David Millar
Encyclopedia
David Millar is a British road racing cyclist riding for . He has won three stages of the Tour de France
, two of the Vuelta a España
and one Stage of the Giro d'Italia
. He was the British national road champion
and the national time trial champion, both in 2007. He is the only British rider to have worn all Tour de France
jerseys and one of four to have worn the yellow jersey
. He is also the only British rider to have worn the leader's jersey in all three Grand Tours.
He was banned for two years in 2004 after admitting taking banned performance-enhancing drugs, but four years after his return he won the silver medal at the World Time Trial Championships. He is not related to fellow Scottish cyclist Robert Millar
.
and Millar was born while his father was based in Malta for a 3 year tour of duty. The family returned to the UK, and lived at RAF Kinloss in Scotland before moving to Aylesbury, 60 km north-west of London. His father and mother divorced when Millar was 11 and his father moved to Hong Kong when he joined Cathay Pacific
, an airline, based there. Millar considers Hong Kong as his home. Millar moved to Hong Kong to join his father when he was 13. He rode in mountain bike
races in Hong Kong "and did pretty well." He bought a road bike in 1992 and raced at 6.30 in the morning before the island's roads began filling with traffic.
He chose mathematics, economics and geography as his A-level, pre-university, examination subjects, then switched to art, graphics and sports studies at his father's suggestion. He completed his A-levels and, having moved back to England to be with his mother in Maidenhead
, enrolled at an arts college. He started cycling with a club in High Wycombe
, west of London
. His mother, Avril, took him there so that he would make new friends and have something to do. Millar showed talent and at 18, a week before he was due to start at the arts college, he went to race in France. He joined a club at St-Quentin
, in the Picardy region, and won eight races. Five professional teams, , , , and offered Millar his first professional contract offered him a contract. He signed with Cyrille Guimard
because his team, Cofidis, was based in the area and he knew of Guimard's skill in recognising young talent.
and the competition for the best young rider in the Mi-Août Breton. He profited from his background in 10-mile time-trials in Britain to win the first stage of the 2000 Tour de France, a 16 km time-trial at Futuroscope
. He held the yellow jersey
for a few days. He failed to repeat his feat at Dunkirk in 2001 after puncturing in a bend and crashing. He finished fifth in the prologue in 2002 on a rolling course at Luxembourg
. His attempt to win the prologue in central Paris in the centenary Tour of 2003 ended when his chain dropped off 500 m before the finish. He lost by 0.14 s to Brad McGee. Millar had ridden a bike without a front derailleur.Riders rarely need more than one chain-ring in a time trial but the cage of a front gear, which wraps round the chain, makes the chain less likely to lift off in high and low gears. He blamed his directeur sportif
, Alain Bondue
. "It wasn't a problem with my chainring; it was a problem with my team," he told journalists at the finish. He said Bondue had tried to save a few grams by removing the derailleur. Bondue said he had told Millar to use a front derailleur after other riders had similar problems. Bondue was demoted to logistics manager.
Hopes of winning the Tour de France
were fuelled by his stage win in the 2001 Vuelta a España
, when he was in a breakaway with Santiago Botero
on a mountain stage. However, Millar said that if he were to go for a Tour win, it would be only if he were certain of winning, not simply to do well.
Millar won a gold medal for Malta
in the 2001 Games of the Small States of Europe
http://www.nocmalta.org/page.asp?p=7667&l=1, held in San Marino
. Millar was selected for the Scotland team for the 2002 Commonwealth Games
, but withdrew to compete for Cofidis instead.
Millar was eating in a restaurant in Bidart
, near Biarritz
, on 23 June 2004 when he was approached by three plainclothes policemen of the Paris drug squad at 8.25pm. They took Millar's watch, shoelaces, jewellery, keys and phone. Millar said:
After two and a half hours they found empty phials of Eprex, a brand of the blood-boosting drug EPO
, and two used syringes.Some reports of the police search on 23 June 2004 say the syringes were on a book, others that they were in a hollowed-out book. Millar said he had been given them as a gift at the Tour of Spain, that he had taken them to Manchester
and used them. After that he had kept them as a souvenir. The detectives took Millar to the prison in Biaritz and put him alone in a cell.
