David Millar’s clothing brand CHPT3 has been saved by the founder of Factor bikes, Rob Gitelis, after the firm entered 'voluntary liquidation' last December.

Millar, 48, became brand director at Factor in January after what appeared to be the end of his clothing brand. However, in an email update circulated by CHPT3 on Thursday evening he said the company would now continue.

"I remember my final team dinner as a pro cyclist, at the 2014 Vuelta a España in Santiago de Compostela," Millar wrote, "I stood up and gave a speech, I concluded it with the biggest learning from my career, 'Never give up.' I suppose I'd taken that into the real world and figured it would be equally applicable there."

He continued: "I've learnt these past few years that sometimes giving up is the hardest, and often the bravest, and occasionally, the only thing to do. One thing is certain, there will never be a chapter four. Rob Gitelis, founder of Factor, stepped in and rescued CHPT3."

Millar regularly wrote blogs, articles and other pieces for his own brand which were distributed via email to subscribers. He said his new role at Factor enabled him to continue to do similar work for his new employer.

As well as designing clothes, CHPT3 also successfully collaborated with Brompton bikes on a new design and also began producing shoes before their initial demise.

"For me things are good, I've taken a break from CHPT3 and am loving my new job as Brand Director at Factor, it's allowed all the things I learnt in my decade of being a jack-of-all-trades entrepreneur to find a home," Millar continued. "Rob and his team have placed a confidence in me that I don't think any other company or brand would have done, after all, I have no CV.

"One of the things I enjoyed most at CHPT3 was being able to share my cycling adventures, through diaries and blogs, and Factor has given me the opportunity to do even more of these. I've been cut loose and become part of a team who will help me create whatever I want to tell the Factor story across emails, videos, podcasts, blog posts. It's a ton of fun.

"I'll be sharing these with you from Factor going forward. If you love bikes, you'll love Factor. Stay tuned, there are some exciting things in the pipeline from CHPT3 and Factor."

"CHPT3 - back to the future. There are exciting things to come, yet for now the Transit Shoes will be our focus - they were the crowning achievement of CHPT3 when it comes to product, years of R&D, they are ground breaking in every way," Millar wrote. "In many ways, the Transit shoe is the ultimate representation of that vision I had for CHPT3, combining the same care and attention to not only the aesthetics that mattered to me as a racer, but the performance."

"The Brompton relationship remains. Will Butler-Adams and I remain great friends, we are yet to hatch plans, what we'll do next is undecided, although now the dust has settled we’ll put our heads together as the collaboration was one of the bedrocks of CHPT3," he added.

"Brompton opened my eyes to a whole new cycling world, when founding CHPT3 in 2015 I knew nothing about urban cycling, that world was as far removed from me as the Tour de France was to commuters. I didn't consider the two worlds having any commonality, I was a racer, they were commuters, and never the twain shall meet."

You might think it fortunate that David Millar and Lachlan Morton are friends. Millar, a retired Tour de France stage winner, will make his debut at the 200-mile Unbound Gravel this weekend, riding alongside the elites. Morton won the same event last year. Surely the Australian would have some golden advice?

“He’s pretty useless, bless him,” says Millar. “When I was speaking to him about [the Traka] 560 – we went for a ride a couple of weeks before – I asked him a couple of questions and realised it was just pointless, because he’s like, ‘Ah, you can just ride through.’

“For him, he’s done all these sorts of things, so his perception of what’s possible has been pushed so far that he’s got such a sort of pragmatism about it… I’d recommend, if anybody wants advice on doing ultras, don’t ask Lachlan Morton, because he just takes it all in his stride.”

Millar hopes he too will take racing in his stride when he lines up in Kansas this Saturday. It will be the 48-year-old Brit’s first taste of American gravel, at the calendar’s marquee event. His goal is clear: make it to the finish line.

“I’m going in with a fairly open mind,” he tells Cycling Weekly. “I literally don’t know if I’m going to be flying or dying, or even if I can finish it.

“Knowing me, I’ll probably start out going as hard as I can, just to see what it’s like and see what the level is.” He won't try to follow the pros, though. “I made that mistake at Santa Vall earlier in the year and I lasted 2km. Those days are over.”

In the build-up to Unbound, Millar completed the Traka 560 earlier this month, riding 560km unsupported over 30 hours on gravel trails near his home in Girona, Spain. The event, he says, gave him a “huge paradigm shift in distance”, but left him “buckled” and nursing a busted knee.

“I was a mental milkshake, just completely broken, like a walking zombie,” he says, recalling the hallucinations he experienced mid-race, and the fatigue that followed. “It took me to a pretty weird place that I was kind of fascinated by.”

Millar was known throughout his racing career for his speed against the clock. He won time trial stages at the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, and retired in 2014, aged 37.

In a newly released documentary about his Traka 560 ride, Millar said he reached the “lowest point in my life” two and a half years ago.

“I’d sunk into alcoholism and lost all meaning for life,” he said in a candid piece to camera. “I’d stopped riding my bike, I’d stopped doing sport, I’d never been as unhealthy as I was. I woke up in the morning kind of not looking forward to the day.”

Together with his sister Fran, now the CEO of Rapha, he took part in his first off-road event in 2023 in South Africa’s Cape Epic. Millar has since competed in the Migration Gravel Race in Kenya, the Traka, and other gravel events near his home, challenges he has found “very fulfilling”.

“Now I have a very deep understanding of why people do it, because I think it takes them out of their comfort zone. It gives them an experience that’s so far removed from their everyday life,” he says.

Alongside his full-time role as brand director of Factor Bikes, Millar has done a lot of his Unbound training indoors, on the cycling platform Zwift. He’ll ride Factor’s OSTRO Gravel on race day, a bike that’s so fast, he says, “I broke the Rocacorba road descent [record] on it three weeks ago”.

How is he approaching his debut at gravel’s biggest event? “Unbound is about going out there and getting amongst it, and hoping I don’t puncture,” he says.

“I’m kind of just excited about it. I’ve got no trepidation for it. I’m more worried that, if it rains, I have to go through one of those kilometres of mud walking scenarios.”

The Life Time Unbound Gravel 200 takes place in Kansas, USA on 31 May. The race can be streamed live, for free, on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel from 10am CT (4pm BST).

Cycling clothing company CHPT3 has entered liquidation and immediately ceased trading.

The firm, founded by ex-pro David Millar, recently shared a short statement via its website confirming the company’s situation.

“The directors of CHPT3 Limited have instructed Wilson Field Limited to assist in the formalities of a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation,” the statement read. “The Company has now ceased to trade. Creditors will be contacted by Wilson Field Limited in due course.”

News of the firm's collapse further underlines the turbulant nature of the wider cycling industry.

Just three weeks ago, staff at British retailer i-ride and its bike brand Orro were made redundant, with the parent company of both, the Martlett Group, “effectively liquidated” according to its administrator FRP Advisory. The brands were saved after being acquired by Baaj Capital LLRP but job losses still occurred.

In October a spokesperson for British cycling clothing brand Rapha said that the popular brand had “continued to strengthen its core business operations” despite recording large financial losses for the seventh year in a row, with its losses deepening by over £10 million.

"The management team remains focused on further improving business profitability and resilience while the sector remains challenged," the spokesperson continued. "Meanwhile, our marketing, creative and product teams continue to strive to make the Rapha brand more visible and engaging to cyclists, as well as delivering a steady stream of product innovation to increase customer lifetime value."

In August it was announced that former Team Sky CEO Fran Millar would join the brand as CEO.

The past two years have seen the industry continue to encounter difficulties in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. Multiple household name businesses experienced issues with Wiggle Chain reaction Cycles being the most well-known casualty before it was later acquired by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.

Experts have said that businesses within the cycle industry need to endeavour to strive to survive in 2025, when it is anticipated that the turbulence generated by the pandemic will finally begin to settle.

Cycling Weekly contacted both David Millar and Wilson Field Limited for further comment in relation to CHPT3’s situation but did not receive a response.

The ITV Tour de France commentary team fear the loss of free-to-air coverage of the race will have a “devastating effect” on the sport of cycling in the UK.

Last Friday, it was announced that Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of Eurosport, had signed an exclusive deal with ASO, the organisers of the Tour de France, to show the race in the UK.

The partnership will come into effect in 2026, and will mark the end of ITV’s 25 years of coverage, meaning viewers can no longer watch the race live for free.

Speaking on his podcast, Never Strays Far, ITV’s lead commentator Ned Boulting said he was “a little bit shaken up” by the news, which he only heard about on Friday.

“If I’m perfectly honest, It’s been coming. It’s not an entire surprise. I’ve seen the writing on the wall, and ultimately, if you step back and think about the economics of the way it works and everything, it’s not a huge surprise,” Boulting said.

“Obviously, though, we have one more year left: next year. Obviously, though, on a personal level, I am struggling to find the exact right words, but I’m a little bit shaken up by it because, it goes without saying, the race I’ve been fortunate enough, very privileged to get to know as well as I have done, for as long as I have done, feels like it’s moving away from me.”

Boulting’s co-commentator, four-time Tour stage winner David Millar, described the loss of free-to-air coverage as a “bummer”, saying that it casts “a much bigger, more permanent dark cloud over this decision”.

“For me and so many others, it was the free-to-air production, Channel 4 and then ITV, that really brought me into the Tour de France,” Millar said.

“I come from a family that wasn’t into cycling. It’s not something that somebody in my family would have had the Tour de France on, and I’d have seen it in passing and eventually got persuaded to come in. It was me that found it or stumbled across it on Channel 4 in the early 90s, and it just added a whole new level of colour.

“I think that counts for so many others, so many others, not just cyclists, but cycling fans. We know from our experience as well with ITV commentary that the reach it has, let’s be honest, far exceeds Eurosport in the sense that it is accessible.

“The majority of the people that watch the ITV Tour de France show, they don’t watch any other bike racing in the year. They also don’t want to just watch a pure racing show, they want to watch something that is inclusive, and goes a bit beyond the race, which is what the free-to-air has always done in the UK.”

Millar went on to say that he believes the loss of free-to-air television will “once again damage cycling in the UK”.

“Let’s be honest, it’s struggling at the moment, on all levels, and to have the Tour de France taken away from free-to-air means that the descending spiral that we appear to be in in the UK with regards road cycling is going to continue. It sucks for the kids like me who fell in love with this quirky sport, and they could just go and turn on a TV and watch it on their own. They didn’t need their parents to get a subscription.”

Speaking on the same podcast, Pete Kennaugh, one of ITV’s main Tour de France presenters, shared Millar’s opinion. “For cycling in the UK, for me, it’s a massive, massive step back,” he said.

“I think the fact of it not being free-to-watch anymore is going to have a devastating effect on the sport in the UK. You might not see it in a year’s time, two years’ time, but going forward, five years, 10 years, I think it will have a huge, huge impact. Even me going on the school run, you have parents, who you had no idea watch the Tour or are into cycling, talk about, ‘What a stage that was’ or, ‘Did you see his attack or that crash?’ It’s really, really sad.

