David Millar (Garmin) could not resist going on the attack on his local training roads near Girona during today's sixth stage of the 2009 Tour de France.
He was the first to attack after 20km and then jumped away alone 30km from the finish in Barcelona. He was still a minute in front of the bunch with ten kilometres to go and the crashes on the greasy roads slowed the peloton but he was caught with just over a kilometre to go as the climb to the finish at the Montjuic kicked in.
“I’m pleased. I did everything I could. It was my home stage and I was extra motivated,” Millar told Cycling Weekly before going on the podium to collect the most aggressive rider prize.
He admitted that the attacked was fuelled by “Pure stupidity.”
“I’ve done that coast road so many times in training and I know it so well. I thought, I can have some fun here. Before I knew it I was off on my own and it was uh-oh... Then it was cat and mouse and seemed destined for failure.”
“When I knew it was going to be a wet finish, that played to my advantage, and I went for it. I felt pretty good but those big massive boulevards didn’t help me. It was five k straight and false flat as well. I was like come on…”
Millar bravely hung on as best he could, and finished 96th, 1-21 behind the leaders.
“When you turn around and see them coming up so quick, it’s like some one unplugging the power. You die immediately,” he explained.
“But it was good fun. I had fun out there. There were so many people along the road, it reminded me of the Canterbury stage in the Tour de France in England. It was worth being off the front just to see the crowds in Barcelona.”
Garmin has a string of second places and near misses this season. Millar tried to break their bad luck by changing his game plan for the Tour and going on the attack.
“We’re the eternal second. We’ve got to get that monkey off our backs,” he said.
“I want to win a stage here at the Tour, that’s what I’ve come here for. In all honesty I hadn’t even thought about trying in the first week. It was more of me letting my emotions over-run on my home roads. Hopefully, I won’t pay too much of a heavy price by being so aggressive. But I’ll be back next week looking for a stage win again.”
TOUR DE FRANCE 2009 LINKS
Tour de France 2009 - the hub: Index to reports, photos, previews and more.
STAGE REPORTS
Stage six: Millar's brave bid denied on Barcelona hill as Hushovd triumphs
Stage five: Voeckler survives chase to win his first Tour stage
Stage four: Astana on top but Armstrong misses yellow by hundredths of a second
Live Tour de France stage four TTT coverage
Stage three: Cavendish wins second stage as Armstrong distances Contador
Stage two: Cavendish takes first sprint
Stage one: Cancellara wins opening time trial
LATEST TOUR NEWS
Tour de France 2009 News Index>>
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Wiggins looking ahead to Friday's mountain stage
Analysis: Why Contador's chances rose when Armstrong missed yellow
Delgado criticises Astana for Armstrong manoeuvre
Armstrong: Gaining time on Contador was not the objective
Stage three analysis: Why the bunch split and who gained the most
The Feed Zone: Monday, July 6
Analysis: Why Columbia must expect to do the bulk of the chasing
EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS
David Zabriskie's time trial bike
Mark Cavendish on the Tour's team time trial
David Brailsford interview
Mark Cavendish on the Tour
Jonathan Vaughters on Bradley Wiggins' chances
TOUR DE FRANCE 2009 PHOTOS
Stage five photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage four TTT photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage three photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage two photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage one photo gallery by Andy Jones
Stage one photo gallery by Graham Watson
Team presentation by Andy Jones
Team presentation by Graham Watson
TOUR GUIDE
Tour de France 2009 - the hub
Tour de France 2009: Who's riding
Tour de France 2009: Team guide
About the Tour de France
FEATURES
Tour de France 2009 on TV: Eurosport and ITV4 schedules
Big names missing from 2009 Tour de France
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Brits in the Tours: From Robinson to Cavendish
Cycling Weekly's rider profiles
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