In Search of Robert Millar: Unravelling the Mystery Surrounding Britain’s Most Successful Tour de France Cyclist. Richard Moore

Читать онлайн книгу.

In Search of Robert Millar: Unravelling the Mystery Surrounding Britain’s Most Successful Tour de France Cyclist - Richard  Moore


Скачать книгу
But Jackie Stewart didn’t become world champion just by pottering around vaguely in cars. He had one singular urge and that was to be the best Formula 1 driver in the world. Racing was his life, just as climbing is my life … there is a group that’s recognised as the world’s best and that’s where I want to be. God knows I’m far enough away from it now, but I’d never have the remotest chance of reaching it with your attitude. It’s difficult for most people to understand a singular strong urge to do something well. You only really take out of something the amount you put in; you get small amounts of pleasure out of many things, whereas I get a huge amount of pleasure out of one.

      Haston, just as Millar would do, also repeatedly made a distinction between people like him and ‘normal people’, the implication being that to be considered normal would be construed as a grave insult; and, taking the theory to its natural conclusion, that normality, including any evidence of normal behaviour, was to be resisted and avoided. Normality could only hold you back; the key was to be different, not to fit in, to set yourself apart from your peers.

      Millar flew into Charles de Gaulle airport in January 1979 with an address, Rue de Sèvres, in his pocket. ‘No one came to meet me, so I took a taxi,’ Millar told Rupert Guinness for his 1993 book Foreign Legion, which documented the extraordinary impact on world cycling made by the English-speaking ‘exiles’ in a relatively brief period, from Paul Sherwen in 1977 to Stephen Roche, Sean Yates, John Herety and Allan Peiper, all of whom represented the ACBB in the years after Millar. ‘We drove to Paris,’ Millar continued, ‘and came to this place with huge doors. There was no sign, but I walked through to ask a lady there, who came up and asked what I wanted.’ Then, a claim that would have shocked Arthur Campbell: ‘I couldn’t speak any French at all. But I worked out that what she was saying was that the Rue de Sèvres I wanted was on the other side of Paris.’

      In The High Life, the hour-long documentary film about Millar, he talks engagingly, if slightly awkwardly, about his first impressions of Paris, confessing that he had been ‘scared to speak at first’. Millar then reveals that as well as the French lessons with Campbell, he had also purchased a cassette course. ‘I did three hours a day until the end of the course,’ he says. He continues, falteringly, ‘It’s a bit kind of difficult at first, when you get off the plane … you’re in the airport in Paris, and you show the taxi driver the address you want to go to, and he takes you there. It’s kind of a letdown. Because you think that everyone’s going to look after you. They see so many guys come [to France] that they don’t really look after you so well. You have to do it all yourself and you feel kind of … let down. It’s a bit of an anti-climax.’

      Phil Anderson was settling into his apartment when Millar arrived, to be met by Claude Escalon. The deputy director explained that, with four riders already ensconced in the ACBB-owned apartment, there was no room for Millar. He was shown instead to a nearby gymnasium, which would provide temporary accommodation. There was a not unreasonable assumption, suggested Guinness, that at least one of the four riders in the apartment would crack before too long and head for home, thus freeing up a bed for Millar. ‘There were so many good riders that to survive you needed to be special,’ Millar told Guinness. Four years later, reflecting again on his move to France, he explained, ‘It was like a mercenary thing. You just took yourself there and you did it.’ When asked why the club was prepared to take on so many foreigners at that time, Millar’s response was characteristically glib and self-denigrating: ‘We didn’t ask for so much. If you didn’t speak French you couldn’t ask questions, and you couldn’t understand the answers. What you don’t know you can’t ask about.’