“I don’t think it should be allowed to happen personally,” Kennaugh added.

David Millar and Garmin will be reuniting seven years after the British rider retired from professional racing.  

Retired British pro Millar has relaunched his popular CHPT3 cycling clothing brand, with a new direction and a new investor. 

As part of the new direction CHPT3 Millar has teamed up with Garmin, the former sponsor of his professional squad late into his prestigious career, to release a unique cycling kit, which will be officially revealed this weekend. 

Millar, who raced for Garmin-Sharp for seven seasons until his retirement from the peloton in 2014, is hoping to bring CHPT3 to a wider audience, with a greater focus on women’s cycling kit and sustainability. 

The 44-year-old, a four-time Tour de France stage winner, said: “Garmin used to be my professional uniform almost every day for the last seven years of my career. I have so many memories of racing in a Garmin kit. 

“The CHPT3 | Garmin kit is the official kit for those of us that love our Garmin. We designed the kit to represent both the heritage and the future of cycling. I always wanted to create a branded kit that I would have loved to wear as a professional racer, a kit that was elegant, premium quality, high performance yet without the feeling that you're wearing a billboard.” 

The CHPT3 Garmin collaboration will be officially unveiled at the Unbound Gravel event in Kansas, USA, before it goes on sale around the world on July 20. 

Coming in two editions, riders will have a choice of a subtle version of the kit or a classic style that resembles the old Team Garmin kit from the early 2010s. 

Millar is taking CHPT3 in a new direction for 2021 as passionate cycling fan Mikkel B Rasmussen has invested in the company. 

The brand is now hoping to adopt a more affordable price for its kit, along with a new focus on encouraging more women to get into cycling, improving sustainability, and reaching out to the USA and Asia, while also spreading across disciplines to include road, gravel, mountain biking and everyday cycling. 

Millar said: “Millions of people are discovering their love for cycling these years. Yet, cycling can feel so exclusive and elitist and can put people off before they’ve even got on a bike. 

“The cycling industry has managed to position cycling as a sport of suffering, pain, and herd-like behaviour. CHPT3 is for people that want to break free of that narrow code and make cycling a broad part of their lifestyle. CHPT3 is for both men and women. It serves many types of cycling, always with a focus to make cycling a positive, playful force in the life of our users.”

The first new line of CHPT3 kit, Most Days, is available for pre-sale now and will be available to buy from June 8. 

The line will include the first CHPT3 products for women. 

There's nothing more frustrating than your bike breaking right in the thick of the action. And what's more, when there's no-one around to help you fix it or give you a new one, you can see your chances of winning fly right out of the window.

So there's no better way of showing your frustration than giving your formerly trusted steed a good sling into the nearby bushes.

Here we've rounded up the ever evolving list of the best bike throws from recent times. And we're not talking about the clever trick to win a sprint, but an angrier version.

1. Jack Bauer, 2015

The Cannondale-Garmin rider had already been battling gale force winds and expending a lot of energy just to stay in touch with the splintered peloton at Ghent-Wevelgem back in 2016, and the feed zone must have been a bit of welcome relief from the stress of the race.

Well, until another rider's discarded jacket got wrapped around his gears and forced him to come to an abrupt, sliding halt.

Ironically, the offending jacket becomes dislodged pretty easily as the bike is making its way to the ditch.

Distance: 8/10

Style: 6/10

Aggression: 9/10

Total: 23/30

2. Jeremy Santucci, 2016

Track-bike-in-a-crit rider Jeremy Santucci turned the aggression up to 11 with this outburst. His bike had already been damaged in a crash at the Red Hook Criterium in Milan when he made sure it wouldn't race again.

Understandably annoyed about crashing out of a race he'd work hard to be competitive in, Santucci threw his bike to the ground with such force that the frame was left in two very separate pieces.

By virtue of it being a track bike, there weren't any brake of gear cables to keep the now severed parts at all connected.

If it hadn't been for the distance Jack Bauer managed to launch his bike, Santucci's effort would have gone straight in at number one.

Distance: 4/10

Style: 7/10

Aggression: 11/10

Total: 22/30

3. Bradley Wiggins, 2013

No such list would be complete without the famous 'bike park' trick Bradley Wiggins pulled out of his sleeve at the 2013 Giro del Trentino.  He couldn't have done that if he tried.

Distance: 6/10

Style: 11/10

Aggression: 6/10

Total: 23/30

4. Bjarne Riis, 1997

Defending champion Bjarne Riis unleashed all his fury on his malfunctioning bike at the final time trial of the 1997 Tour de France.

Now we know the performance enhancing drugs worked on his throwing abilities, too.

Distance: 9/10

Style: 4/10

Aggression: 8/10

Total: 21/30

5. Marcel Kittel, 2014

Giant-Shimano's sprinter slammed his, er, Giant bicycle down on the ground like the Incredible Hulk. Clearly not quite sure what to do with himself, he then goes for a lie down.

Distance: 3/10

Style: 7/10

Aggression: 10/10

Total: 20/30

6. David Millar, 2008

There was no hanging about here. Denied an all but certain win on stage five of the 2008 Giro d'Italia, the then British champion David Millar knew exactly what to do.

Distance: 6/10

Style: 7/10

Aggression: 7/10

Total: 20/30

7. Tom Dumoulin, 2018

Cover your ears, children, there's a bit of bad language in this one as Tom Dumoulin suffers mechanical problems for the second successive stage at the Abu Dhabi Tour. Dumoulin's effort seems to have all the right ingredients for a good bike throw, but unfortunately the bike seems to slip out of his hands as he tries to throw it in the air, making for a slightly pathetic effort before his high-pitched profanities secure him a low score.

Distance: 2/10

Style: 1/10

Aggression: 5/10

Total: 8/30

9. Elisa Longo Borghini, 2019

Things got heated in the women's edition of Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne, when Elisa Longo Borghini was caught in a crash during the Belgian one-day race.

Unfortunately, her bike became tangled under the machine of Bigla rival Elizabeth Banks who was also involved in the collision.

Borghini wouldn't let that slow her down however, as she tore Banks' bike up and threw it across the road before remounting her bike and pedalling on.

To make matters worse, she almost collided with a team car as she got going again.

Channelling Marcel Kittel, Borghini apologised on Twitter very promptly.

Distance: 8/10

Style: 6/10

Agression: 3/10

Total: 17/30

Honourable mentions

Mario Cipollini, 2003

Ok, so it's not technically a bike. But who can forget Cipo chucking his toys out of the pram at the 2003 edition of Ghent-Wevelgem?

Bernard Hinault, 1984

How does Bernard Hinault put an end to unwanted industrial action at the 1984 Paris-Nice?  Ride into them at full pelt before throwing out the knuckle sandwiches, that's how.

The original version of this story by Richard Abraham first appeared online in March 2014, and was then updated by Alex Ballinger in 2019.

David Millar says the fight to give professional cyclists a voice starts now after he lost the election for CPA president.

The former Scottish professional says cyclists including Chris Froome (Team Sky) are "crying for help" because the CPA is not protecting their interests.

"I think there's still a lot of work to do," Millar told Cycling Weekly after a busy 24 hours in Innsbruck, where he lost to incumbent Gianni Bugno on Thursday.

"I need a few days to speak to riders to get opinions and pick the direction to go."

Millar knew he was likely to lose, but wants the election to bring change.

"This is a long game," Millar said.

>>> Why pro riders including Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas are protesting against their union

"It's been an intense month and it's opened up the debate and raised awareness. Now the long game properly begins."

Millars' campaign raised awareness that a few select nations have large voting powers in the Association of Professional Cyclists (CPA).

Nations including France, Italy, and Spain vote in blocks on behalf of their riders and have the power to steer the union.

Only six member associations vote at the CPA: France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and North America.

Riders from other nations hardly carry weight – which is troubling when those professionals want change.

Millar is considering whether he could work from within the CPA for change or bring it via outside means.

"I saw the system was flawed, it's not going to go away through the normal process with the committee, it'll be shut down if you propose change," he continued.

"This candidacy was the only way to do it, raises awareness and force a change. You needed a big noise to force some change.

"Whatever happens, it's trying to get the CPA to work better, to get the peloton to feel they have representation that they believe in and trust. "

Ahead of the election on Thursday, big name pros including Froome, Geraint Thomas, Greg Van Avermaet and Tom Dumoulin wrote to the CPA saying the election would be "unfair" and the union is not representing them.

The election unfolded regardless and as predicted, Bugno won with a landslide 379-96 vote.

"Will the riders strike? No. They would be willing to, but it doesn't work like that in cycling. The problem with striking, there are 200 people on the start line of bike races. It's a lot of people to get on the same page," Millar explained.

"You want to get to a point where the peloton is so unified and the union so well represented so that even a threat of a strike would be enough."

The CPA asked Millar to help from within, but he will decide if that is the best way or if a change from outside could be better.

"Riders are crying for help on social media," he added. "They don't feel the CPA is doing it for them."

Giving riders a meaningful voice is the next big issue facing professional cycling after the era of systematic doping, according to former racer David Millar.

Millar, a retired professional turned anti-doping campaigner, has thrown his hat into the ring to become president of the pro riders union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA).

But the 41-year-old’s candidacy for CPA president has caused a crisis within the peloton, as the role has previously been ceremonially handed from one leader to another, without the need for election.

>>>Why pro riders are protesting against their union

Now an election must be held between Millar and incumbent president Gianni Bugno.

Given a choice of candidates for the first time, many riders are voicing their intent to vote but are finding barriers to the right to cast their ballot.

Cycling Weekly sat down with Millar on Thursday on the top floor of Marathon House – the home of the London Marathon and RideLondon - in the capital, to discuss his campaign and the future of the sport.

A cry for help

“I didn’t think it would kick off quite as much as this,” Millar said.

“I could see something was wrong and it wasn’t going to change.

“The riders are using social media as a cry for help, because they don’t have a voice that represents them. This isn’t just one or two riders.

“I want to make the peloton a better place for cyclists. It’s quite brutal as a profession.

“The riders are fighting for their jobs and for their safety.”

Riders concerned about the process

The first CPA election is causing a stir amongst big name riders, who feel their ballots will be squandered because of a block voting system.

Essentially, the riders of many countries are represented by a single official from that nation’s union.

A number of votes are allocated to each of those nations, so France’s representative is given 150 votes, while Italy’s official has 124.

Riders who are represented by one of these national unions are then barred from voting in the election themselves.

This means votes can be stacked against a rival, in this case Millar, without a rider ever actually casting a vote.

But the controversy does not stop there as any riders outside of a national association, like the UK, will have to vote in person on election day.

Each rider allowed to take part is given a single vote.

The election will be held in Innsbruck next Thursday, during the World Championships, which means riders racing the Worlds will be able to vote, but many pros will not be present.

Big name riders, including Team Sky’s Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, have voiced their discontent over the voting process on social media.

The biggest issue in professional racing

Millar said he believes rider representation is the biggest issue currently facing the peloton: “There is an anti-doping feeling now in the sport. Riders are very secure in the system. If there is doping, it’s anomalous.

