Having looked at the history of rider unions last week one theme was the divisions with unions forming and splitting. Here’s the follow up piece looking at the upcoming presidential election there’s a contest and even if the numbers say Millar has no chance it’s still useful to air ideas.
This is a Spanish TV sports documentary from Canal+. The Informe Robinson show is a slick production with tight editing and sharp photography. Much of the audio is in English so if you’re don’t speak Spanish, be patient.
There’s one remaining copy of David Millar’s autobiography “Racing Through the Dark” to give away. As a reminder the publisher’s offered me a review copy but I’d already reviewed the book when it came out in Europe so there was no point getting another review copy.
Instead they offered to send three copies to give away to readers of the blog. I’ve done this via a quiz. The trouble is finding an answer that people can’t get from an internet search in six seconds.
Quiz
Guess the word count of the story.
Another chance to win a copy of the new US edition of David Millar’s autobiography “Racing Through the Dark” which I’ve reviewed last year.
The Tour de l’Ain is happening now and from memory this was Millar’s first race with the Cofidis pro team. It’s sadly no longer the case but when Millar turned pro, the French squad was one of the most exciting teams in the sport with a big roster of talent and great ambitions. They even hired Lance Armstrong, although he fell ill and the rest is history. Millar’s book tells the tale of this plus more.
Having asked what was Millar’s first type of bike race last time, this time it’s four wheels
Question
After signing his first pro contract with the Cofidis team what car did David Millar buy:
BMX. That’s the answer to the David Millar book giveaway and congratulations to Dave B, the winner selected at random.
The question was what type of bike race did Millar do first, a time trial, a mountain bike race or BMX? A large majority of people replied mountain bike, perhaps because that’s what Wikipedia says:
I enjoy being sent books for review but this time when the publisher called about the new US edition of David Millar’s autobiography “Racing Through the Dark” I said I’d already reviewed the book when it came out in Europe so there was no point getting another review copy.
Instead they offered to send three copies to give away to readers of the blog. This was impossible to refuse so here’s your chance to win a hardback copy of the book. It’s the US version and includes extras that weren’t in the Euro edition.
Question
What was the type of first bike race David Millar rode:
“It became clear that I still had a fairly adolescent mentality, relied heavily on father figures and had created behavioural patterns that were destructive and self-perpetuating… …most of the decisions I’d made were unavoidable, considering the personality and upbringing I’d had”.
That’s the book in one reductive sentence. Soon after emerging from police custody, a washed-up David Millar meets Dr Steve Peters, a consultant psychiatrist for the British cycling team and they talk for hours. It becomes apparent that Millar’s upbringing and past experiences have led him to the edge of self-destruction. His is a career of high and lows, of sporting greatness and alcoholic benders. At times he discusses the split personality, the monastic pro contrasting with the “social butterfly”.
I’ll touch on the content of the book a bit below but a lot of his story is public knowledge so I won’t ruin things if you’re planning to read it. But for the sake of caution, don’t read on if you’re worried about me spoiling the read.
Having completed the Giro d’Italia with a stage win in Milan, David Millar is now touring the media in Britain to promote a book, “Racing Through The Dark“. Millar’s tale is perhaps a mirror for the whole sport itself. He comes from outside of the traditional European cycling nations, wins with ease at a young age before succumbing to doping and then getting mired in police investigations, a lengthy ban and plenty of soul-searching. Then there’s a come back, he joins the same squad as Riccardo Riccò and then moves on to help build the squad that is today Garmin-Cervélo. The full circle.