∎ PDF Free Racing Through the Dark The Fall and Rise of David Millar David Millar 8601200525489 Books

Racing Through the Dark The Fall and Rise of David Millar David Millar 8601200525489 Books

Download As PDF : Racing Through the Dark The Fall and Rise of David Millar David Millar 8601200525489 Books

Racing Through the Dark The Fall and Rise of David Millar David Millar 8601200525489 Books

This book really grabbed me. Yep, David Millar is pretty fascinated with himself, but this is an autobiography after all -- he had to be fascinated enough with himself to write it. Most readers looking at this review probably already know who David Millar is -- he's been an elite professional cyclist for more than 10 years, winning stages of all three grand tours (France, Spain, Italy), specializing in individual time trials. And he is a reformed doper, having been banned from pro cycling for 2 years from 2004 to 2006.

Millar tells his story in three stages. In the first, he is a gifted rider, progressing from almost too-easy dominance in smaller amateur races to the challenges of a new pro. He's up for the challenges, though, eventually winning races while staying clean. All along he's prideful in his quiet, personal anti-doping stance. When he finds that his hematocrit level tested at only 40.1 per cent (well below the threshold of suspicion at 50 percent) after winning the time trial at De Panne, he's excited. He's proven he can win clean against a field he knows is doping. But in one of the most poignant moments of the book, he proudly tells Francesco Casagrande, one of his team leaders, of his feat, and Casagrande just says to another team member, "Why isn't he at 50?" It doesn't matter if you can win clean -- what your team wants is that you race at your max, and your max means doping.

Eventually, Millar hits the wall in his career, due to poor training habits, excessive lifestyle, and, presumably, operating at a disadvantage with respect to riders using EPO and other performance-enhancing drugs and treatments. By this time, he's already taking injections of vitamins to aid recovery from race efforts and sleeping meds to get rested enough to race day after day. Now he accepts doping just as what riders do in order to be successful. He's caught red-handed, and he faces both suspension by the sport and criminal charges in France, where he lives.

In stage 3, Millar makes his comeback. During his suspension, he doesn't ride. He's lost the fun of cycling -- it's turned into a job, and now a job he can no longer perform. And his personal life has gone to hell. But he does pull it together, with help, and he is just gifted enough to get enough initial success to propel himself forward. He returns to the top of the sport again, and now, with Jonathon Vaughters' new clean team, Garmin, he finds what he clearly thinks is his more mature self, a spokesperson for clean cycling.

In the end, Millar takes a strident born-again anti-doping stance. He believes that what he lacked as a younger rider was someone who could give him the encouragement and support he needed to resist doping. Doping was ubiquitous but never talked about among the riders. The silence meant that even clean riders couldn't take a stance or band together for support with other clean riders. Now Millar wants, as an established, successful rider and doping-survivor, to fill that gap for other riders who want to stay clean.

He may be too fervent to be effective at getting other riders to do the same. He "lectures" Lance Armstrong after the 2007 Tour de France, challenging him to "Give something back, help us clean up the sport . . . " It doesn't go well, he says, having "perhaps lectured him for a little too long -- 10 minutes too long" in public. Lance says he has "bigger things to do now" than clean up cycling, and the friendship between the two is pretty much cooked.

I liked Millar at the end of the book. He is full of himself, and he proves that over and over again. But, unlike so many other cyclists, he ultimately admits his frailties. Even after having been caught, so many others, like Floyd Landis, carry on the lie in one way or another, destroying their personal credibility so thoroughly that we wouldn't listen to them even if they did try finally to tell the truth.


Tags : Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar [David Millar] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. By his 18th birthday David Millar was living and racing in France, sleeping in rented rooms, tipped to be the next English-speaking Tour winner. A year later he'd realised the dream and signed a professional contract with the Cofidis team,David Millar,Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar,Orion Hardbacks,1409114945

Racing Through the Dark The Fall and Rise of David Millar David Millar 8601200525489 Books Reviews

An exceptional story of racing and drug use that will be enjoyable for non cyclists as well as cyclists. A Scot who partially grows up in Hong Kong and luckily stumbles in to a sport at which he is very good. Different from another book I read by Paul Kimmage, Millar quickly makes his mark and is a professional. He is adamant not to dope and an overriding theme of this book is how well he rode without doping. It is possible. But over a three week tour, there will be incredible weaknesses without the sophisticated drug use.

What separates this book is the individual stories of success, some of which come quickly out of nowhere. Some are not even wins like the incredible breakaway at the Spanish Vuelta. This is where Millar is at his best describing minute details and you share in his joy. And another story of despair as he fights the thoughts of quitting the tour on an incredibly difficult day. Just mesmerizing!!!