The raid followed the arrest at the start of 2004 of Cofidis' soigneur, Bogdan Madejak. Police, looking to find out more about the drugs found on Madejak, turned their attention to another rider on the team, Philippe Gaumont
, as he arrived at Orly airport in Paris
on 20 January 2004.Stories had begun to spread of the Cofidis team after the discovery of a paper written for a learned journal by a psychiatrist who had spent time with the team. The paper didn't name Cofidis but it was possible, with other information, to drew a conclusion. The police started taking an interest. Gaumont had a history in cycling and the police concluded he would be a good man to question. He was stopped at Orly airport after 10 days' training in Spain. Gaumont saw no reason to be the scapegoat for things that went wider – the police suspected other riders and officials and sensed a network of drug-sellers and carriers – and he named names and gave a long account of what he said went on within the team. "I have been treated as an informer and a madman," he said. "That leaves me neither angry nor sad. I knew that one day I'd have to get it all off my chest. You don't drug yourself for 10 years with a smile on your lips." On 22 January 2004 the magazine, Le Point, published transcripts of police phone taps.
David Walsh, writing in the Sunday Times in Britain, said:
Gaumont said it had happened the day before the Tour finished on the Champs-Élysées in 2003, when Millar won the time-trial. Gaumont said he didn't know what was in the syringe but that "ça m'avait bloqué (that blocked me; i.e. kept me from going well)." Millar denied the claim to the investigating judge and said Menuet was the best person he had ever met and that he was "like a father to me at races." He also denied Gaumont's claims that Millar had taken drugs trips by mixing Stilnox, a sleeping powder, with ephedrine
, a stimulant. He called Gaumont a lunatic and said he was talking "absolute crap." But his phone calls had been tapped for four months and Millar eventually confessed to police on June 24, 2004. He admitted using EPO in 2001 and 2003. He blamed it on stress, in particular losing the prologue
, the opening time-trial, in the 2003 Tour, and being beaten by Jan Ullrich
in the 2001 world time trial championship. Under cycling rules a confession equates to a positive test. British Cycling
suspended him for two years in August 2004. He was disqualified as 2003 world time trial champion, fined CHF
2,000 '(approx. €
1250)', and disqualified from the 2003 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and 2001 Vuelta a España
. Cofidis fired him and dropped out of racing while it investigated other team members. Several Cofidis riders and assistants were fired. Alain Bondue, the team's director, and Menuet, the doctor, left the team. Vasseur was forbidden to start the 2004 Tour de France
but later cleared.
Millar failed in an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
to reduce his ban, but the court backdated the suspension to the day he confessed, June 24, 2004.
Millar was investigated in Nanterre
in 2006 with nine other defendants, mostly from Cofidis. The court decided it was not clear he had taken drugs in France and that charges could not be pursued. The doctor he had consulted (see below) lived south of Biarritz but across the Pyrenees, in Spain. Millar's statement to the judge, Richard Pallain, told of a man torn apart by the pressure of racing, the expectations placed in him by British fans, and an inability to make close friends. He said he despaired of cycling in 1999 and began going to parties. At one, he fell down stairs and broke a bone. It put him out of cycling for four months and he didn't get back to racing form until the following year. Winning the prologue of the Tour de France made things worse; he had worn the maillot jaune of leadership – his "dream", he said – and when it was all over he was back in his apartment with no friends and just a television for company.
In 2001 he was in love with an Australian photography student. Shari traveled from Brisbane
to France to see him race but he crashed on the first day of the Tour de France. The rest of the race barely improved. Millar said in his statement to police:
Millar said he went to Australia with his fiancée at the end of 2001 and returned not wanting to ride a bike. Their relationship ended. He consulted Jesus Losa, the doctor of the Euskaltel team in Spain,Jesus Losa, the doctor of the Euskaltel team in Spain, was also named in court in July 2008 by the Spanish rider, Moises Duenas after his eviction from the Tour de France – Moises Duenas Blames Spanish Doctor For Positive Dope Test http://www.bicycle.net/2008/moises-duenas-blames-spanish-doctor-for-positive-dope-test. Losa denied his involvement, said Duenas had paid him only for nutrition advice, and said he had been named in the Millar case but not questioned. and had more sessions of EPO in May and August 2003.