“They’re moving on to the next issue, which is the governance.

"The riders tend to be the bottom of the food chain, when they’re what make the sport.

“I think this has the power to make cycling a much more professional and enjoyable sport to watch.

“The sport is very disjointed. There’s no cohesion.

“I think the peloton can bring the sport to a higher level.”

Millar was speaking the day current CPA president Gianni Bugno responded to the criticism from Froome and others.

Bugno said it made him feel “very bad” to be criticised by Froome after he defended the Team Sky leader during recent controversy.

The CPA is funded through a combination of money from the UCI and a percentage taken from pros prize money.

'It's quite scary for these younger guys'

Millar said he believes the CPA can act as a force for riders when dealing with race organisers and the UCI, helping to improve rider safety and even job security.

He said: “I think it can be quite scary for the riders to speak out.

“It’s quite scary for these younger guys.

“It’s reached a tipping point. They’re not scared to stand up.”

And when asked about A-list riders like Froome and Thomas speaking out, he added: “The big names, they do have a voice. It can have an affect and an impact.

"I think it’s very important the big riders speak up on this one because they need to show leadership.”

The next step

One of the key steps for the union, according to Millar and many riders, is moving to online voting.

In a sport as international as cycling, as system of casting ballots in person is difficult to justify as there is no guarantee riders will be able to appear.

But the CPA has said it would not be possible to instigate online voting before the election next week, and has also raised concerns around the security of electronic ballots.

While the CPA seems determined to press ahead with the election in the face of dissent, the next step for Millar could be an attempt to delay the process.

‘Everything I did was for the Tour de France’, explains David Millar early on in Time Trial, ‘That’s why I became a cyclist’.

Director Finlay Pretsell’s documentary, following Millar’s final year as a pro, makes it clear how important the Tour is to the Scot. He has ridden in 12 but will he make the 2014 edition? The effect, when a teary-eyed Millar discovers his Garmin-Sharp team have not selected him for the race, after a thrilling, eye-opening and often gruelling documentary, is devastating.

Away from the Tour, Time Trial is about much more. The opening sequence is a handlebar-perspective, high speed descent as Millar flies down an alpine pass, hurtling through corners at a speed and with a level of skill most riders could only dream of. This sets the tone for the remainder of the film- an action-packed journey into the heart of the pro peloton as action cameras and microphones provide an incredible array of footage, taking us into the middle of the bunch in races including the Giro and, most memorably, a rain soaked 2014 Milan-San Remo.

Those who have read Millar’s excellent books, Racing through the Dark and The Racer, will be aware of the Scot’s story and Time Trial does inevitably cover some of the same ground, including a look at his 2004 EPO suspension and subsequent return, along with detailed coverage of the 2014 season.

However, as good as Millar’s books are, they can’t provide what Time Trial does- sounds and visuals of in-race, team car and hotel footage, a real treat for any cycling fan.

With Millar mic’d up by the film’s production team for much of his final season, there is a variety of fascinating footage and audio of Millar talking to other riders in the peloton- casual talk about the weather with Roman Kreuziger, tactical discussion with Mark Cavendish and an old fashioned moaning session with Geraint Thomas. It really does feel special to see this stuff, and along with hearing every breath and grunt from Millar as struggles up punishing inclines or empties his tank during TT’s, the film is a feast for the senses.

Will Time Trial appeal to non-cycling fans? Possibly not, despite the film being beautifully made and Millar himself showing what an absorbing, articulate and candid character he is, it may lack the crossover appeal for those not interested in the sport.

But for cycling fans, Time Trial is a triumph, not just an enthralling look at one man’s story but also an insight into pro racing that is captivating.

David Millar has revealed that he received injections of controversial drug Kenacort (triamcinolone) during his professional riding career due to a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) certificate for what he describes as a 'fake tendon issue'.

In an article entitled 'How to Get Away with Doping' written by Millar for the New York Times on Sunday, he recounts the effects that the powerful drug had on his body and mind.

The drug is the same one that Bradley Wiggins received to treat allergies, which came to light when hacking group Fancy Bears published Wiggins's TUEs online. TUEs are issued when an athlete is prescribed a substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list for a legitimate medical reason. A TUE is not in itself a sign of wrongdoing.

Millar writes about his first experiences in the pro ranks from 1997, where he says that he rode clean initially but turned to doping in order to achieve more results. He says that he was taking EPO by the 2001 season. He later used Kenacort three times, the first for a legitimate medical reason after suffering from allergies.

>>> David Millar calls for Bradley Wiggins’s TUE medication to be banned

"On one occasion, I received a TUE for a fake tendon issue," said Millar. "A doctor simply wrote a prescription for an ankle injury that required an intra-articular injection [of Kenacort], although the injection was then administered intramuscularly."

Millar continued: "The Kenacort was so powerful that it was ultimately destructive: Apart from being a catabolic agent, it would also suppress your immune system, making you more susceptible to infections.

"I didn’t like taking it, but I was so deep into what I was doing at the time that I did what I considered had to be done."

Millar says he took the drug ahead of the Vuelta a España in 2002 and Tour de France in 2003. He writes that it enabled him to lose weight without losing power, and he felt stronger.

"Kenacort was a once-a-year drug; the stress it put on your body required time to recover. You’d be mad to take it more often or in bigger doses, although, sadly, there were enough madmen around at the time in pro cycling who surely did just that.

"The three times I took Kenacort were also the times I was the lightest I’d been in my career, yet I didn’t lose power — often the penalty when a rider sheds weight. Physically, I looked like a machine, muscle fibres were visible and a road map of veins crisscrossed my entire body."

Millar says that the drug 'altered his mental state' and exaggerated his moods and decreased his ability to sleep. Nevertheless, Millar was taking the drug within in the rules.

"I was taking this powerful, potentially dangerous drug as a performance enhancer, yet I was doing so within the rules — thanks to the TUE loophole. My doping, for that is what it was, could not be judged illegal as long as I fulfilled all the criteria demanded by the authorities. I was within the letter of the law, even though I was cheating it. I was in the grey zone."

>>> Bradley Wiggins missed whereabouts test in May, report suggests

After a police raid on his accommodation in Biarritz yielded EPO syringes, Millar admitted to doping and was banned for two years in 2004. When he returned to racing, Millar became a staunch anti-doping advocate and has frequently been outspoken about doping in the peloton. He says that the TUE system needs an overhaul to prevent abuse, and to secure riders' health.

"A TUE should allow access to a performance-enhancing drug only if that drug is required for proven medical reasons. Then a TUE should permit its use — but only out of competition. If any traces of the drug are found by in-competition testing, then that should result in a ban.

"For an athlete’s own well-being, it is better to face the fact of sickness or injury and withdraw from competition. And for the sport’s well-being, it is better to avoid a system open to abuse and exploitation."

David Millar is calling on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to completely ban the corticosteroid used by Sir Bradley Wiggins during his time with Team Sky, calling the drug "powerful" and "destructive".

In a data leak last week it was revealed that Wiggins received six therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) during his career, three for triamcinolone, which was used to treat a pollen allergy.

Wiggins's use of the drug was sanctioned by the UCI ahead of the 2011 and 2012 Tour de France and the 2013 Giro d'Italia. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Wiggins.

In an interview with the Telegraph's Tom Cary, Millar described his experience of the drug, saying Kenacort – a trade name for triamcinolone - "put you on this weird high”, having used it himself in the past.

The former Garmin professional, who served a two year ban for drug use in his early career and is now an active anti-doping campaigner, did not comment on the Wiggins case, but shared his experience of Kenacort.

“You would do all the training but my weight would stick,” he said, referencing his own use of EPO and testosterone patches. “But if I took Kenacort, 1.5-2kgs would drop off in like a week. And not only would the weight drop off I would feel stronger.

“If you are non-asthmatic and you take Ventolin it’s not going to give you any advantage. But if you take Kenacort it’s not only going to make a sick person better, it’s going to make a sick person better than a healthy person. That’s a very grey area.

“I’m sure there are other forms of cortisone that could be used for allergies which aren’t so potent or performance-enhancing.” He added: “We [athletes] shouldn’t have to face this. If it’s that strong we shouldn’t be allowed to take it unless there is a serious issue.

"And if we’re suffering from that serious an issue, we shouldn’t be racing. I don’t know how a doctor could prescribe it [before a race]. I can’t fathom it.”

In a statement released on Wiggins's behalf following the data leak, it was insisted there was "nothing new" in the revelations, which have left the 2012 Tour champion under fire due to his his previous statements regarding Team Sky's 'no-needle' policy.

“The triamcinolone injection that is referred to in the WADA leaks is an intramuscular treatment for asthma and is fully approved by the sport’s governing bodies," the statement read.

Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium) won a gruelling Olympic men's road race after a day of innumerable attacks and counter attacks, and an unfortunate number of crashes.

With full race coverage on the BBC, most people sat down for some or all of the very long parcours. Probably before they'd caught their breath from such an exciting race, plenty of people took to Twitter to let us know what they though.

David Millar kicks things off, saying what many of us were definitely thinking

Orica-BikeExchange's comms man takes a slightly more restrained view

Alex Dowsett, himself in the frame for a ride at the Olympics earlier this year, clearly enjoyed being a spectator

Tejay van Garderen, absent due to his fears over the zika virus, is very pleased for his BMC Racing teammate

That's one way of putting it, Tosh

Learning from their rider Geraint Thomas's Twitter performance at the Tour de France, Team Sky put a gif to good use

Fair enough really

Everyone's favourite fictional Belgian gives an insight into GVA's life away from the bike

Several people raised a very interesting question: Was this course really too hard for Peter Sagan?

He and Van Averamet are similar riders and both very strong in brutal one day races. Let's hope Sagan performs in the mountain biking

Cycling Weekly's own Gregor Brown brings up something that the UCI might consider for future Worldtour races

Former Garmin-Sharp rider David Millar believes the UCI need to work hard to crack down on motorbike incidents following the death of Antoine Demoitié after an collision at Ghent-Wevelgem on Sunday, but says it's hard to pinpoint why so many of these accidents are occuring.

Demoitié was involved in a crash with other riders and a race motorbike on Easter Sunday and later died in hospital in Lille, France.

In the wake of the 25-year-old's death, Millar says that investigations need to be conducted after each one in order to conclude why so many incidents of this nature are occuring.

"I think everybody’s already said ‘well it’s a problem’, the thing is until there’s an investigation into each one of these incidents and we have conclusions from each one it’s very difficult to know what needs to be changed," he told Cycling Weekly on Tuesday.

"They’re all happening in different situations, different points in races, and different countries and I’m sure if it was any other walk of life, [there would be] an investigation afterwards to work out what happened, and yet each of these incidents we’ve had we’ve never had any conclusion or wrap-up of what happened."

Millar has taken part in several UCI working groups, one of which looked at rider safety. Jean Francois Pescheux, the ex-race director of the Tour de France, was present on the panel and told Millar the regulation of vehicles is something they looked at in his time on the world's biggest race.

