Forum menu
Robert Millar
They don't get much more retro or much more heroic than Honore Barthelemy.
[img] 
[/img]
Honore Barthelemy crashed on stage 9 of the 1920 Tour De France, damaging his back badly enough to necessitate flipping his bars over so he could carry on riding. Once he'd got back on his bike, he realised that he couldn't see properly, and on investigation (presumably still on the bike) he discovered that he'd got a flint [i]stuck in his eyeball[/i]. Being a true pro, he [s]waited for the team car[/s] pulled that mother****er out and carried on riding to the finish, where it transpired that he also had a dislocated wrist and a broken shoulder. Naturally he [s]abandonned the Tour[/s] carried on riding with one eye and a seriously knackered upper body, and rode into Paris in 8th overall. Badass.
[img] 
[/img]
Gotta be these guys...
You are 'aving a laugh Stuartie. Retro amateurs.
Off road: Ned, Tomac, Tinker, Missy and who was the guy that went a bit, er, mental, rode for Schwin.
On the road: merckx, hinault, Kelly and, because the 87 Tour win was what made me fall in love with cycling, Stephen Roche. Oh and I still have a soft spot for the Kaizer... 😳
Yup - Stephen Roche for this:
And for his wit when asked if he was OK after he was revived - "Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite"
Stuartie: you got it exactly. From that moment on I was hooked. Phil Ligget shouting as Roche appears round the corner. Epic.
LOL @ Barnacle etc.
Stuartie C is that not now accepted as a pure set-up?
Zak Tempest
[img] 
[/img]
PS do NOT do a Google image search for 'zak tempest brant richards' or look at images 10 and 11, m'kay.
Stuartie C is that not now accepted as a pure set-up?
No way! Ruined it for me now Al.
Steve Behr for taking the photos that made me want to ride.
Who is the Aussie track cyclist???
Wookster - Member
Who is the Aussie track cyclist???
Sean Eadie
It's Robert Millar for me. Awesome guy. Dour, miserable, agressive, completely mental. Everything you expect from your roadie hero's. Funny too. He got screwed by the Europeans, big time. Especially the Spanish. Cheating buggers. Straight as a die, no drugs. Yeah, proper hero.
I quite like the badger too. He was a nasty piece of work but it doesn't matter. Hard as nails. Seriously. Chose which races to win and left the rest to the others.
'What's that you dockers? You'd like a punch up during the race, fine by me. Now, lets go on and win the stage.
It's Robert Millar for me. Awesome guy. Dour, miserable, agressive, completely mental. Everything you expect from your roadie hero's. Funny too. He got screwed by the Europeans, big time. Especially the Spanish. Cheating buggers. Straight as a die, no drugs. Yeah, proper hero.
Errr...
[img] 
[/img]
Laurant Brochards mullet was my hero
[img][url= http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6054/6245175421_3063a05d00.jp g" target="_blank">
Harry Leary and Timmy Judge for mid 80s style
[img][url= http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6164/6245214431_b98541149d.jpg [/img][/url][/img][img][url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikes_and_stuff/6245214433/ ][img] http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6227/6245214433_3725dd46ef.jp g" target="_blank">
David Baker
[img] 
[/img]
Thanks Margin 😳
downshep - are you suggesting we can't possibly like robert millar because he is now a she? or is there some subtle point you are making that i've missed?
oh, and i guess my retro heroes are JMC, missy (remember her on yoof show Passenger?) and from the road, Indurain. I also used to like to read about hans rey's exploits.
Francis Birtles
JMC
[img] 
[/img]
Dzhanar-Aliyev Magomed-Ali.look him up.not retro.but he is.bike too.
apo lazarides.for putting up with vietto.
wim van est
eugene christophe.
alfredo binda
ottavio bottecchia
or that east german persecuted by the stasi in the 70s..can't remember the name.
always liked gibo.gilberto simoni.not retro though.
[img] 
[/img]
The lovely Susan DeMattei.