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4R18RXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAAOAAABAwABAAAA9AEAAAEBAwAB AAAA8AIAAAIBAwADAAAAtgAAAAMBAwABAAAABQAAAAYBAwABAAAAAgAAABIBAwABAAAAAQAAABUB AwABAAAAAwAAABoBBQABAAAAvAAAABsBBQABAAAAxAAAABwBAwABAAAAAQAAACgBAwABAAAAAgAA ADEBAgAcAAAAzAAAADIBAgAUAAAA6AAAAGmHBAABAAAA/AAAACgBAAAIAAgACADAxi0AECcAAMDG LQAQJwAAQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMyBXaW5kb3dzADIwMTM6MDc6MzAgMTE6NDA6MzgAAwAB oAMAAQAAAP//AAACoAQAAQAAAPQBAAADoAQAAQAAAPACAAAAAAAAAAAGAAMBAwABAAAABgAAABoB BQABAAAAdgEAABsBBQABAAAAfgEAACgBAwABAAAAAgAAAAECBAABAAAAhgEAAAICBAABAAAA7hsA AAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAABAAAA/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgAASABIAAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAv/u AA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwPFRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwM DAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQODg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREM DAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEIAKAAagMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAE AAf/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgME BQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMicYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRy gtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1 VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcGBTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMF MoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kSTVKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePz RpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/APRs+pjs mi25+yphDQXEBu+xwrr9zj/OWP2VVtRqs3p+TXS+m+m6u8kY7mPa5ryzdv8ARc0/pHV+m/6H7iq/ WH0B05rsjIpxKq8nEufdkPFdYFOTRlOb6j/b6j2U7Kv+EXO9Ao6ezN6Rj4HVem5Lcdhsy8XHva95 yW0PxH5OExm72ZTbfUzmP9P9LSzK/nrsv1kp6S7qvRWX3V25uMyzEG/IY65oNbTtbvvaXD0/p1fT /wBLX/pED1sK7FbbVmVWNybfSx7K7WFj7QHTVW8vd6r91dn6Fn7n/BrOy/q/1q27NrxjXjYNzvWZ jjJsIfeMmjNblVuOK6zpdrmV5Pq/Zn5FP2m/1/S9T9JZl9Sy+n5j2YuX17p2E/FrsGMHZH219eU6 z1G5j8jIOJ6N+F6NVeNuZ6jPXzKPoJKd251F+ScGjLx7cilp9TFFjPVaBG91te/1Pb6jH/8AXU/S HdFymnbl4+ZY5wYBXc2zUtdaytux/wBJ1Vdtv/F17/5tZ7/qxldUbbk/a6rMfqDb3tYyw3UVPyKm Vsy8SK625O/9YxMit7qvXxMl9lNuPZ61d8updQxr8zGo6zn9O6Tbg5DbbK6s+L9px8qqN1lWFZV7 suh9f7+P639RJNvQsyMHFxXWerXXi07w+wvHps9MuZd6trjsZ6T27bd7v5xD/bfQ/s4zP2hjDHL/ AEfWNzAz1Nu/0d5dt9b027/S/nFlYfS25PQ6h0/KozTRn25tDxabKbf1q/Nqpychgtdu2X/zuy37 Pm115H6f0v0mdnDCPWzldW6r0/pOU26l12LVltbcyurGzqa7X22toe7Lvf1Sv/AMZ9ipr/S2pIez rsruqbbU9tldjQ5j2kFrmuG5r2Ob9JrlIA/3Kj07rPRc1wxen9Rx862tkubVfXbZtbtZ6rxU5zvp Obueh3fWf6t0Wvpu6thVW1OLLK35FTXNc07Xsex1m5r2uSU6QlQutNbd20uHeO2iDZ1Hp9WH9vty qa8KA77U6xoqhx2MPrk+l73Oa1vuVG360/VWytzP21gDcCJGVTp/4Ikp0Ks2m17WN3bndiIiBKsL D6T1HFzMqMPLxc6thPqPx7WWFktPo7/Rc/b6myz/ADFuJJ0f/9DsP8YD6K+g12ZJaKGZuG60vEsD BfUbC9sO3M2fSWL9Y+p/UTqfSsjD6VVRn9WtrcOn14NJde2+JpurtoYx1DKrdlttnqM/RM/wn82t 768GOkY5mP8AKGF/7cVKP1oqyOmX0/WrCa57sBnp9TobBN2DJst2Nf7ftGC/9ax/0lP+Hr3pKavU 2dSz7Oh/VfMuP61jOv68+pxY6yuhlVdmMyxgDm05uXdsyPS9Kz7P7P8ACLpMbp3T8TF+x4uNVRi6 j0K2NazX6X6No2+785YfXG5D7+l/Wvo7HZ9eIx/r41EepkYeS1jnOxt387djurqyacf9H9o/m/UV un66fVO6n1h1bFrAmWXWNqsBbo5rsfI9LIa7/rSSnOrw6/q59bMLH6az0el9dbcy7DZDaasmhn2m vKor/wAH9ooZZRbVS2qv9HW9Zp6v9VenfXD6xt69ZjsfZZiGkX17yQMWrdt/R2LTwrn/AFm+sOF1 nGZZX0XpNdpxL7GuqOVkZDBU6ymm1vqOw8fGd/PvbT+sWfo/U/SKtifWDovSPrd9ZWdTzasR1tuG a22u2kgYte5zUlLfVM9PzvrRn9W+rbGVdAdjMx7/AE2+ky7Na/1vWqxYa9raca30rLn10+pa/wDR +r/OoDeqfVfA+uH1jb12zGrfZZhmkZDA4kDFr3bdzHK3g5WF1r65Y/VegAuxKMe6rque2tzKry41 tw8Su14b9ovxnM9Z72N/R07P03+DQ8T6wdF6R9b/AKys6nm1YjrbMM1ttdBcBi17i1JTtdC6l9U8 ++39hPxbLqmj1TjsDXBjjpuc1jPa5zFy3Qer/U7Dv65T1u3EZknrGc4NvY1z9heAPpMd7dF13Tvr T9XuqZIxOn9QpycgtLhXW6TDfpFYf1Z6didW6Z9ZenZrBZj5PWM+uxukiXMLXs3B22yt36Sp/wDg 7ElK+p+Hg5OZ1q7BwzX9W8x+O7Dptr2U2WtYfteRi4dza/Tpc77N7/R/SWVfo/5r9HHr3TOm1/XX 6rUsxKG1WjqPqVitga6KKy3e3b7tq1Pqt1PKe2/ofVX7ur9KIrteZH2ig/0TqLNxfu+0V/z/AOlf 6WT6nq+kqn1h/wDF19Uvh1H/ANt60lO1i9Pqw8+w49VVNFzA7bVW1nub7ff6Ybv+n7N60EkklP

Скачать книгу