An interview with Yves

After working here for 18 months, Yves Millière is returning to France for 2006. This year, he's won races and battled it out with some of the South-East's best riders. But on top of the results, he's built up an impressive reputation. Ask those in the bunch and they'll tell you he's a strong rider, a hardworker in a breakaway and also as someone who plays fair. KingstonWheelers.com caught up with the Frenchman to discuss his time with the Kingston Wheelers and life in London.

Let’s look back at the past season. How do you feel about your season, did you enjoy it?

Yes, I really enjoyed it, as I didn't expect to perform at that level before the start of the season. I didn't have any clue about how would be the Elite level in the UK, as last year my season was very short, and mainly third category level racing. I had in the back of my mind the Nationale/Elite level in France, which is for me a very tough level; I imagined that it would take me the whole year to go up to first cat. and that I would get a couple of good results with the second and first cat guys. But not with the Elites.

I enjoyed most of the races, some are run on very good circuits which suited me, as I am a "polyvalent" (all rounder) type of racer (not a climber as some may think). I used to do well on these sorts of races in France, where tactics have a bigger impact I think.

In terms of feeling, I only felt great in a few races like the second cat. race that I won in April [Webmaster: he blew the field off his wheel] and a few Elite races in July), as I was quite far away from my best form. Although some may not believe me, I was overweight the whole season (apart from in France maybe) and couldn't really stick always to a good training plan because of my work.

What was your best ride this year?

My best ride was definitely during the third stage of the four day stage race that we did with the Surrey League in Wales, the Ras Cymru. I'd put it in the top-three of best racing achievements since I'm a rider. The stage was a 15km lap to do six times with a short but pretty steep climb on a large road (same sort of climb as in the Archer Spring race for those who know). A break of 14 riders went clear pretty soon, and was gaining a good gap pretty quickly. Steve Calland (Norwood Paragon, but also Surrey League team member) and I thought we missed the break of the day and didn't think we had anyone from the team in it. We decided the launch an attack in the climb on the second or third lap, Steve doing the first bit and myself the second half of the climb. It worked perfectly, the bunch literally exploded after two thirds of the climb and I did the last bit 110%, with Steve asking me to slow down in the last bit (I think he still has a painful memory of that!). I never told him (the traditional French pride, you know), but I was suffering like hell as well, but the motivation of what we were about to do kept pushing me! Shortly after the climb, we could see the first cars behind the break and we kept our momentum, which allowed us to catch the 14 riders.

I think we closed a 45" gap in just about 10 minutes. And I can say that the break wasn't going slowly. Surprisingly, there was another member of the Surrey team in the break (oops!...) but fortunately, no other rider came with us and the 16 of us finished with just over four minutes on the main bunch. I was feeling really great that day, and was tempted to give it a go for the stage win but as Steve was faster than me, I played the team role. Steve won, and I came fourth. The same day, we took the lead in the team competition, which we won eventually. The main reason it was my best ride is because of the team aspect, which I really missed this year.

Otherwise, I could have also mentioned this race that I won but it does not have any special flavour at all. The breakaway with Backstedt in the third stage of the Revolution 5 day was also nice, but the result was crap (19th)!

Outside racing, I really enjoyed riding in the lanes. I did not do a lot of long rides, but I have to say that once I went out with Richard and Will on some very nice roads in Surrey that Richard knows, with almost no traffic and very nice landscape, and I really enjoyed that day.

Was there a race where things didn't work out so well?

A race particularly did not go according to plan indeed (amongst others, but this one was important). That was the eigth leg of the South-East series, which had a few good riders (Team DFL + VinerAgisko and the usual suspects like Dodd, Hurd, Baker and Co.), so a lot of people to watch. I was still fourth in the SE series, but very close to Anders Christensen (VC Meudon), and still three legs to go for the series, I was really hopping to make it to the top-three. Unfortunately, I did not have any inspiration at all, missed all the breaks and left Christensen going away at some point (can't even remember when!) and finished 20th, gaining just a few points for the series. I think I lost here all chances to make it to the top-three.

I could also mention here most of the stages of the Revolution 5 day, but my motivation and my form were really going down and the other riders were really good as well, so that gives me a good excuse I guess!

Did you enjoy time trialling as well?

I can't say a lot about TTs, as I didn't do a lot of races. I would say that I had a fairly decent time, but never felt great in the action. Although once in my life (only!) I got a good result in a TT in France (2nd, 1" away from the winner in a 11km flat TT; I never felt like this before!), I would say that time trialling is not for me. But if I carry on cycling, I think I would like to see where I can go, and how I could improve myself. I like the "scientific" approach that you need to have for this very special effort.

Describe a typical week’s training

If I had time, I would do:

Monday: recovery, 1 to 2 hours, spinning the legs very gently (I think I did recovery rides two or three times this year)

Tuesday: Crystal Palace was a perfect race to do on a Tuesday. 30 laps of 1 mile, very intense, with a short drag each time (here they say it's a climb); brilliant training. When I wasn't doing that and when I wasn't in the office, I tried to do some 30-30 or 20-40 in Richmond Park (30" sprint - 90-95% - and 30" recovery, OR 20" sprint - 100% - and 40" recovery, by series of ten, ideally 3 series (5-10' between each series). Always think about 15-20' warm up and cool down as well.