And Keith Bontrager, for building my favourite bike ever.
Neither of 'em especially retro, but even so...
samuri - Member
Straight as a die, no drugs. Yeah, proper hero.
you need to read the Graeme Obree autobiography and the short time he was in Le Groupment
personnally I like Millar, the book "in search of..." was expolitative
rewatched old video's of the 92 tour, lots of class on show
[img] 
[/img]
[i]you need to read the Graeme Obree autobiography and the short time he was in Le Groupment[/i]
I have, I've not seen any reference to Millar taking drugs... He was very anti. His doctor was keen on boosting which is different fromn doping....
[img] 
[/img] 😉
Dunno if they even rode pushbikes but for me heroes (as in who I looked up to when I rode my bike) it has to be Evel Kneivel and Eddy Kid.
Not massively surprised at the amount of you citing roadies as your heroes, don't get me wrong I like roadriding (always have) and did follow roadracing for years but I'm not in the slightest interested in roadies as heroes at all. when I read Lance's book and was bored to tears. Cully on the other hand I could listen to all day.
if you can spare the time have a listen for yourselves..
http://www.daleholmes.com/?p=1610
the hardnut Belgians of the 70's, Merckx ,de Vlaeminck,Maertens,de Mayer and Tomac ,Frishy.Mc Roy and Paolo Pezzo for Mtbing
Straight as a die, no drugs
Robert Millar failed a drug test in '92.
Heard him talk at a coaching weekend many years ago, and he didn't come across as dour or miserable at all. Very funny and engaging speaker.
I remember going to bike 97 maybe 98 at olypmia and getting missy giove , rob warners , dave hemming and steve peats autograph . Then going across the road where jo guest was upstairs in a pub at the launch of MBR magazine !!
And rob warners brother because he was doing the same downhill race as me at newton abbot in devon while he was riding for mbuk ( was it rich ? )
It was Rich.
Can people put names as well as photos please?
Hinault & indurain
The badger for me. Had his poster on my wall next to Charlie Nicholas. Saw him win 2 tours when I was a kid.
Lemond was great too for me better champion and innovator than pretty much anyone else, was stood on the Champs Élysées watching the clock count down in '89 while you could see Fignon in the distance coming in, amazing moment. Felt pretty sorry for the Frenchman tho.
On mr Millar, knew him when I was little, him and my older brother trained together in the wheelers, seemed a very quiet and focussed guy from what I remember but guess you need to be to become a pro especially a British one at that time. I did make my mum buy a crappy fagor cooker just cos him an Roche rode for them 😉
Did you know that Billy Connoly sponsored him and paid for most of his kit when he was an amateur? An unsung hero of Scottish cycling don't know if he still does but there was always kit behind the counter in Billy Bilslands shop that the big yin had paid for or donated for young skint racers.
John Tomac
Greg Herbold
Thomas Frischknecht
Tinker Juarez
Ned Overend
Tim Gould
Barrie Clarke
Dave Baker
JMC
Julie Furtado
Paola Pezzo
Alison Sydor
Chantal Daucourt
[img] 
[/img]
ah.. [b]Brokeback cyclist[/b] ^^
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov:
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
Hard man, lunatic, legend and mostly successful drug cheat.
What's not to like?
Ha ha...quality!MrSparkle - Member
PS do NOT do a Google image search for 'zak tempest brant richards' or look at images 10 and 11, m'kay.
Possibly work safe...unless you work in the gay pr0n industry 😀
indurain was boring to watch, having Leblanc design a tour with huge TTs to assist doesn't make for spectating quality
I miss cipollini he was a dude
samuri - Member
you need to read the Graeme Obree autobiography and the short time he was in Le GroupmentI have, I've not seen any reference to Millar taking drugs... He was very anti. His doctor was keen on boosting which is different fromn doping....
read it again, it describes a lift in Millars car after a team presentation where he told GO how much his "preparation" would cost and was the final straw that caused GO to leave IIRC
hero..
sorry can't embed on this pc.