Doping had gained him 25 seconds in the championship, he said. He toasted his championship in the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas
But the suspension cost Millar his job, his income and his house. He said:
He was drunk for much of a year. He said he scraped by with the help of family and friends.
of northern England to be close to the velodrome
at Manchester
where British cycling has its headquarters. He was quoted as saying:
He joined a Spanish team, . Its manager, Mauro Gianetti, had contacted him nine months into his suspension. He said:
William Fotheringham wrote:
Millar's suspension ended a week before the 2006 Tour de France
and he rode with . He finished 17th in the prologue and 11th on the penultimate, time-trial stage. He finished 59th of 139 finishers, more than 2 hours behind the winner, Óscar Pereiro.Floyd Landis was later disqualified from the 2006 Tour de France for taking drugs and the win was given to Óscar Pereiro, who finished 57 seconds behind him. In the 2006 Vuelta a España, Millar won in stage 14, a time trial
around the city of Cuenca
. On 3 October, he won the British 4,000m individual pursuit
championship in 4m 22.32s at Manchester.
He left 's leading rider, Riccardo Riccò
, was disqualified for doping during the Tour de France of 2008. Millar told Le Journal du Dimanche on 20 July 2008: "I didn't see anything [doping] organised even if, at the time, there were suspicions about riders who were having exceptional performances. But there is no anti-doping culture in the team. I like the manager, Mauro Gianetti, a lot, but he is naive. He trusts people who don't deserve it. A positive dope test doesn't stop with the rider. It has ramifications. If Saunier Duval doesn't know that a rider is working with another doctor, outside the team, it's because it hasn't done what needs to be done." to join an American team, run by Jonathan Vaughters
, a former rider. Vaughters stressed the team's stance against doping. In the 2007 season, Millar won both the British road and time trial championships and came second in the Eneco Tour
, 11 seconds behind Jose Ivan Gutierrez. His other victory of the year came in the Paris-Nice, during which he won the prologue.
For the start of the 2008 season, Slipstream became known as Garmin Slipstream, and Millar took on part ownership of the side, in order to foster their anti-doping stance. He also helped orchestrate 's victory in the Giro d'Italia opening team time trial
. Millar was part of a five-man winning break on stage five of the 2008 Giro d'Italia
when his chain broke in the last kilometre. He flung his bike away. In the 2008 Tour de France, Millar came third in the time trial on stage four, 18 seconds behind the winner. Overall he finished 68th, 1h 59m 39s behind Carlos Sastre
. His best results of the season came in the 2008 Tour of California
in which he finished second overall.
Millar's 2009 season continued to bring solid performances in time-trials, though was hampered by injury in March 2009. He returned at the Giro d'Italia and put in an impressive performance at the subsequent 2009 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
, finishing ninth overall. He competed in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España
, completing a hat-trick of Grand Tour
entries for the year. His best performance in a stage was first, achieved in the stage twenty time trial
at the Vuelta. The race was Millar's first win for two years, and his fifth at the Vuelta.
2010 saw Millar continue his strong time-trial form, with stage wins at the Critérium International
and the Three Days of De Panne
. De Panne also saw Millar gain his first multi-stage race victory since the 2001 Circuit de la Sarthe
. In addition to those victories, Millar had a number of high placings in major time trials earlier in the season – he finished third in the prologue of the 2010 Tour de France
and second in stage three of the Critérium du Dauphiné
. Unfortunately, an injury in the Tour de France hampered the rest of his season, though he nonetheless repeated his achievement of finishing all three grand tours. Millar then matched his best clean placing at the Men's World Time-Trial Championships
, finishing second behind Fabian Cancellara
. Shortly after, at the Commonwealth Games
, he won a gold medal in the time trial and a bronze in the road race.
2011 saw Millar suffer from illness early in the season, missing many of the classics. His best performance was a 3rd place finish in the overall of the Circuit de la Sarthe
. He recovered in time for the Giro d'Italia
, finishing second on stage 2 to take the maglia rosa
. Millar's lead, however, was overshadowed by the death of Wouter Weylandt
in the Giro on the same day; in the role of race leader, Millar helped organise the tributes to Weylandt's during the subsequent day's neutralised stage. He later won the time-trial stage 21
of the Giro, meaning that he became only the third British rider - after Robert Millar
and Mark Cavendish
- to achieve victories in all three Grand Tours during his career. In June he published his autobiography titled Racing Through the Dark, which Richard Williams
in The Guardian
wrote was "one of the great first-person accounts of sporting experience". Millar was team captain of the Great Britain
team that helped Mark Cavendish
win the 2011 UCI World Championships road race
.
said Millar was always good for a piquant "if often foul-mouthed" quote full of "F and C words". He described his dress sense as "artistic grunge-chic".
