And although Redgrave persuaded him to do the decent thing ­ "he told me to be as good a loser as I was a winner" ­ it still did not feel right to the youngest member of the four.Reflecting upon the reasons for that, Cracknell came up with a verbal concoction which, in its way, perfectly illustrated the impregnable ­ if illogical ­ attitude of the natural-born winner."I didn't want to shake the Italians' hands because I didn't believe they were better than me," he said. "I think I could cope with losing if I had rowed my best and lost But when I've lost I've never thought I've rowed my best. And I doubt if I ever would feel I had rowed my best if I had lost anyway."Work that one out if you can But even if you can't, it doesn't matter. The net result is that, if you are a competitive rower, James Cracknell is going to beat you.Had either Hemery or Cracknell been in the England dressing-room when the discussions took place about whether to try to beat Pakistan in the second Test or set out for the draw that would have ensured the series win, you fancy that the matter would have been decided in the bold fashion that Alec Stewart argued for in vain.Had either Hemery or Cracknell been in the yellow team on that camera-rich, neurosis-laden island in the sun, you fancy that the trunk of booty would have been transferred to the land so swiftly and efficiently that Mr Austin would have been obliged to check if it had been illegally fitted with an outboard motor.As he lined up for his big final at the Games of 1968, a final in which, on paper, he was only seventh fastest, Hemery did not exchange words with any of the US athletes. He wasn't out on the track to socialise."In a way, my attitude was anti-Olympic," he recalled. "Because the Games are about co-operation as well as competition.

But," he added, "competition comes first."Spoken like a true Olympian.. David Millar was in an untroubled mood after losing the leader's yellow jersey in yesterday's tough mountain stage of the Dauphin?ib?. David Millar was in an untroubled mood after losing the leader's yellow jersey in yesterday's tough mountain stage of the Dauphin?ib?. "Coming first wasn't what I came here for," the Scot said after crossing the finish line in Grenoble over 15 minutes down on the stage winner, his Cofidis team-mate Andrei Kivilev. "The lead was more a temporary bonus from taking second in the time-trial on Thursday. This isn't a race where I want to ride myself into the ground."Regarded as the traditional French warm-up for the Tour de France, the Alps feature strongly in the eight-day race, and Millar soon found himself in difficulties on the 18-kilometre Col de la Chamrousse climb. "I tried for about 500 metres and then gave up," he admitted "It wasn't planned I would do that, though.

We had been riding on the front all day but there's no point in killing myself. I have to keep my other objectives for the season in mind."Millar, who won the prologue of last year's Tour, was encouraged by being in the lead group on the Mont Ventoux, a 20km climb on Tuesday. "On Sunday when the terrain is not so difficult, I will be aiming to take a stage win here," he said.. Belgian Riders achieved a momentous victory when they won the Aachen Nations Cup for the first time since it was inaugurated in 1929, defeating the Germans by eight faults without their last rider, Ludo Philippaerts, being required to jump a second round. Belgian riders achieved a momentous victory when they won the Aachen Nations Cup for the first time since it was inaugurated in 1929, defeating the Germans by eight faults without their last rider, Ludo Philippaerts, being required to jump a second round. Germany, who had been the firm favourites, finished second by virtue of faster times in the second round than the two other nations ­ Italy and the Netherlands ­ who finished on the same 12-fault score.

Britain qualified for the second round, which was a step forward from the last two Nations Cups when they failed to get even that far, but they could do no better than sixth place.British hopes had been buoyant after Michael Whitaker opened the competition with a clear round on Virtual Village Prince of Wales and they remained that way when Mark Armstrong and the mare, Elise, came home with just one mistake.Tim Stockdale, whose Traxdata Wiston Bridget was expected to be a weak link, then had a respectable eight faults before John Whitaker made a single error when Calvaro just failed to clear the water.At his second attempt, Prince of Wales appeared to be heading for another faultless performance before two errors in succession ­ when removing a pole from the penultimate upright and another at the first part of the final double. Elise then proved her worth with a splendid clear round before the British effort fell apart, with 16 faults from Wiston Bridget and 23 from Calvaro, who had also disappointed the previous week when incurring 30 faults in Modena.Calvaro began his second round with a mistake at the first of the 12 fences "I think he lost a bit of heart there," Whitaker said. The stallion then "gave up a bit" after hitting the triple bar at the eighth fence and Whitaker lost control when he pulled him out in front of the treble which followed. Having circled back, they added 11 time faults to the 12 incurred for jumping errors.The British chef d'equipe, Michael Bullman, was naturally delighted with Armstrong's mount. "Elise is a super little mare, she confirmed that she has plenty of jump and is very careful," he said. He was also pleased with the "very good first round" from Prince of Wales, but he is reserving judgement on Calvaro until after tomorrow's Grand Prix.The contest produced only two double clear rounds ­ from Jerry Smit for Italy on the excellent Jamiro and Marc van Dijck for the victorious Belgians on Verelst Goliath.