The most recent occurrence of a rider and race vehicle coming into contact has been the most tragic. Demoitié died in hospital in Lille following a crash after 150km in Ghent-Wevelgem. Witnesses to this incident have said that the motorbike rider was not to blame and that it was a tragic accident, and Demoitié's team have not laid any responsibility on the motorcyclist.

Dutch NOS journalist Sebastiaan Timmerman said, “this was just a very unfortunate accident. Antoine Demoitié crashed with several other riders. An official motorcycle that rode behind them tried to avoid the group of riders, but it went wrong. He crashed and the engine landed on Antoine Demoitié."

More on this story

Eyewitness describes Antoine Demoitié crash: 'I suspected that it wasn’t an ordinary accident'

Marcel Kittel calls for better race safety after Antoine Demoitié death

Antoine Demoitié's team shell-shocked but defiant on cycling's day of tragedy

Due to the seriousness of the Sunday's crash, French police (the crash happened on a small part of the parcours that passes through France) are conducting a full investigation. But in terms of monitoring rider safety and reducing such incidents in future, Millar is quite clear on who needs to take the lead.

"That’s the UCI’s responsibility, and so I’d be interested to know if they’ve already done that, if they already have a dossier on each one of these incidents and what the conclusions have been," he told CW.

"We can’t have solutions until we know what the problems are, and I don’t know if we know what the problems are yet. Everyone just goes up in arms, too many motorbikes, or the roads are too narrow, they’ve not got the right licences, or they haven’t been trained properly.

"But the truth is, the honest truth is no one actually knows what’s going on.

"Each time these happen we get some uproar in the press and on social media and then I’m interested to what actually happens."

After a suggestion that each collision makes headlines but is soon forgotten about until the next similar thing happens, Millar summed up where this trend of uproar with no action has led us, "until somebody tragically dies" he said.

In a previous discussion, a few weeks prior to the Demoitié accident, Millar was speaking at an event to promote the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire sportive and when interviewed by CW he touched on the number of motorbike incidents we've seen.

"It’s unprecedented the amount that have happened in the last year and a half. I mean you’d hardly ever see it before, if ever. So it’s quite hard to figure out why that is," he said.

"The UCI essentially need to investigate each one of those crashes now, they should go back and say ok, so who was driving that bike, what’s their history, how many races they’ve done, and do that for each of those and actually just do an investigation into it, and see if there is a kind of a track record.

"For all we know, [it] might’ve been their first race for each one of those guys. In which case, they shouldn’t be allowed to pass the peloton on their first race or something like that.

"No rider should ever be hit by a motorbike."

Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish recently joined forces to winning effect at the UCI Track World Championships, and their former road teammate David Millar is backing both of them to be successful at this summer's Olympic Games.

The British pair took gold in the Madison, and Wiggins was part of the silver medal winning pursuit squad.

Unfortunately, the Madison is no longer an Olympic sport so the win cannot be repeated once the Games come round. What's more, Sir Brad will not be satisfied with anything other than gold in the pursuit.

Cavendish has spoken about how the only thing missing from his palmarès is an Olympic medal. His chances were dashed in Beijing in 2008 when he and Wiggins were unsuccessful in the Madison, a result that reportedly led to a breakdown in their friendship.

Our picks for this season

The Manxman is now pinning his hopes on the Omnium, an event he finished sixth in at the recent world champs. Millar was road captain when Cavendish became world champion in 2011, and he believes his former teammate's ambitions aren't entirely beyond him.

"Even for Cav it seems like a bit of a long shot, judging by his results. But with Cav and Wiggo I refuse to write them off in anything," the multiple Grand Tour stage winner said.

"They just seem to be able to set these objectives and do things that you wouldn’t think it possible of them."

He added: "That’s the thing about great athletes they do do that; they do things that nobody else believes they can do."

For a sprinter as prolific as Cavendish, recent seasons have seemed disappointing as he has not had the success at big races - in particular the Tour de France - despite his overall tally of wins being pretty healthy.

A crash on the opening stage of the 2014 Tour de France into Harrogate, Yorkshire, ended his race and in 2015 he could only manage a single stage win.

There will be a desire for him to right the wrongs of Beijing 2008 and London 2012 - where he was not in a position to contest the sprint in the road race - and Millar knows what it will mean to Cavendish to be successful, or not, in what will surely be his last Olympics.

"I hope he does [win gold] because I know what Cav’s like and I think even if he ends up winning like 30 stages of the Tour over his career or whatever, if he hasn’t got that gold medal there’s going to be a little thing that’s going to niggle him for the rest of his life.

"I’d never write him off. Fingers crossed."

David Millar is an ambassador for Maserati GB, the title sponsor of the Tour de Yorkshire Ride. Visit yorkshire.com/tour-de-yorkshire/sportive

The sportive takes place as part of the Tour de Yorkshire, which runs from Friday April 29 to Sunday May 1.

After criticism was angled against British Cycling and David Millar, the former Garmin rider insists he's in a good position to educate young cyclists about the perils of doping having 'been there and done it'.

Millar, who retired from professional cycling in 2014, was banned in 2004 after admitting to taking EPO, before returning to the peloton as an anti-doping advocate.

British Cycling announced this week that Millar would take on an informal role with the BC Academy, which is based in Italy, and the rider says he can give genuine answers to the questions the riders may have about doping.

“I have been there and done it all recently, good and bad,” he told the Guardian. “It will make that world seem real to them. I’m still close to what they are dreaming of. They can ask me things and they will know they will get real-life experiences as an answer. It’s not just a matter of telling them what not to do, but why.

“I can tell them about the risks, how [doping] can damage you. It’s about qualifying them for the world they are going into. Cycling has cleaned up its act, it’s possible to get to the top clean, but you can see from what’s happening in athletics that there is a way to go.

“I’m in a strong position to educate those guys on what happens. If one of them has doubts about someone he is riding against, sees something he doesn’t understand, he can talk to me. He will know I will do something about it and that I will give him an idea of how to cope with it.”

Millar cited the recent doping admission by 18-year-old Gabriel Evans as an example of the decisions some young athletes may take in order to move up the ladder in sport.

British Cycling's performance director, Shane Sutton, acknowledged that Millar's appointment was controversial, but insisted that there are few better people to talk about the dangers of doping than the Scot.

“Having someone of David’s calibre on board to support us in this education process is invaluable; he is readily available to share his experiences as a professional cyclist to the young riders who aspire to succeed in their careers," he said.

David Millar has been mentoring British Cycling academy riders about the perils of doping, British Cycling confirmed on Thursday.

Millar, who won a stage and wore the leader's jersey in each Grand Tour at least once, has been working as a mentor in a volunteer role at British Cycling's men’s endurance academy programme's new base in Montichiari, Italy.

The Scot, who was given a two-year ban in 2004 for EPO use while at Cofidis, was an outspoken supporter of clean riding upon his return to the sport, becoming part-owner of Garmin Slipstream (now Cannondale Pro Cycling) who he rode for between 2008 and 2014.

>>> David Millar: A career in pictures

Shane Sutton, technical director for the Great Britain Cycling Team, said: “Nurturing an anti-doping culture is at the heart of everything we do at British Cycling and educating our young riders on the subject is a responsibility we take seriously.

“Having someone of David’s calibre on board to support us in this education process is invaluable; he is readily available to share his well-rounded experiences as a professional cyclist to the young riders who aspire to succeed in their careers.

“In addition to his mentor work, David brings with him a massive amount of training and tactical knowledge which will support the work of the coaches, and he’s become a well-respected figure in cycling which will help us to open doors when it comes to fielding young talent into professional road teams.

“David will work with the squad on a voluntary basis until the end of the month with a view to subsequently joining the team in a more official capacity.”

>>> David Millar: UCI has ‘no true idea’ about doping in today’s peloton

Millar retired in 2014 after 17 years in the sport, in which he won four stages on the Tour de France, five on the Vuelta a Espana and one stage of the Giro d'Italia, also captaining Mark Cavendish's world championships win in 2011.

He has kept himself busy since the end of his professional career, launching a cycling clothing range and his own cycle tours in 2015, in addition to his work with British Cycling and punditry for ITV's cycling coverage.

David Millar has assessed the route of the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Ride, which he states will test riders of all abilities.

The sportive which takes place on May 1, the same day the professional riders will take to the course in the final stage of the Tour de Yorkshire, allows cyclists the opportunity to experience the challenge that the sport's finest will tackle just hours before.

According to Millar the organisers have pulled no punches in creating a course that includes plenty of climbs.

>>> David Millar launches his own cycling tours

"At 119km and a 1056m total elevation gain this is a hard, yet not ridiculous route; offering something for the novice as well as the seasoned campaigner," he said.

Available to ride over distances of either 119km, 80km or 40km, the event can be tailored to cyclists of all abilities. And having riden in last year's edition of the race, Millar offered advice in regard to tackling the weather, suggesting it may well play a part. 

>>> Seven things only a Yorkshire cyclist will know

"Should it be windy on the day the ever changing direction will avoid the boredom of a relentless headwind, and the interesting route takes in a bit of everything, from the seaside to the Dales," he added.

“If the weather is really bad there are options of shortcuts to the finish, if you are so inclined. To be honest the fun bit is only hours afterwards when you’re warmed up and a little less delirious.” 

Registration for the event opens on February 4 but a pre-sale window is available to those who pre-register. For those wanting to take part or for further information visit the Human Race website.

The number of riders who are capable of winning Grand Tour general classifications and the subsequent competition is at an all time high, according to David Millar.

Millar, who won nine Grand Tour stages during his 17-year career, says that he has never known a period in cycling’s last few decades when there has been so many riders who harbour realistic aims of winning the sport’s three biggest races: the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España.

Citing the fact that there was six Grand Tour winners competing in the 2015 Tour de France, as well as the emergence of Tom Dumoulin and Geraint Thomas, Millar believes that 2016 could go into the cycling annals as the year of legendary Grand Tour battles.

>>> Alberto Contador won’t rule out ending career at Vuelta a España

“This is the greatest generation of Grand Tour riders that we’ve ever seen,” he told Cycling Weekly.

“We had six Grand Tour winners (Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali, Contador, Nairo Quintana, Ryder Hesjedal and Alejandro Valverde) at the Tour de France last year.

“In my history of watching the sport, I’ve never seen anything like that.

>>> Chris Froome relishing ‘little arguments’ with Geraint Thomas in 2016

“We have Nibali, Quintana, Contador and Froome, as well as Dumoulin and G coming up, and Valverde is still chipping away.

“Grand Tours are more exciting now than I’ve seen in a very long time.”

Despite the Scotsman’s appraisal, he has no doubts that Team Sky’s Chris Froome will win this summer’s Tour, in what would be the Briton’s third success.

“Froome-dog,” he replied when asked to predict the winner. “It would be good to see Contador go out with a bang but I think Froome.

>>> Tour de France 2016 route revealed

“With Contador not doing the Giro this year, maybe we’ll see him one last time at his best against Froome, who will be at his best alongside Nibali.