Millar observed, when speaking about other riders:
The English author, Freya North
, met Millar for her book Cat. She said he didn't look like a cyclist, "more like a cross between a snowboarder and a member of a student indie rock group."
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, two of the Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
and one Stage of the Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
. He was the British national road champion
British National Road Race Championships
The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
and the national time trial champion, both in 2007. He is the only British rider to have worn all Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
jerseys and one of four to have worn the yellow jersey
Yellow jersey
The general classification in the Tour de France is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey .-History:...
. He is also the only British rider to have worn the leader's jersey in all three Grand Tours.
He was banned for two years in 2004 after admitting taking banned performance-enhancing drugs, but four years after his return he won the silver medal at the World Time Trial Championships. He is not related to fellow Scottish cyclist Robert Millar
Robert Millar
Robert Millar is a former Scottish professional cyclist who won the “King of the Mountains” competition in the 1984 Tour de France and finished fourth overall – sharing the highest Tour position for a British cyclist with Bradley Wiggins, and the first time a Briton had won a major Tour...
.
Background
David Millar is one of two children of Gordon and Avril Millar. His father was a pilot in the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and Millar was born while his father was based in Malta for a 3 year tour of duty. The family returned to the UK, and lived at RAF Kinloss in Scotland before moving to Aylesbury, 60 km north-west of London. His father and mother divorced when Millar was 11 and his father moved to Hong Kong when he joined Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, although the airline's registered office is on the 33rd floor of One Pacific Place...
, an airline, based there. Millar considers Hong Kong as his home. Millar moved to Hong Kong to join his father when he was 13. He rode in mountain bike
Mountain bike
A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
races in Hong Kong "and did pretty well." He bought a road bike in 1992 and raced at 6.30 in the morning before the island's roads began filling with traffic.
He chose mathematics, economics and geography as his A-level, pre-university, examination subjects, then switched to art, graphics and sports studies at his father's suggestion. He completed his A-levels and, having moved back to England to be with his mother in Maidenhead
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...
, enrolled at an arts college. He started cycling with a club in High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, west of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His mother, Avril, took him there so that he would make new friends and have something to do. Millar showed talent and at 18, a week before he was due to start at the arts college, he went to race in France. He joined a club at St-Quentin
Saint-Quentin, Aisne
Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....
, in the Picardy region, and won eight races. Five professional teams, , , , and offered Millar his first professional contract offered him a contract. He signed with Cyrille Guimard
Cyrille Guimard
Cyrille Guimard is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and then a television commentator...
because his team, Cofidis, was based in the area and he knew of Guimard's skill in recognising young talent.
Early career
In his first professional season, Millar won the prologue of the Tour de l'AvenirTour de l'Avenir
Tour de l'Avenir is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents. Riders competed in national teams...
and the competition for the best young rider in the Mi-Août Breton. He profited from his background in 10-mile time-trials in Britain to win the first stage of the 2000 Tour de France, a 16 km time-trial at Futuroscope
Futuroscope
Futuroscope, or Parc du Futuroscope is a French theme park based upon multimedia, cinematographic futuroscope and audio-visual techniques...
. He held the yellow jersey
Yellow jersey
The general classification in the Tour de France is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey .-History:...
for a few days. He failed to repeat his feat at Dunkirk in 2001 after puncturing in a bend and crashing. He finished fifth in the prologue in 2002 on a rolling course at Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
. His attempt to win the prologue in central Paris in the centenary Tour of 2003 ended when his chain dropped off 500 m before the finish. He lost by 0.14 s to Brad McGee. Millar had ridden a bike without a front derailleur.Riders rarely need more than one chain-ring in a time trial but the cage of a front gear, which wraps round the chain, makes the chain less likely to lift off in high and low gears. He blamed his directeur sportif
Directeur sportif
A directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event...
, Alain Bondue
Alain Bondue
Alain Bondue is a racing cyclist from France.He competed for France in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, Soviet Union in the individual pursuit event where he finished in second place.-References:*...
