.
- 2nd Gp Wallonia.
- 3rd Tour de Romandie.
- 2nd Dauphiné Libéré.
- 6th National Championship.
- 9th GP of Americas.
1990 - 2 wins
- Winner Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- Winner Stage four, Tour de Romandie
- 2nd Tour de Suisse.
- 2nd Tour of Britain.
- 4th GP Ouest France.
- 4th Giro di Lombardia.
- 4th Tour of Andalucia.
- 7th GP Rennes.
- 9th Flèche Wallonne.
1991 - 1 win
- Winner stage five, Tour de Suisse.
- 2nd Tour de Romandie.
- 2nd Classique des Alpes.
- 4th Dauphiné Libéré.
- 4th Tour of Britain.
- 5th GP of Americas.
- 5th Tour de Suisse.
1992 - no wins
- 6th Tour of Lazio.
- 7th Tour of Piedmont.
- 9th Catalan Week.
- 9th Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
- 9th Tour of Britain.
1993 - no wins
- 2nd Tour of the Mining Valleys.
- 9th Classique des Alpes.
- 7th Tour of Asturias.
- 6th Midi Libre.
- 5th National championship.
1994 - no wins
- 9th Tour of Galicia.
- 4th Climber's Trophy.
- 6th Coppa Piacci.
- 7th Coppa Sabatini.
1995 - 1 win
- British National championshipBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(run as the Manx TrophyManx TrophyThe Manx Trophy or Isle of Man International Road Race is a bicycle road race run annually on the Isle of Man. In the 1960s the race attracted the world's top professional cyclists including Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx....
). - 9th Classique des Alpes.
Teams
- 1980-1981: Peugeot - Esso - Michelin (France)
- 1982-1985: Peugeot - Shell - Michelin (France)
- 1986: Panasonic (Netherlands)
- 1987: Panasonic - Isostar (Netherlands)
- 1988: Fagor - MBK (France)
- 1989: Z - Peugeot (France)
- 1990-1991: Z (France)
- 1992: TVM - Sanyo (Netherlands)
- 1993-1994: TVM - Bison Kit (Netherlands)
- 1995: Le Groupement (France)