“The last few Tours have been a bit of damp squib so hopefully we can have the race we haven’t really had in the past couple of years.

“We’ve had these Grand Tour winners going against each other but it’s fallen by the wayside, one by one.”

Watch: Men's WorldTour contenders for 2016

Dumoulin’s performance at the Vuelta last year, when he relinquished the lead on stage 20 to Fabio Aru, impressed Millar who can now foresee the Dutchman challenging in Grand Tours on a regular basis.

>>> Nairo Quintana adds Vuelta a España to hectic 2016 schedule

The Giant-Alpecin rider is racing May’s Giro but skipping the Tour to prepare for the Olympic time trial, a schedule which pleases Millar, the 2010 Commonwealth Games time trial champion.

“In my eyes, after watching the Vuelta last year and seeing how he performed, he is the next big Grand Tour rider,” Millar, now 39, went on.

“He’s doing that classic development of not going straight in to the Tour.

“He’s got his head together in the way he really focused for the Vuelta and for the Giro this year.”

David Millar has teamed up with Velocamps to create his own cycling tours, offering the chance for up to 25 riders to ride with him in iconic destinations.

Described as “premium tours”, riders will be able to ride with four-time Tour de France stage winner Millar, dine with him and get to know the Scotsman.

There are three trips planned for 2016, and more opportunites promised in 2017.

The first of the trips is to the Côte d’Azur on the French Riviera in April, where the riders will ride Col de la Madone and be based in a luxurious Spa hotel with its own private beach.

>>> La Madone: Tour contenders’ favourite testing ground

Offering trips in the three Grand Tour countries, the second trip is a Tour of Lombardy in May, the highlight of which will be riding Giro d’Italia climbs.

The final trip of 2016 sees a Tour of Catalonia, which will feature the French and Spanish Pyrenees.

Millar said: “I’m really excited to have partnered with Velocamps to create something new in cycling for those who share the same passion as me.

“For 2016 we have three fantastic tours planned in locations I have trained, raced and lived in. I’m looking forward to sharing the experience with cycling fans in a way I’ve never done before.”

James Pybus from Velocamps said: “David is well known to cycling fans having had a long and successful racing career, written a best selling book and a now respected TV pundit. Cycling alongside him on iconic and picturesque roads, and picking his brains over dinner is something any cycling fan will love.”

However, riding with the British cycling legend doesn’t come cheap: prices for all trips are £1,575, and that doesn't include flights, lunch time meals, insurances and any drinks.

Fashion designer and cycling fan Paul Smith visited the Giro d'Italia in Tuscany on Wednesday to see the battle between Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Team Sky's Richie Porte – and of course, to talk style.

Smith, while watching the race from the VIP caravan above the finish line, talked mostly about his customers and Brits, but explained what sets them apart from the other riders in the peloton. Below is Smith's top five list of the most stylish modern cyclists.

'Effortless' David Millar (recently retired)

"David's always been a very good customer and very stylish. His style is effortless, he just puts things together that are not contrived, not self-conscious...He just wears clothes well."

'Particular' Bradley Wiggins (Team Wiggins)

"Bradley's always had an interesting fashion since he's been a young guy. He looks good, he enjoys fashion. He just doesn't just wear it, he enjoys it. He has a particular clear view of the clothes he likes. Ten years ago, it was a very English Mod style, and that's one of his nicknames Modster, and he's a big fan of The Jam and Paul Weller. More recently, he's been having suits made especially for him rather than just buying them from ready to wear."

'Casual' Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick Step)

"Cavendish wears very casual clothes in a good way. Cavendish's a very laid-back character. Luckily again, he's a very good customer. He wears short zip up jackets and casual shirts instead of a more tailored look."

'Modern' Tyler Farrar (MTN-Qhubeka)

"Tyler Farrar's very fashion aware. He's very modern in the way he dresses, slim shapes, modern fabrics, mixing sportswear with more with what you call smart clothes."

'Easy-going' Ivan Basso (Tinkoff-Saxo)

"Basso buys a lot from our Paul Smith shop in Milan on Via Manzoni. He likes comfortable clothes, a soft Paul Smith suit. We launched a suit called a Suit to Travel in, which suits him well. Mark Cavendish also has one. His style reminds me of Mark's; those guys practice so much sport that when they're off the bike they want very easy-going clothes."

David Millar has called on the UCI to follow up the Cycling Independent Reform Commission's (CIRC) report with a full audit of today's peloton to understand where current cyclists stand on doping.

Millar is one of the most outspoken cycling personalities on the subject of doping, having been banned for using EPO in his youth and returning to campaign for a cleaner sport.

CIRC was set up to examine issues of doping and corruption in the sport, and published its report last week.

The former Garmin-Sharp rider, who retired at the end of last season, didn't speak to CIRC, saying that the two parties could not find a convenient time to meet, but says he has spoken to the UCI about what should happen now.

"I hope there's a follow-up report," he told Cycling Weekly. "I told [UCI president] Brian Cookson they need to do an audit of today's peloton, as I think that was what was really lacking from the CIRC report; a real, accurate analysis of where the modern peloton is."

"I still think there's still a bit of an unknown. [The UCI] has no real true idea of what the modern generation is like, what the modern peloton is", in terms of doping and clean performance.

Remorseful, knowledgeable and articulate, Millar became the voice of a movement that pushed for cycling to clean up its act, at a time when other dopers were returning from bans without so much as an acknowledgement of their own guilt.

Team Sky rider Geraint Thomas has said the report is "insulting" for including one rider's opinion that 90 per cent of modern riders, even today, are doping.

"I think it's more than [insulting], I think it's irresponsible for CIRC to put that in," he said.

"It's hard enough to know if you're in the peloton what's going on, but if you've not been in the peloton for years because you're banned then you're literally not going to have a clue, so it is total hearsay. I think that was very irresponsible of the Commission to put that in the report, especially when they knew the gravitas that report carried."

Away from the subject of doping, Millar is now retired — but is he happy, and is it how he expected it to be?

"It's an obvious thing to say: it's different. It's the first time in 20 years I haven't had to think about a racing season," he said. "I'm finding a routine and there are opportunities. I'm in a lucky place really to have things to do".

Things to do on a personal and professional level. Millar is the father of two young sons, and they're remaining in Spain now that his riding career has ended. On a professional level, 'things to do' is seeing him jet around Europe: after this flying visit to Yorkshire in his role as an ambassador for Maserati, Millar was due to head to the UCI's Extreme Weather Protocol meeting in Italy.

"I was approached by the CPA (Cyclistes Professionnels Associés) to be their representative," he said.

"It was totally out of the blue because I don’t really have much of a relationship with CPA. So I don’t know why they chose me to be honest, maybe because I already have a relationship with the UCI, I’m recently retired and I’ve always been quite vocal about things."

It isn't quite where Millar saw his post-riding career heading. "It’s something I’d never really wanted to be involved in, the Union stuff. It’s often been a road to nowhere and I’ve often been the one who’s put my neck on the line [and] it’s always been me getting my head cut off," he added.

Even so, he overlooked such concerns when he realised that the process is important to the pro peloton, and that he was now in a position where there were fewer reasons to say no. "I think maybe I can help on this one. But it’s certainly very complicated. It’s going to take a long time."

One thing Millar won't be doing in the near future is going into team management, an idea he batted away without thought. But he was happy to talk about the current crop of British pros on the WorldTour and the state of British cycling. "It’s never been healthier," he noted.

What's more, for someone now looking back nearly two decades to the start of their own career, the transformation in British cycling has been phenomenal. "If you’d said to me when I turned pro in 1997 that 18 years later we’d have two British winners of the Tour de France, the number one team in the world essentially is a British team, we’ve got all these young British pros… I would have been like crazy town. In that sense it’s just incredible what’s happened," he said.

Before the interview ended, there was time for Millar to sing the praises of the Yates brothers, riders who he says are "two of the most talented guys in the pro-peloton today. Between neo-pro and having the results and performances they’re pulling off is almost unheard of".

Finally, talk turned to the UK's other outspoken cyclist, Sir Bradley Wiggins. Millar thinks that Paris-Roubaix is achievable, as "Brad’s capable of anything, as we’ve seen", but to take the win in the Roubaix velodrome will be a big ask.

For now, Millar goes where the opportunity takes him. We met him as part of his role with Maserati GB, which has teamed up with Human Race Events to become lead sponsor for the Tour de Yorkshire Ride, a sportive takes in the best parts of the new race, with three different distance options.

David Millar is an ambassador for Maserati GB, the title sponsor of the Tour de Yorkshire Ride. Visit http://letour.yorkshire.com/tour-de-yorkshire/sportive

"There aren’t many people to say goodbye to because most of my friends in the bunch have gone now." David Millar tells Cycle Sport when we catch up with him at the Vuelta a Espana. VDV [Christian Vande Velde], Stuey [O’Grady], Brad McGee, there was that kind of group and they were my best friends from that era. They’ve remained friends and of course Ryder [Hesjedal], thankfully Ryder is still here. But really, the idea of saying goodbye — it’s not like that amongst pro riders, it’s not like that at all.”

Now in a more philosophical mode — the interview was conducted alfresco with a caña to hand – Millar reflected: “It’s just a professional sport and people come and go. When you’re young you think everything’s possible and it’ll last forever and then you get to that peak. Then the longer you hang around, the more you realise how transient it is and you begin to see that you are just another small part of the history of the sport, that every era is constantly in flux, there is no permanence."

“I’m just pleased that I’ve been able to have my name in there, in the tradition, now,” Millar continued. “And I see that I’m very lucky to have been able to do that because so many pros finish their careers and just disappear and have no mark, no wins that people might remember."

Read the full feature on David Millar in the November edition of Cycle Sport magazine, on sale now priced £4.75. Cycle Sport is available in good newsagents and supermarkets and to download via iTunes, Google Play, Zinio and on Kindle Fire and Nook devices via the app stores.

David Millar to close career at Bec CC Hill Climb

Garmin-Sharp pro David Millar will make the Bec CC Hill Climb in Surrey his last race before retirement

David Millar: A career in pictures

From taking the Tour de France by storm to the dark days of doping, we take a look back at

David Millar to take part in inaugural Parkour Ride

David Millar will take part in unique roadies vs mountain bikers vs BMXers event in October

There aren't many riders who divide opinion among British cycling fans as much as David Millar. His meteoric rise to the top of cycling, including wearing the maillot jaune  in his first appearance at the Tour de France, made Millar the young, dynamic, British talent many of us had been waiting for.

But with so much hope and expectation can come so much disappointment. And while hindsight can tell us that the doping culture in cycling in the early 2000s was endemic, Millar's admission to using EPO in 2004 set his career into immediate freefall, and one of Britain's few hopes for glory on the road with it.

Yet for many, Millar has successfully ridden his road to redemption. Emerging from his troubled doping ban to lay bare the truth of what was happening in cycling's backstage, and to become a leading voice in the anti-doping crusade, the Scotsman has done everything possible to try and rebuild his tarnished reputation.