. "It wasn't a problem with my chainring; it was a problem with my team," he told journalists at the finish. He said Bondue had tried to save a few grams by removing the derailleur. Bondue said he had told Millar to use a front derailleur after other riders had similar problems. Bondue was demoted to logistics manager.
Hopes of winning the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
were fuelled by his stage win in the 2001 Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
, when he was in a breakaway with Santiago Botero
Santiago Botero
Santiago Botero Echeverry is a Colombian former professional road bicycle racer. He was a pro from 1996 to 2010, during which time he raced in three editions of the Tour de France and four editions of the Vuelta a España...
on a mountain stage. However, Millar said that if he were to go for a Tour win, it would be only if he were certain of winning, not simply to do well.
Millar won a gold medal for Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
in the 2001 Games of the Small States of Europe
Games of the Small States of Europe
The Games of the Small States of Europe is a biennial, multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of eight European small states since 1985...
http://www.nocmalta.org/page.asp?p=7667&l=1, held in San Marino
San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...
. Millar was selected for the Scotland team for the 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
, but withdrew to compete for Cofidis instead.
Doping
Bidart
Bidart is a commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.It is located in the traditional Basque province of Labourd.-References:* -External links:* Information available in Spanish...
, near Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
, on 23 June 2004 when he was approached by three plainclothes policemen of the Paris drug squad at 8.25pm. They took Millar's watch, shoelaces, jewellery, keys and phone. Millar said:
After two and a half hours they found empty phials of Eprex, a brand of the blood-boosting drug EPO
Erythropoietin
Erythropoietin, or its alternatives erythropoetin or erthropoyetin or EPO, is a glycoprotein hormone that controls erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production...
, and two used syringes.Some reports of the police search on 23 June 2004 say the syringes were on a book, others that they were in a hollowed-out book. Millar said he had been given them as a gift at the Tour of Spain, that he had taken them to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and used them. After that he had kept them as a souvenir. The detectives took Millar to the prison in Biaritz and put him alone in a cell.
The raid followed the arrest at the start of 2004 of Cofidis' soigneur, Bogdan Madejak. Police, looking to find out more about the drugs found on Madejak, turned their attention to another rider on the team, Philippe Gaumont
Philippe Gaumont
Philippe Gaumont is a former French professional road racing cyclist. He is notorious for having confessed to extensive doping and explaining a lot of the tricks of the trade.-Racing results:...
, as he arrived at Orly airport in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 20 January 2004.Stories had begun to spread of the Cofidis team after the discovery of a paper written for a learned journal by a psychiatrist who had spent time with the team. The paper didn't name Cofidis but it was possible, with other information, to drew a conclusion. The police started taking an interest. Gaumont had a history in cycling and the police concluded he would be a good man to question. He was stopped at Orly airport after 10 days' training in Spain. Gaumont saw no reason to be the scapegoat for things that went wider – the police suspected other riders and officials and sensed a network of drug-sellers and carriers – and he named names and gave a long account of what he said went on within the team. "I have been treated as an informer and a madman," he said. "That leaves me neither angry nor sad. I knew that one day I'd have to get it all off my chest. You don't drug yourself for 10 years with a smile on your lips." On 22 January 2004 the magazine, Le Point, published transcripts of police phone taps.
David Walsh, writing in the Sunday Times in Britain, said:
"Gaumont accused Millar of encouraging the team's doctor, Jean-Jacques Menuet, to give both him and another rider, Cedric VasseurCédric VasseurCédric Vasseur is a French former professional road racing cyclist. He was born in Hazebrouck, France and currently resides in Lille with his wife and young son...
, a doping product.Gaumont said: "Menuet's style was never to prescribe an illicit product, never to bring anything illicit, but if you brought these products to him, not only would he advise you about them but he was likely to administer them." Menuet said he refused to break medical confidentiality and did not comment. – Cyclisme – Le médecin de Cofidis mis en cause, http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme/20040409_094343Dev.html Gaumont said: 'Vasseur and I went to Menuet's room and were injected with a clear liquid. If Menuet agreed to do so, it was because Millar asked him to. He is the leader of the team, and leaders have such power.' Gaumont's statement implicated Millar in the police investigation into Cofidis. It was certain that the police would interview him."