Wednesday: ideally, 2 to 4 hours easy (I did maybe three or four short rides on Wednesday this year)

Thursday: same as Tuesday, but longer efforts and less intensively. Typically: 1 to 5 min (70-85%) effort followed by 1 to 5 min recovery, series of 5 to 10; ideally 2 series. After working the "explosive" aspect on Tuesday, you work here the "résistance" [Webmaster: stamina]. I did that a couple of times this year.

Friday: nothing or two to three hours easy riding.

Saturday: one to two hours spinning the legs gently.

Sunday: War.

That is what I used to do when I was living in Antibes, where it was much easier to train. Ideally, you do three weeks in a row like that, then the fourth week, you take it easy, riding almost every day but gently. You can't train hard always. Here in London, I tried to cut my season by "blocs" of 1.5 to 2 months, at the end of which period I would stop almost completely to train and race for a week. Then start again for another two months (with two of the "3+1 week" cycle), etc. If you do that properly (after the miles in winter of course, VERY important, if not the most important bit of a good season), you can throw yourself in the "war" without problem!

Finally, at the beginning of the season, I rode back from the races a few times, ending the day with 160-180km, that was really important as well.

How does the racing here compare to France?

It's completely different. In France, I'd say 20-30% of the bunch is able to win the race you take part in (not talking about a stage race nor a very hilly race), and another 20-30% will put you into trouble anyway. So it's never ending. I don't remember seeing bunches of riders where 60-80% of them would be happy to stick to the back of it, watching the others fighting. It's pretty much the picture here I think, where out of a bunch of 80 guys, you'll find the 10 "usual suspects" able to win the race, plus another 10 having a go into the battle because they feel great that day or they have a brand new bike, and 60 other guys to congratulate them after the race, when they don't pack up to go back home before the finish.

The reason I had good results here is mainly because of that, as in France I am a very anonymous rider, having good results from time to time, but not at a high level like here (although I think the very high level is good here, but I am talking about the Recycling team and maybe another 20 to 30 riders in the country, and that's it). In France, very honestly, you will find this level almost in each single region (we have 12 or 14 regions as long as I remember), with a few exceptions (i.e.: there is no high level in the French Riviera near Nice, due to a lack of high level races). Which means nationwide, there are a lot more good riders than in the UK. The base is also more competitive, but cycling is much more popular in France and is still a tradition as well, which explains why.

What’s good and what’s bad about racing here and in France?

One very bad point about racing here is the price you have to pay to enter a race (it costs between three to seven euros in France, when your club doesn't pay your entry). Another bad point about England is the state of the roads; generally speaking it is in better condition in France. There are no big climbs here (at least around London!) which I like from time to time, and more generally speaking, the scenery of the races, although I know England only a bit (mainly Surrey, Kent, Sussex). Also, you hardly see anyone cheering the riders along the roads (I was surprised actually to see that most of the riders come on their own; in France, you often have one or two people coming with the rider to watch the race, give bottles...).

A very good point about racing in England is the fairplay of the riders. I never saw any "sneaky" actions here, nor any bad losers, any bad intentions. In France, you get to see these things in almost every race (like someone not working in a break and then taking part in the final sprint...). Also, here everyone talks to everyone. In France, at a certain level you tend to see the "local stars" putting themselves on a high pedestal, unwilling to talk to the "small" rider... That's all I can think about, but there are probably other things.

Did you enjoy living in London? What things do you like about life here?

I enjoyed living in London indeed. It's a nice place to meet people from all over the world. I really like the traditional pub and its atmosphere. The parks are also great in London and I enjoyed going from time to time to the museums, which are very nice I think. I also like the way that people tend to mix more than in France. I think that there are no social barriers here. But overall, I think I am not someone to live in a big city; everything goes too fast for me and people most of the time don't really take the chance to enjoy life in a simple way, at a slow pace. But it's probably the same in Paris!

And what do you miss from France?

I miss my friends, especially from my club in Antibes. I miss the nice rides along the beaches to go to the office every morning, and racing with my team mates... well, I miss the south of France basically (nice weather, mountains, sea, etc...). I miss also the fact that it is very easy in France to have a good meal, at home or in a restaurant for cheap. In London, unless you pay a significant price, what you get is not great (with a few exceptions).

What could we do in the club do to improve our performance in races?

There is lots to do, even when a team is doing well, there are still some improvements to make. But for the Kingston Wheelers, I would say the best idea would be to take part in a higher level of racing, taking part in the battle (not just sticking to the bunch), as did Chris Salt and James Beaumont for example, but not enough. Hard racing is the best experience you can get. It would be also good to have a team spirit (not only at the third cat. level!) and have a few races in mind in terms of goal for the club. There are some good riders in the club, so there is no reason why you shouldn't be competitive at a good level. Also, and that might the most difficult to achieve for some, you should drink less beer! The training of course has a very important role.

Will you be racing in France next year?

Not sure about that, I might not get involved in racing as much as this year; probably I'll do some cyclosportives, we'll see.

Will you be back to defend the Golden Roller trophy?

Hopefully!

Un grand merci à Yves et bonne chance for your return to France.

To read another interview with Yves, his "Introducing" article, click here.