For others though it'll never be enough. And while Millar's palmares - which includes four stage wins at the Tour - is testament to his natural ability on a bike, it will all be considered redundant by some for having turned to doping and relented to the darker side of cycling.

Whatever your view of Millar though, his impact on British cycling is there. From inspiring many of us to pick up a bike in the first place, to helping usher in a cleaner era of cycling, Millar may be remembered divisively, but his career will be remembered.

Take a look through our gallery at some of the defining moments of David Millar's career.

David Millar: Rider Profile

David Millar - rider profile, biog, cycling results, photos

David Millar will end his eventful professional riding career not at a top-level WorldTour race, but at the more humble Bec CC Hill Climb in October.

Scotsman Millar, 37, can count stage wins in all three Grand Tours among the highlights of an 18-year career as a professional rider, but will face one last challenge on White Lane, Surrey, on Sunday, October 12.

At only 700 yards, the length of the course is hardly likely to trouble Millar, but he has said that he wants to go out with a bang and set a new course record on the 1-in-4 road. However, he admits that it will be his first ever attempt at a hill climb.

"I’m not just going to ride uphill and wave goodbye," said Millar. "I’m going to have a crack at setting a new White Lane record in what will be my first ever hill climb TT, as well as my last race. It’ll be like going full circle on my cycling career."

"Maybe I’ll enjoy it and not retire after all, and just ride hill climbs," Millar joked.

Jack Pullar holds the current course record of one minute and 42.9 seconds, set during the 2012 event.

The event is organised by Garmin-Sharp soigneur Garry Beckett, who talks through the climb in this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX6rjVH9pwI

More more information visit the Bec CC website.

The opening road event of the Commonwealth Games gets underway tomorrow at 10am when the men roll out from the starting box in Glasgow Green. The women start after the men to ride a shorter race , though the courses are substantially the same, with the men riding slightly longer on the loop before turning back and re-joining the ‘women’s’ route.

The riders were able to ride the route for the first time this morning on a course which one of the course designers, Alasdair Maclennan described as “quite free flowing, but containing hardly any flat, it’s definitely an up and down kind of course that has a bit of everything in it - the ride back into Glasgow is on fast dual carriageway but there are plenty of short, steep little climbs on the way out. It’s like the national time trial course in Stewarton last year, that Alex Dowsett won on, but probably harder and hillier.”

Defending Commonwealth Games champion David Millar, who rode the course with the Scotland team in the morning, said that he “had no problems at all” declaring it “a good course” which bodes well for a close race.

Apart from Millar and Dowsett, the Australian team of Luke Durbridge, Michael Hepburn and Rohan Dennis should be near the top of the time sheet. If both Canadian Svein Tuft and Welshman Geraint Thomas have recovered from their exertions in the Tour, Tuft and Thomas - the runner-up in the recent national time trial championship at Celtic Manor - could also get in among the medals.

Garmin-Sharp general manager, Jonathan Vaughters said that it was a "hard call" to exclude David Millar from the Tour de France team in his last season.

"That's why we took so long to make the call," Vaughters said in a team press conference today in Leeds' outskirts. "He was on the list after the Tour de Suisse but with the caveat that we wanted everyone on it to be healthy."

Millar suffered from a cough and needed antibiotics ahead of the British National Championships last weekend and performed poorly. Sports Director Charly Wegelius told Vaughters of Millar's condition and they had to re-work their nine-man Tour de France roster so that it was its best for classification rider Andrew Talansky.

"Being 100% healthy applies to everyone," Vaughters added. "We decided to wait and see if his health would return, but the results [from the championships] weren't very helpful. It was a last-minute decision to pull him. It wasn't fun for Charly, me or anyone."

Millar said that he was surprised by the call. He wrote on Twitter on Monday: "For the record, I was going to be ready for the Tour, so sad my team didn't believe in me, after everything we've been through. Not cool."

The 37-year-old Scot helped the US team step into the top ranks when he signed in 2008. Without the Tour this year, his retirement appears closer than ever as he already announced that 2014 would be his last. Instead of racing, Millar will be commentating on the Tour with ITV 4.

"David was the first one who signed a contract with this programme when we moved to the first division, there's a lot of history and we care about David quite a bit, but the end goal is to get the best result possible in the Tour de France," said Vaughters.

"It's not over yet for him, he'll be racing at the Commonwealth Games. If he wants to ride the Vuelta a España, he has a spot, and the Tour of Britain."

Garmin set for change of direction

David Millar has been controversially omitted from the Garmin-Sharp team that will be built around Andrew Talansky at the Tour de France this year.

The 37-year-old Millar today communicated via Twitter that he would not be in the squad after being told initially that he would line-up at the Grand Depart on home turf in Yorkshire where few British professionals will be.

Defending Tour champion Froome as well as Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) will start the Tour on Saturday as the primary overall protagonists though it was Talansky that surprisingly best the two at the Dauphine earlier this month.

The Dauphine is a good litmus test for the Tour and Talansky secured the yellow jersey there earlier this month on the final stage putting more than a minute into overnight leader Contador. Froome won the race last year before going on to claim his maiden Tour title and Bradley Wiggins did the same before him.

Garmin-Sharp sports director Charly Wegelius said Talansky's victory did not alter the intended Tour team.

“Andrew’s [Dauphine] performance was really just a confirmation of what we knew was his potential and it’s a really big step for him in terms of self-belief and the belief that he can be competitive with that small group of riders,” Wegelius told Cycling Weekly prior to the Tour team announcement.

“But internally the team was always aware of that and Andrew was always in first person more than anybody aware of that so fundamentally it doesn’t actually change the structure of the [Tour] team or the strategy. Andrew was always going to be one of our main priorities. Although it’s a really welcome and positive thing so close to a race like that, it doesn’t change the structure of the team very much.”

The 25-year-old Talansky spearheads the youthful Tour squad that also includes Tom-Jelte Slagter, Alex Howes, Ben King, Sebastian Langeveld, Ramunas Navardauskas, former Paris-Roubaix champion Johan Vansummeren, Janier Acevedo and Jack Bauer. Sprinter and Tour regular Tyler Farrar is also an omission.

“Andrew’s overall race is going to be a big priority and then on the side of that we’ve got Tom-Jelte Slagter. His profile as a rider suits a lot of stages in the Tour de France so he’s the next tier after that,” Wegelius said.

“The rest of the team that we’ve put together is what we hope is a mix of experienced riders able to manage certain situations on the road, riders who can get over climbs and riders who can ride on the flat. I think every single one of the riders we picked could win a stage in the Tour de France in their own right.

“I think it’s a good, balanced team that’s perfectly capable of obtaining the objectives that we’ve set.”

Twitter: @SophieSmith86

Alex Dowsett (Movistar) and David Millar (Garmin-Sharp) have not been selected by their respective teams to ride in this year's Tour de France, starting in Leeds on Saturday, July 5.

Dowsett was not named in Movistar's roster announced on Monday morning, and Millar announced via Twitter that he had not been selected by Garmin-Sharp just before the team made a formal announcement.

Millar withdrew from both the British national time trial and road race over the weekend suffering from a cough. Dowsett placed third in the time trial, behind Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Geraint Thomas (Sky), but his team stated that he had been suffering from a 'breathing problems' since the Tour de Suisse.

It was to be Millar's final outing at the Tour before he retires at the end of the season and he had been told a week before that he was riding. He was then told late on Sunday night that he had not been selected after all.

So far, just three British riders have been confirmed for the Tour's start in their home nation: defending Tour champion Chris Froome (Sky), Thomas and Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep).

Despite the home start, it's one of the lowest counts for the number of British riders on the Tour's start list in the past decade. Last year there were six.

There was discontent among fans last week when Wiggins - and then Team Sky - confirmed that the 2012 Tour champion would not be on the start line in Leeds.

Newly-crowned British road race champion Peter Kennaugh was also not selected by Sky to ride in the Tour, denying spectators the chance to see the red, white and blue striped jersey on home roads.

Days before he learned he would not ride the Tour de France, Garmin-Sharp rider David Millar was as relaxed and philosophical as he reflected on his decision to retire at the end of this season.

The 37-year old Scot looked lean and fit, although the cough which forced him to retire from both the national time trial and road races was evident. But despite the former, he insisted that there would be no Frank Sinatra-style comeback Tours after 2014.

“Initially I thought I’d be able to go on for another three years, but fatherhood put an end to that,” explained Millar, “I realised I preferred being a dad to being a pro cyclist. To be a good pro cyclist you need to be so selfish to everyone around you, to the children and to your wife as well.

"I know some riders actually sleep in different rooms and put ear plugs in when they have young kids, that’s the real hardcore attitude. I can’t do that.”

In the end then, Millar chose a different life, one that will enable him to spend more time with his two boys and wife Nicole.

“It’s obviously a bit of a transitional year,” continued Millar, “but it’s not like I’ve stopped, I’m still working, still training hard.

“The problem is that you can’t really be semi-retired as a pro, you can’t park your body on a Friday night and party, you can’t turn off your body for a few days, because being a pro is a full-time lifestyle.”

Like every other pro before him, Millar was simply finding it harder and harder to train.

“Actually it’s not so much the training, but I was finding it harder to make myself hurt when I was training. I could still do it in arace, but training, not so much. I think I’ve used up all my ‘suffer credits,’” laughed Millar.

Nevertheless, Millar found the reserves to prepare for his final Tour, “I turned into that super-focused rider again, I maybe went too deep actually and overdid it because I was a bit ill in the Dauphine, but the underlying form is good and we’ve got a good line-up for the Tour.

"After that there’s the Commie Games that I’m really looking forward to, I don’t get many chances to ride in a Scotland jersey and the fact it’s in Glasgow makes it even better. The time trial might be a bit too soon after the end of the Tour interms of recovery, but I should be good in the road race.”

Has he a final race in mind? “The Vuelta I think. It’s my favourite Grand Tour and, if I was going to finish my pro career, I thought it would be nice to finish at a race I really liked, so that’s my plan. First though, there’s the Tour...”.

David Millar's home burgled as he rides in the Dauphine

Thieves steal race memorabilia, watches and electrical goods from David Millar's home in Girona while he was riding in the

David Millar returned to his home in Girona, Spain, from riding in the Criterium du Dauphine to find that thieves had broken in and cleared it out.

"Nothing quite like coming home from Dauphine and finding your house ransacked by thieves," said Millar via Twitter on Monday.

According to Millar, the thieves took many of his racing memorabilia, as well as computers, watches and televisions.

Millar's wife, Nicole, and their two children, Archibald and Harvey, were away in France watching Millar ride in the Dauphine, so the property was left unoccupied. Several jerseys were taken that had been put aside for his children.

Fran Millar, David's sister, added on Wednesday that one of the stolen watches was given to Millar by Mark Cavendish for being road captain at the road race world championships, and another was from his grandfather.

Millar is riding his final year with the Garmin-Sharp team before retiring at the end of the season. The team's Andrew Talansky won the Criterium du Dauphine.

So Dave. New shoes. What’s the story?