Gaumont said it had happened the day before the Tour finished on the Champs-Élysées in 2003, when Millar won the time-trial. Gaumont said he didn't know what was in the syringe but that "ça m'avait bloqué (that blocked me; i.e. kept me from going well)." Millar denied the claim to the investigating judge and said Menuet was the best person he had ever met and that he was "like a father to me at races." He also denied Gaumont's claims that Millar had taken drugs trips by mixing Stilnox, a sleeping powder, with ephedrine
Ephedrine
Ephedrine is a sympathomimetic amine commonly used as a stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, decongestant, and to treat hypotension associated with anaesthesia....
, a stimulant. He called Gaumont a lunatic and said he was talking "absolute crap." But his phone calls had been tapped for four months and Millar eventually confessed to police on June 24, 2004. He admitted using EPO in 2001 and 2003. He blamed it on stress, in particular losing the prologue
Prologue
A prologue is an opening to a story that establishes the setting and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information. The Greek prologos included the modern meaning of prologue, but was of wider significance...
, the opening time-trial, in the 2003 Tour, and being beaten by Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich is a German former professional road bicycle racer. In 1997, he was the first German to win the Tour de France. He went on to take five second places and a fourth in 2004 and third in 2005. He is considered one of the best time-trialists in the history of the sport...
in the 2001 world time trial championship. Under cycling rules a confession equates to a positive test. British Cycling
British Cycling
British Cycling is the national governing body for cycle racing in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man...
suspended him for two years in August 2004. He was disqualified as 2003 world time trial champion, fined CHF
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
2,000 '(approx. €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
1250)', and disqualified from the 2003 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and 2001 Vuelta a España
2001 Vuelta a España
The 56th Vuelta a España , a long-distance stage race and one of the 3 Grand Tours, was held from September 8 to September 30, 2001...
. Cofidis fired him and dropped out of racing while it investigated other team members. Several Cofidis riders and assistants were fired. Alain Bondue, the team's director, and Menuet, the doctor, left the team. Vasseur was forbidden to start the 2004 Tour de France
2004 Tour de France
The 2004 Tour de France was the 91st, taking place from July 3 to July 25, 2004. It consisted of 20 stages over 3391 km.Lance Armstrong became the first to win six Tours de France. Armstrong had been favored to win, his competitors seen as being German Jan Ullrich, Spaniards Roberto Heras and...
but later cleared.
Millar failed in an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...
to reduce his ban, but the court backdated the suspension to the day he confessed, June 24, 2004.
Millar was investigated in Nanterre
Nanterre
Nanterre is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located west of the center of Paris.Nanterre is the capital of the Hauts-de-Seine department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Nanterre....
in 2006 with nine other defendants, mostly from Cofidis. The court decided it was not clear he had taken drugs in France and that charges could not be pursued. The doctor he had consulted (see below) lived south of Biarritz but across the Pyrenees, in Spain. Millar's statement to the judge, Richard Pallain, told of a man torn apart by the pressure of racing, the expectations placed in him by British fans, and an inability to make close friends. He said he despaired of cycling in 1999 and began going to parties. At one, he fell down stairs and broke a bone. It put him out of cycling for four months and he didn't get back to racing form until the following year. Winning the prologue of the Tour de France made things worse; he had worn the maillot jaune of leadership – his "dream", he said – and when it was all over he was back in his apartment with no friends and just a television for company.
In 2001 he was in love with an Australian photography student. Shari traveled from Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
to France to see him race but he crashed on the first day of the Tour de France. The rest of the race barely improved. Millar said in his statement to police:
Millar said he went to Australia with his fiancée at the end of 2001 and returned not wanting to ride a bike. Their relationship ended. He consulted Jesus Losa, the doctor of the Euskaltel team in Spain,Jesus Losa, the doctor of the Euskaltel team in Spain, was also named in court in July 2008 by the Spanish rider, Moises Duenas after his eviction from the Tour de France – Moises Duenas Blames Spanish Doctor For Positive Dope Test http://www.bicycle.net/2008/moises-duenas-blames-spanish-doctor-for-positive-dope-test. Losa denied his involvement, said Duenas had paid him only for nutrition advice, and said he had been named in the Millar case but not questioned. and had more sessions of EPO in May and August 2003.
