Tour '83

Part 5 - Interview with Robert Millar

A day after his celebrated win in Luchon on stage 10 of the Tour, "Cyclist Monthly" (a now sadly defunct British magazine), in the person of John Wilcockson, caught up with Robert Millar in the dormitory of the Edmond Rostand school in Luchon. (Those were the days, when the Tour riders were housed in school dormitories or youth hostels!) This is Millar's account of that win. Comments in square brackets are my own.

John Wilcockson: How did the stage begin?

Robert Millar: To the bottom of the first climb, it was quite fast. Nobody really moved up because the Cilo riders were in the front, for Breu, so that nobody would attack. And at the foot of the climb, the Aubisque, it was really fast. And it was hard to move up, but I moved up anyway...

Did you see the crash?

Yes, I nearly came down when [Phil] Anderson came down with [Raymond] Martin. I was going to wait when [Frédéric] Brun, one of the team riders, said he was going to wait, so I didn't bother. And then Phil got back on...

The guys were gradually just going out the back since we were going uphill. And the Van Impe attacked, and I think six went away. I was with the second group, with Roche and Pascal Simon, and a couple of others, Zoetmelk. Pascal rode away and I tried to get on with him, but I couldn't catch him. But I didn't really do my maximum...

It was the first climb...

Because it was the first climb, and there was still a long way to go. On the descent, everybody got back on. Then we got down the bottom [this would be at the bottom of the Soulor, which is like a shoulder on the Aubisque] and I saw that Arnaud was going to attack. So when he attacked, I tried to go with him, and I couldn't get the wheel, but I kept going anyway. There was a little group behind me. And after that we just rode along, everybody was doing a turn at the front.

And Michaud had already gone, hadn't he?

Yes, he went on the climb up the Soulor. And when we got to the feed - since the guys didn't ride - we had about six minutes. [At the Argelès-Gazost feed, after 87km, Michaud had 1'58" on a group consisting of Dominique Arnaud, Robert Millar, Laurent Fignon, Pedro Delgado, Patrocinio Jimenez, Pierre Bazzo, Christian Seznec, Theo De Rooy and Gerard Veldscholten. The remenants of the bunch was at 4'02" to this group, and 6'00" behind Michaud].

When we got to the bottom of the next hill, the Tourmalet, Jimenez just went to the front and just rode all the guys out, and I hung on with them...

Did he make a gap, or did you just stay on his wheel?

I moved up, and Fignon was on his wheel, and I went round Fignon. Then Fignon was on my wheel, and he gradually blew. And I said to Jimenez he could win the mountain so he wouldn't go too hard...

How did you say that to him?

Oh, I just told him - montana. He said, "si, si, primero, you segundo". So I said OK. Most of the way up I rode at the front anyway, so that he wouldn't go too fast. Because he only had a 21, and I had a 23. When I went to the front and slowed down it was harder for him, 'cos he was having to pull the gear round more than when he was on the front.

Then I went for the prime, the Henri Desgrange, which was 6000 francs. He thought I was going for the King of the Mountains, and he came past me as if I was standing still. [The prime was judged well short of the summit]. I caught him again on the descent, and then blew him out. I came past him, and he couldn't get on the wheel because he doesn't descend well. So down the bottom I let him get back on, as it was still a long way to go. I said to him if he went easy on the hills, I would go easy on the descent, eh. And he said that's OK, we'll do that.

I was still doing most of the work anyway on the flat. I rode most of the way on the Aspin, as well, so he wouldn't attack. But I think he was gatting tired then anyway. We knew the chasers were at about two minutes. [At the summit of the Aspin, 155km, Millar and Jimenez had 1'55" on Delgado and Fignon, 2'30" on Edgar Corredor and Michaud, 3'32" on Bernadeau and Veldscholten and 4'20" on Pascal Simon]. On the descent I went nice and easy so that he thought I was going to go to the finish like that. But I think he probably knew - in his head anyway - that I was going to attack him on the last descent.

Then, the directeur sportif said that Pascal had attacked from behind, and that he was at about two minutes. So I said to Jimenez that I wasn't going to ride anymore because Pascal was coming. So that way, Jimenez had to ride the last 30 kilometres, on those false flats, up to the last hill. That got him nervous, because he was going to get caught. [It is not clear if this is a printing error or an error by Millar. Suffice to say, it is about 17km from the foot of the Aspin to the summit of the Peyresourde, about half of which is a drag up the valley - Millar's "false flats" - and the rest is the climb proper. It is possible Millar means 10 rather than 30 kilometres].

And Ocaña [the Colombians' DS] came up and told him to ride, and I think he said not to bother because I was on his wheel. Because Ocaña knew I was going to win it anyway. So when we got on the climb, he was going up and he had the 21. He went quite well for the first three or four kilomtres, and I was a bit worried because I was hanging on, and then it started to get a little steeper from time to time. And he would slow right down, and I would go up alongside him. I could see he was weakening...greatly.

When we got nearer the top, I knew I was going to drop him, as he wasn't going fast anymore. And there was a Spanish guy [Delgado] at 40 seconds, and that worried me a bit.

I only got nervous about a kilometre from the top of this last climb when I knew I was going to attack. And I was just waiting. When...I didn't know when to go. Maybe I'd go at about a kilometre, and I would blow. So I'd wait until about 500 metres, and then I'd attack, eh.

So when I attacked, I put on the big ring, the last 500 metres. On the 17 sprocket, 53x17. I took 30 seconds out of him in 500 metres. I looked round, and he was stopped. It's all over.

On the descent, I didn't want to take any risks, as I don't descend that well anyway. Since there wasn't any gravel, it was OK. It was just wet where the tarmac had melted, but that didn't worry me. You don't slide on that.

I looked round at three kilometres to go, and I could see the guy [Delgado] coming. So I put myself on the rivet again. I was on 53x13 for the last three kilometres. Around the bends, I wasn't braking too much. And then at 500 metres, I took the hat out for publicity, put the hat on nice. And put the arms up, eh. Always have to remember that.

Other Parts:
Part 1: Prologue to Pyrennes
Part 2: The rise and rise of Robert Millar
Part 3: Showdown in the Alps
Part 4: Results
Part 5: Interview with Robert Millar
Part 6: Interview with Laurent Fignon