And there is the story of how he falls in to drug use and his eventual discovery and legal problems. This is a tragic tale well told. Another separation of this book is details of the effect on his personal life as well as his ultimate return on a team committed to testing and riding drug free. Known in the biz as the Garmin team, this is a great success story.

I had no knowledge of Millar and wasn't aware of his time trial prowess. The book closes with an incredible race for his country and just a great way to finish this excellent book. There are also great stories of friends like Lance Armstrong, most incredibly positive, and also new star Mark Cavendish. This adds to a great book.

I'd love to see one more updated chapter with the doping case of Armstrong just concluded this year. Other than that, thanks "Dave the Brave" for a great read!!! It was so good I could start over and read it again and enjoy it just as much.
First book I've read on professional cycling and I found it to be fascinating. It mostly covers period from just before Lance through the end of Lance which is the period when I followed cycling. However, there is very little mention of Lance (there are other books for that). Millar is a world champion and won many important races so he has the authority to speak on team dynamics, sponsorship, the cycling season and racing strategies. He raced from childhood through his late 30's. Hence, he had to transition from being the team's star to being a support for the team's star. There is a very cool story about a young fan getting a picture with Millar after one race, only to later meet Millar as a World Champion himself (motivated to that position by Millar). Millar makes a very good and believable argument that he almost had no choice but to do whatever he could to win. Even realizing this is Millar's side of the story, the book convinced me to sympathize with Millar's position. There is no short-cut explanation though. You must read the entire book to understand why Millar (and most anyone in his situation) would do what he did. After reading this, you wonder if other sports are really that much different from the do anything to win attitude that exists in professional cycling. What secrets in other sports will be uncovered in time!
This book really grabbed me. Yep, David Millar is pretty fascinated with himself, but this is an autobiography after all -- he had to be fascinated enough with himself to write it. Most readers looking at this review probably already know who David Millar is -- he's been an elite professional cyclist for more than 10 years, winning stages of all three grand tours (France, Spain, Italy), specializing in individual time trials. And he is a reformed doper, having been banned from pro cycling for 2 years from 2004 to 2006.

Millar tells his story in three stages. In the first, he is a gifted rider, progressing from almost too-easy dominance in smaller amateur races to the challenges of a new pro. He's up for the challenges, though, eventually winning races while staying clean. All along he's prideful in his quiet, personal anti-doping stance. When he finds that his hematocrit level tested at only 40.1 per cent (well below the threshold of suspicion at 50 percent) after winning the time trial at De Panne, he's excited. He's proven he can win clean against a field he knows is doping. But in one of the most poignant moments of the book, he proudly tells Francesco Casagrande, one of his team leaders, of his feat, and Casagrande just says to another team member, "Why isn't he at 50?" It doesn't matter if you can win clean -- what your team wants is that you race at your max, and your max means doping.

Eventually, Millar hits the wall in his career, due to poor training habits, excessive lifestyle, and, presumably, operating at a disadvantage with respect to riders using EPO and other performance-enhancing drugs and treatments. By this time, he's already taking injections of vitamins to aid recovery from race efforts and sleeping meds to get rested enough to race day after day. Now he accepts doping just as what riders do in order to be successful. He's caught red-handed, and he faces both suspension by the sport and criminal charges in France, where he lives.

In stage 3, Millar makes his comeback. During his suspension, he doesn't ride. He's lost the fun of cycling -- it's turned into a job, and now a job he can no longer perform. And his personal life has gone to hell. But he does pull it together, with help, and he is just gifted enough to get enough initial success to propel himself forward. He returns to the top of the sport again, and now, with Jonathon Vaughters' new clean team, Garmin, he finds what he clearly thinks is his more mature self, a spokesperson for clean cycling.

In the end, Millar takes a strident born-again anti-doping stance. He believes that what he lacked as a younger rider was someone who could give him the encouragement and support he needed to resist doping. Doping was ubiquitous but never talked about among the riders. The silence meant that even clean riders couldn't take a stance or band together for support with other clean riders. Now Millar wants, as an established, successful rider and doping-survivor, to fill that gap for other riders who want to stay clean.

He may be too fervent to be effective at getting other riders to do the same. He "lectures" Lance Armstrong after the 2007 Tour de France, challenging him to "Give something back, help us clean up the sport . . . " It doesn't go well, he says, having "perhaps lectured him for a little too long -- 10 minutes too long" in public. Lance says he has "bigger things to do now" than clean up cycling, and the friendship between the two is pretty much cooked.

I liked Millar at the end of the book. He is full of himself, and he proves that over and over again. But, unlike so many other cyclists, he ultimately admits his frailties. Even after having been caught, so many others, like Floyd Landis, carry on the lie in one way or another, destroying their personal credibility so thoroughly that we wouldn't listen to them even if they did try finally to tell the truth.