David Millar: Fizik do custom shoes and I thought it’d be fun to do something creative for my final year as a professional — designing shoes for all the races I ride. Then we decided to do it for the Small Steps Project [smallstepsproject.org], which gave us the motivation to do the whole thing properly.

So you have a brand new pair custom designed for each race?

DM: That’s right, we’ve already got eight of them designed and done. We’re currently working on another pair for Flanders.

Doesn’t that feel a little extravagant?

DM: Well, yes, it does a bit. But I’ve always changed shoes a lot anyway. I like clean shoes, I hate shoes when they’re bashed up.

I know it’s one of those old wives’ tales that you shouldn’t, but I’ve always changed shoes during a stage race or whatever. Every cyclist knows when you put on a new pair of shoes you feel a bit better.

And, of course, you’re raising funds along the way for charity.

DM: Small Steps auctions off celebrity’s shoes on the internet to help kids living on rubbish dumps around the world. We’ll sell my shoes after every race. It’s a very direct charity. We know where every pound is going.

How involved are you in designing the shoes?

DM: Emails are flying back and forth. Everything passes through me, but we’ve got some guys designing in London and then Fizik have been great trying out different techniques and materials. The project forces me to think about all my memories of the races and what they represent to me.

So what’s this pair of shoes all about?

DM: Most races have got some sort of story to them, and most of the shoes are based on that. But Mallorca is a bit different — it’s more of a training event and there’s not much historical reference.

But this is the closest I’ll get to racing in Catalonia this year, which is my new home, so we thought about having a shoe inspired by Catalan artist Joan Miro. It’s a bit mad, but I like it actually.

What do you think the most iconic cycling shoes have been?

DM: Everything now seems to be quite generic and lacks personality, and that was one of my inspirations. It’s all carbon, buckles and boa ’strictors or whatever they’re called these days. Classic punch-holed, leather shoes have lots of personality due to their relative simplicity.

Aside from having swanky shoes, do you have particular goals for this swansong year?

DM: Basically I’d just like to enjoy all the racing and have a couple of good results in the races that matter to me — the Tour and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. But if anything happens at the beginning of the year, that’s a bonus.

What are you going to do when you hang up your wheels?

DM: I’ve got a few ideas, but nothing concrete. I know as soon as I stop I’ll put my focus straight into something else. I need some time away from the races and teams. It’s great, but I’ve been doing it since I was 19.

I’d like a break and to widen my horizons, but maybe I’ll come back. I need to spend more time with my kids.

Bid for David Millar's shoes here: tinyurl.com/qecywbc

David Millar celebrated a stage win in what was a gruelling Tour de France for his Garmin-Sharp team but the London 2012 Olympic Games was never too far from this mind.

Millar leaves Paris for the UK this morning where he is set to join the rest of the GB road team ahead of Saturday's 250km race that compatriot Mark Cavendish is a favourite for.

"I think about the Olympics all the time," Millar told Cycling Weekly.

"I kind of came in here with the Olympics on my mind so it's been very much a case of getting ready for it. I feel good."

The road race captain said he was in better form during the third week of the Tour compared to previous editions adding it was in part due to skipping the Giro d'Italia.

Millar was made eligible for GB Olympic team selection after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) earlier this year overturned a British Olympic Association (BOA) bylaw that enabled lifetime bans to athletes found guilty of doping.

The 35-year-old was part of the national team that delivered Cavendish to his first world championship title in Denmark last year.

Cavendish has sent an ominous warning to his Olympic rivals winning three stages at the Tour. The 27-year-old has 70 race days to his name - just short of an average of 77.4 over five years - this season having been one of the only gold medal hopeful sprinters to complete the Giro in May.

Two of Cavendish's stage victories came in the third and final week of the Tour and Millar is confident his teammate will be able to carry that form up until July 28. 

"It's a whole different ball game when you talk about a 250K race, especially six days after a Grand Tour," Millar said.

"I think the actual added work load and stress on his body is going to do him a favour - he'll be able to cope with it better I think. He'll feel like shit, but he'll be going good."

However, the Commonwealth Games time-trial gold medalist Millar anticipates Cavendish could be taken to line with arch-rival and former teammate Andre Greipel (Germany) also showing red-hot form at the Tour winning three stages.

"Greipel has obviously shown that he's as much a potential winner as Cav, which is good for us," Millar said.

"The fact is we're going to have two very strong teams that are united in force with the same goal in mind, which is a sprint finish. That works in our favour."

Twitter: @SophieSmith86

“The Grand Tours bear little resemblance to how they were 20 years ago”

David Millar and Michael Barry are two of the most articulate and reflective professional cyclists. Both are unashamed racing traditionalists, and both are racing aesthetes, with strong opinions on how cycling should be. Cycle Sport followed them out for a spin, then listened as they stopped for a coffee and a chat.

Cycle Sport: You two have a reputation for being sensitive to the aesthetic side of racing.

David Millar: We were talking about this the other day. I got an email from Michael, saying, check this out. It was a YouTube clip of Francesco Moser when he won Roubaix as the Italian champion. It was beautiful. He had a stunning position. He came into the velodrome, and he just kept it going, all the way to the finish line.

Michael Barry: His bike floats underneath him.

DM: In A Sunday in Hell, you can see the breaks being caught. The camera sits with the last two guys, they’re either side of the pavé, really struggling. Then Moser comes through the middle, flying between them, floating over the pavé, as world champion. Not a spot on him. Everyone else was covered in dirt. It’s the against the odds stuff I like. Remember when Kelly beat Argentin in Milan-San Remo? You’ve got that helicopter shot coming down the Poggio. Through the corners, and he’s kicking out, a massive sprint out of each corner. He was the has-been, old King Kelly. Toe clips. Horrible great helmet on. But in that moment, for those five kilometres, he was the Kelly of old, when he was 27 or 28 and number one in the world for five years straight.

When you’re racing, does it ever feel how that looks?

DM: Not really, no.

MB: Cycling has become somewhat formulaic and predictable. When you see a ride like Dave did in the Tour last year at Barcelona, it’s really nice to see. It was one of the highlights of a very boring Tour de France. It’s good when guys do emotional things in a race, or something out of the ordinary.

DM: Michael and I like panache. Racing for the sake of racing. Everything is so clinical these days. We got into the sport at a time when there was a lot of romance in it. Futile attacks, occasionally, done for emotion, sometimes play out and end in a win. My move in Barcelona was a stupid, emotionally-based attack that ended up going almost to the line. Without race radios, I might have won that day.

MB: You would have won.

Has cycling lost something that it will never get back?

MB: It can get it back. Just get rid of the radios. The problem within the peloton is that the younger generation just listen to what the director says, they don’t think for themselves so much on the bike. We learned to ride with the old guys who didn’t use radios. In ’96, I was just starting and it was Steve Bauer’s last year. He could really read a race. We were in the hotel together the night before a race and he said, ‘Michael, do you think I can win tomorrow?’ I was 20 years old, he was 36. I thought, of course you can win. I idolise you and you’re my hero! The next day, with 20km to go, he hit out by himself. There was a climb, then a descent to the finish, and these days, it would be a field sprint for sure. It wasn’t a hard climb, but he held off the peloton by five seconds. He knew his body that well.

He’d say to me, ‘Mike, the break is going to go right now, go to the front.’

He was one of those guys who knew that the first 50 attacks wouldn’t work, then he’d know exactly the right break to go with. Thanks to that, I can read a race. Other riders rely on radios.

DM: When you watch a race, you want to believe that riders can stay away in a break. That’s what is exciting. It does still happen, like with Contador in the last stage of Paris-Nice [2009]. He’d been humiliated the day before. He got the hunger knock and blew his nuts off. Lost the jersey and was lying third or fourth. Tragedy. I said, ‘Watch Alberto go tomorrow.’ First mountain. Nobody believed me. I said, ‘He will, he will — it’s Alberto.’ First mountain, he went, from the bottom. That’s old school. His team didn’t set him up, he just went. There were still 100km to go. He attacked the whole peloton. And he was still away at the end, four riders.

What were the first images of cycling that stayed with you?

DM: Indurain. The first time I watched the Tour de France I saw shots of him climbing. I remember the day Poli won, over the Ventoux. The last three kilometres, you had a beautiful shot, the helicopter was parallel with the road, and you had Indurain sitting there at the head of the group. Indurain was the last of the great chivalrous champions. Chivalry in cycling died with Indurain’s retirement. He never said a bad word. He let people win, without saying a word about it. He didn’t win a mountain stage in any of the years he was winning the Tour, which says it all.

I loved Indurain, and Fondriest. Fondriest was on of those old, purely aesthetic racers, so classy on a bike. Shoes clean. Gear perfectly fitted. Custom jackets that were tight round the body — you’d get a lot of guys wearing thermal tops that were quite baggy. Fondriest was never baggy. He had three positions — on the tops, on the hoods, on the drops — which never deviated. To me he epitomised what cycling was about. Class. Cycling is a lot about aesthetics. It’s a beautiful, stylised sport.

Are you two the peloton weirdos? Are you the only two who think like this?

DM: We’re probably the two who talk about it the most.

MB: Some guys know nothing of the history of the sport. And there are other guys who really appreciate it. I had a DVD of the Giro, the 1976 Giro. I’d pull it out and watch it in the evening during races. Mark Cavendish was really into it. He’s always watching cycling stuff on his computer.

When you watch old cycling DVDs, do you empathise much?

DM: The Grand Tours bear little resemblance to how they were 20 years ago. It’s a different sport. They were overgeared. They used to ride up the climbs in huge gears. All of us train on compacts, on 27s around here. [Paul] Kimmage told me they raced the Tour on 42x21 in his day. No wonder they were going slow. Technology and training methods have developed, but we’ve been doing essentially the same races for 100 years. But I read Tommy Simpson’s book recently, and he was talking about attacking Classics from the gun. And standing a chance of winning. That was a tactic. There were such disparate levels within the races that if one of the big strong guys decided to go early, the race was going to be destroyed. When Eddy Merckx decided to go to the front, the bunch got strung out, then blown to pieces. Nobody can do that now.Then it got more team-orientated and professional. We do the same races, but the tactics have changed.

What can you learn from the old guys?

DM: They were hard bastards. In the 1960s and 1970s, when it was on the cusp of going from being a small sport to a big sport, they were still making no money, doing the same distance races as we do, washing their own kit, going straight to a crit afterwards to make their money. It was a horrible life.

MB: There’s all this technology in cycling now, but the core of cycling still remains what it was 20 or 40 years ago. The essence is the same.

Race radios and controlling tactics don’t help sponsors. It broadens uncertainty, whereas team managers want to be certain of winning.

MB: But it does help, because racing would be more interesting, and more people would watch. Right now, when you watch a Tour stage, if there are 90km to go, you can walk away and come back with 200 metres to go, and you know what the result is going to be. It has become tedious. When you have teams like Astana and Columbia controlling the entire race, not to criticise them, but it’s a stranglehold. Cycling will benefit if they open it up again. Look at the Under-23 World Championships — extremely exciting races. You see chases, attacks, all over.