Doping had gained him 25 seconds in the championship, he said. He toasted his championship in the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
But the suspension cost Millar his job, his income and his house. He said:
He was drunk for much of a year. He said he scraped by with the help of family and friends.
Post-suspension
Millar moved to Hayfield, on the edge of the Peak DistrictPeak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
of northern England to be close to the velodrome
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
at Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
where British cycling has its headquarters. He was quoted as saying:
He joined a Spanish team, . Its manager, Mauro Gianetti, had contacted him nine months into his suspension. He said:
"After what David has been through over the past 18 months and what he has learned, I can't believe that he would take a risk again. He has been through hard times and I think that he's emerged as a wiser person."
William Fotheringham wrote:
"His comeback will raise hackles. There will be outraged letters from cycling's moral majority, who feel that all drug-takers should face life bans. Yet Millar has built a support network, ranging from his former trainer Mike Taylor to British Cycling's performance director Dave Brailsford, who has always felt his case to be a complex one deserving of understanding rather than condemnation.Millar had been talking to Brailsford when police interrupted their meal at Bidart. Millar acknowledges that in one sense he is on a hiding to nothing. If he succeeds, there will be knowing nudges and winks. If he fails, ditto."
Millar's suspension ended a week before the 2006 Tour de France
2006 Tour de France
The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France, taking place from July 1 to July 23, 2006. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of apparent winner Floyd Landis....
and he rode with . He finished 17th in the prologue and 11th on the penultimate, time-trial stage. He finished 59th of 139 finishers, more than 2 hours behind the winner, Óscar Pereiro.Floyd Landis was later disqualified from the 2006 Tour de France for taking drugs and the win was given to Óscar Pereiro, who finished 57 seconds behind him. In the 2006 Vuelta a España, Millar won in stage 14, a time trial
Time trial
In many racing sports an athlete will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. In cycling, for example, a time trial can be a single track cycling event, or an individual or team time trial on the road, and either or both of the latter may form components of...
around the city of Cuenca
Cuenca, Spain
-History:When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segóbriga, Ercávica and Gran Valeria...
. On 3 October, he won the British 4,000m individual pursuit
Individual pursuit
The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track.The event is held over 4 km for men and 3 km for women. The two riders start at the same time and set off to complete the race distance in the...
championship in 4m 22.32s at Manchester.
He left 's leading rider, Riccardo Riccò
Riccardo Riccò
Riccardo Riccò is a professional road bicycle racer from Italy, currently under contract to UCI Continental team Meridiana-Kamen, and suspended from competition. He was ejected from the 2008 Tour de France for doping violations and suspended...
, was disqualified for doping during the Tour de France of 2008. Millar told Le Journal du Dimanche on 20 July 2008: "I didn't see anything [doping] organised even if, at the time, there were suspicions about riders who were having exceptional performances. But there is no anti-doping culture in the team. I like the manager, Mauro Gianetti, a lot, but he is naive. He trusts people who don't deserve it. A positive dope test doesn't stop with the rider. It has ramifications. If Saunier Duval doesn't know that a rider is working with another doctor, outside the team, it's because it hasn't done what needs to be done." to join an American team, run by Jonathan Vaughters
Jonathan Vaughters
Jonathan Vaughters is an American former professional racing cyclist and current manager of the professional cycling team.- Racing career :...
, a former rider. Vaughters stressed the team's stance against doping. In the 2007 season, Millar won both the British road and time trial championships and came second in the Eneco Tour
2007 Eneco Tour of Benelux
The 2007 Eneco Tour of Benelux road cycling race took place from August 22 to August 29. The third edition of the Eneco Tour of Benelux covered parts of the Netherlands and Belgium. Instead of 23 teams like before, only 21 teams take part in the race this year...
, 11 seconds behind Jose Ivan Gutierrez. His other victory of the year came in the Paris-Nice, during which he won the prologue.
Team time trial
A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...
. Millar was part of a five-man winning break on stage five of the 2008 Giro d'Italia
2008 Giro d'Italia
The 2008 Giro d'Italia was the 91st running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It began in Palermo on 10 May and ended in Milan on 1 June. Twenty-two teams entered the race, which was won by Spaniard Alberto Contador of the cycling team...
when his chain broke in the last kilometre. He flung his bike away. In the 2008 Tour de France, Millar came third in the time trial on stage four, 18 seconds behind the winner. Overall he finished 68th, 1h 59m 39s behind Carlos Sastre
Carlos Sastre
Carlos Sastre Candil is a retired Spanish professional road bicycle racer and champion of the 2008 Tour de France. Sastre rides in 2011 for UCI Professional Continental team...