DM: Before radios, you’d watch, but you’d be part of the race. Now it feels like you’re watching something you are completely separate from.

“You end up in this success-driven, materialistic world. I escaped that by losing everything”

After a promising early career, David Millar reached his lowest ebb in 2004 when he was slapped with a doping ban. Six years on, the Garmin rider explains how all that was part of the process that has made him the rider — and the man — he is today.

Words Edward Pickering
Photos Richard Baybutt, Graham Watson, James Purssell

I was watching the Tour de France in 2005, just being a fan again. I thought, you’re a fucking idiot. You’re a bike fan who gets to ride the Tour de France.”

David Millar’s description of his epiphany is direct, reflexive, foul-mouthed and self-referential, a bit like Millar himself. He’s grown up, and had to do so in a very public way, a difficult thing to do when you live your life in the hermetically sealed bubble of professional sport. And while six long years have passed since the worst dinner of his life that evening in Biarritz — a starter of arrest, a main course of ransacked house, and a dessert of police interrogation — the past will always be with him.

He’s learned to live with it. He still travels the world with his racing bike, team kit and suitcase. Plus the baggage, and, you’d think, regret.

But this is the paradox of David Millar’s life. Nobody could undergo the public humiliation and shame that he had to without ruing the day he ever looked at an EPO-filled needle. But important, life-changing things have happened to him since, which wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t doped. He’s become a leading figure in Garmin — the team commonly held to be the most transparently clean in the peloton. He sits on the athletes’ panel of WADA. And most importantly, he’s got married, to Nicole. He’s moved a few miles out of Girona into a rented farmhouse, with nothing but fields and forest around him. He’s got a dog. He’s even, God forbid, talking about growing vegetables some time down the line.

“Professionally, I’m happy where I am. Yet I am forever living with the mistakes of my past, and it’s never going to go away as long as I’m a professional cyclist,”

Millar says.

“On the personal side, everything is wonderful. I’m married. I’m very lucky to have a good, stable home life, which I’ve never really had. But that has been one benefit of everything that has happened to me. That’s a positive of getting caught, and getting out of that spiral I was in.

“It allowed me to reboot my life. There’s no way I’d be here now, if none of that stuff had happened, and if I’d continued the linear development I was

on as a young athlete, I wouldn’t have found such happiness. You end up in this eternal, success-driven, materialistic world. I escaped that by losing everything and having to start again. I met Nicole when I had nothing.”

We’ve only been talking for a couple of minutes. Cycle Sport was going to save the deep stuff for later in the interview, but there’s not only an elephant in the room, it’s trumpeting loudly and slapping us around the head with its trunk. He must surely regret having doped, yet it ultimately led to stability and contentment. Does Millar realise what he’s saying?

“I know,” he admits.

“But I’m in flux. It’s an odd place to be. It’s thanks to my doping that I’ve found such happiness personally. I’ve escaped the pattern I was in. But I also escaped the pattern I was in before I was even doping, and I’m going to benefit from that for the majority of my life.

“I regret doping and always will. But there has been a silver lining.”

Lone ranger

In a boring Tour de France last year, one image of David Millar stands out. His lone escape, through the huge, canyon-like boulevards of Barcelona, where he came within a kilometre of a stage win, looked more like a painting than a bike race.

“It was just me being emotional,” he says of his attack.

“I was exhausted, but we got on this stretch of road early in the stage, about 25 kilometres long, on a corniche. I knew it instantly — we use it to train in winter. It’s one of the most beautiful roads.

“Everyone was going mental. We were 35 or 40 kilometres into the stage and we were still a group, so everyone knew it

was going to go soon. I just got carried away, racing on this road that me and Christian [Vande Velde] train on. It was like being a kid.

“I sat there, cold and calculated, and waited. I knew the road, and I knew they couldn’t keep going as fast as they were. It was blowing up everywhere. I was seeing the best riders in the world, their legs falling off. And when they stopped going hard, I went as hard as I could.

“Sylvain Chavanel, Stéphane Auge came across, we looked at each other, and thought, we’ve made a big mistake.”

Millar felt terrible all the way through the stage, until a second wind came 30 kilometres out of Barcelona.

“It was very powerful coming into Barcelona. Wide roads, and people as far as the eye could see. The noise was a cacophony. Barcelona was very visceral in that sense — I was focused on the effort, but very aware of my surroundings. This was special. It was the kind of cycling I love. I had no chance, yet nothing to lose. It was cycling at its purest — me against the odds.”

The odds won in the end. Millar was caught a kilometre from the line, passed and forgotten by the race.

“When they caught me, there were only 40 guys left and they looked terrible. I thought, well that’s good — I haven’t won, but I’ve destroyed the Tour de France peloton. It was good. They were battered.

“And it doesn’t matter that I didn’t win. If I had, the important memories and motivations wouldn’t be any different. Winning wouldn’t have changed any of the good stuff I got from that day.”

Cycling’s spokesman

Millar is a lightning rod for opinion in the cycling world. Some of the biggest issues facing cycling today are played out across his career, and what he says. It’s not just the doping issue. Millar is also a passionate believer in sport for sport’s sake, a position which sets him diametrically opposite one of the biggest influences in cycling, and the peloton’s other lightning rod, Lance Armstrong.

Millar’s attack into Barcelona would have made Lance Armstrong choke on his bidon. Show Lance Armstrong a fruitless attack, and Lance Armstrong will show you a loser.

Ironically, Millar and Armstrong used to be good friends. Not any more, if we read between the lines of his description of their current relationship.

“It’s complex,” says Millar.

Go on.

“It’s just complex.”

But Millar is far more willing to talk about Alberto Contador, and in doing so, opens up about Armstrong.

“I feel for Contador. I think that by the time he ends his career, he’ll be one of the greatest ever cyclists, and Johan Bruyneel [Contador’s manager at Astana in 2009] treated him like dirt.

“As soon as Armstrong came back, suddenly it was like Contador was a 23-year-old neo pro. And I think it’s a testament to Contador, not just as an athlete, but as a man, to have handled it the way he did. He went up against Lance Armstrong, not just physically, but psychologically, and came up the winner. Nobody ever did that. In fact, it didn’t affect him in the slightest. It made him better.”

When Cycle Sport interviewed Armstrong in late 2008, he was far less keen to talk about the Slipstream team (Garmin’s old name) than Columbia. Both had been held up as examples of clean transparency, but Armstrong always veered towards talking about Columbia’s winning model.

Manager Jonathan Vaughters has always made it explicit that winning is a bonus, not the aim — riding well, plus publicising the personalities of the riders, being extremely open with the press and gaining good publicity for sponsors through different avenues is what they do. There are also rumours that of all the sponsors in the ProTour, Garmin get the best value for money from their sponsorship, even more than Columbia, who win far more races.

“There’s no direct conflict with Armstrong. He doesn’t say anything bad about us, but just avoids the subject,” Millar says.

“We’ve had an interesting time — been friends, drifted apart, it’s been odd for us. He’s not very keen on Jonathan. Lance puts things in boxes, and as soon as it became clear I got on very well with Jonathan, I was put in the Jonathan box.

“I enjoy chatting to Lance. But we’ve got too much history. Yeah. No...” Millar trails off.

Bradley’s wingman

Millar’s 2009 Tour wasn’t just about a single lone attack being snuffed out in the Barcelona rain. He was one of the most important domestiques in the entire race.

At the foot of two of the most crucial climbs of the Tour — Verbier and Ventoux — Millar played the consummate team-mate, leading a raging bunch in both instances in order that his leader Bradley Wiggins could start the climbs in the best possible position.

“I’m a domestique now. Christian [Vande Velde] taught me a lot about that, because it was always his role. He was a lieutenant to the leaders, so I learned from the best. It can be something to take a lot of gratification from, and it was a respectful thing to do,” he says.

Millar’s efforts at Verbier and Ventoux were almost invisible, but crucial, and demonstrated experience and strength. Every team wants to be on the front at the bottom of an important climb, yet only one can do so. Millar was effectively in charge of the peloton at these moments.

His efforts gained extra significance during the off season when he got involved in a small war of words with his ex-team leader Wiggins, following his transfer to Sky. Millar asserted that Garmin had soul and understood the sport, while Wiggins mockingly wondered on Twitter how Sky could become part of the fabric of the sport.

Again, Millar finds himself occupying a position diametrically opposed to something, and this time, it’s the Sky team.

“I was disappointed when Wiggins left. But Sky saw a window of opportunity to come in and make cycling a more professional, cutting-edge sport,” he says.

“It’s a shame, but Brad had no choice, the amount they were offering, and the package. Maybe he had a horse’s head in his bed.”

The big D

Millar’s doping issue will always polarise fans. Some will never forgive Millar for what he did. Others are affronted by the outspoken statements he makes about the fight against doping.

But, like everything in David Millar’s life, there’s a paradox at work. He cheated, and lied about it. But it’s just possible that David Millar will do more for the anti-doping movement than most other riders.

This does not sit well with everybody, but Millar recognises that the subject has to be talked about, and talked about some more. While the omerta, the law of silence, held sway, nothing positive could be done against doping. Millar’s first punishment was the two-year ban. The second was the burden of responsibility of being the public face of an ugly and drawn-out war. Millar also represents what he believes is the basic ethical principle of a second chance.

“Obviously, I’ve got personal reasons,” he says. “But it works for some people.”

Millar’s choice of words is interesting and deliberate. “Some people” obviously includes himself, so Cycle Sport asks him about three specific, and very differing examples of riders who have been given second chances.

In 2005, Ivan Basso, Alexandre Vinokourov and Alejandro Valverde were three of the biggest names in the peloton. Basso was going to inherit Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France crown. Vinokourov was the indomitable attacker, the thorn in the side of the Tour contenders. Valverde had outsprinted Armstrong himself at Courchevel.

“I respect Ivan Basso. He’s been contrite, and I believe very much that he’s doing it properly now. He’s paid for his mistakes, and he wants to prove that he won’t make them again,” says Millar.

“But Vinokourov is at the other end of the scale. He’ll never be the same rider again, and he doesn’t treat the peloton with respect, so he doesn’t get treated with respect back. There’s zero respect for Vinokourov in the peloton.”

Valverde, according to Millar, falls between the gaps.

“Valverde is a tragedy of the system,” he says. “He was possibly into it up to his neck, but we know the system is at fault with him. He’s a phenomenal bike rider, but the tragedy is that he’ll never be a great because he will always have that cloud hanging over him.

“Unfortunately, it’s a minority of people who are contrite and feel a responsibility for their mistakes and make amends,” he says.

Whether Millar has made amends or not is up to individual fans to decide. In many ways, he’s been extremely lucky, both in finding stability in his personal life, and in his path crossing with that of Jonathan Vaughters when the Slipstream team was just expanding its ambitions into the ProTour races.

“I can’t even imagine where I’d be without that having happened,” he admits.

“Second chances can sometimes make something better than it was before.”

David Millar looks at me, and I look back at him. After an hour and a half of talking, we’re right back where we started.