. His best results of the season came in the 2008 Tour of California
2008 Tour of California
The 2008 Tour of California was the third edition of an eight-day, 650-mile stage race, which began in Palo Alto , then raced through the California redwoods, wine country and the Pacific Coast and finished in Pasadena. The road bicycle racing event was held February 17–24...
in which he finished second overall.
Millar's 2009 season continued to bring solid performances in time-trials, though was hampered by injury in March 2009. He returned at the Giro d'Italia and put in an impressive performance at the subsequent 2009 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
2009 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
The 2009 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré was the 61st edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré stage race. It took place from 7 June to 14 June, and was part of both the 2009 UCI ProTour and the inaugural World Calendar. It began in Nancy, France with an individual time trial, and ended in Grenoble...
, finishing ninth overall. He competed in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España
2009 Vuelta a España
The 2009 Vuelta a España was the 64th Vuelta a España. The event took place from 29 August to 20 September 2009. For only the second time in the race's history, it began away from Spanish soil, with the race not in fact reaching Spain until Stage 5....
, completing a hat-trick of Grand Tour
Grand Tour (cycling)
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...
entries for the year. His best performance in a stage was first, achieved in the stage twenty time trial
2009 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
These are the individual stages of the 2009 Vuelta a España, with Stage 12 on 11 September and Stage 21 on 20 September.-Stages:* s.t. indicates that the rider crossed the finish line in the same group as the one receiving the time above him, and was therefore credited with the same finishing...
at the Vuelta. The race was Millar's first win for two years, and his fifth at the Vuelta.
2010 saw Millar continue his strong time-trial form, with stage wins at the Critérium International
Critérium International
The Critérium International is a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932....
and the Three Days of De Panne
Three Days of De Panne
The Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :...
. De Panne also saw Millar gain his first multi-stage race victory since the 2001 Circuit de la Sarthe
Circuit de la Sarthe (cycling)
The Circuit de la Sarthe-Pays de la Loire is an early-season short road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France. Since 2005, it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour....
. In addition to those victories, Millar had a number of high placings in major time trials earlier in the season – he finished third in the prologue of the 2010 Tour de France
2010 Tour de France
The 2010 Tour de France was the 97th edition of the Tour de France cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on with an 8.9 km prologue time trial in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996...
and second in stage three of the Critérium du Dauphiné
2010 Critérium du Dauphiné
The 2010 Critérium du Dauphiné was the 62nd edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné stage race, and the first since it was renamed. It took place from 6–13 June, and was part of both the 2010 UCI ProTour and World Calendar...
. Unfortunately, an injury in the Tour de France hampered the rest of his season, though he nonetheless repeated his achievement of finishing all three grand tours. Millar then matched his best clean placing at the Men's World Time-Trial Championships
2010 UCI Road World Championships – Men's time trial
The Men's time trial of the 2010 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 30 September in Melbourne , Australia, the first time in the event's 77 times that it has been held in Australia....
, finishing second behind Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...
. Shortly after, at the Commonwealth Games
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...
, he won a gold medal in the time trial and a bronze in the road race.
2011 saw Millar suffer from illness early in the season, missing many of the classics. His best performance was a 3rd place finish in the overall of the Circuit de la Sarthe
Circuit de la Sarthe (cycling)
The Circuit de la Sarthe-Pays de la Loire is an early-season short road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France. Since 2005, it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour....
. He recovered in time for the Giro d'Italia
2011 Giro d'Italia
The 2011 Giro d'Italia was the 94th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started on 7 May with a team time trial in Turin to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, when the city served as the first capital of the single state.The route was...
, finishing second on stage 2 to take the maglia rosa
Maglia rosa
The pink jersey is awarded to the leader of the General Classification at the Giro d'Italia. The leader of the GC is the rider who has the fastest time when all the stage results are added together, taking into account time bonuses for high finishes and intermediate sprints...
. Millar's lead, however, was overshadowed by the death of Wouter Weylandt
Wouter Weylandt
Wouter Weylandt was a Belgian professional cyclist for UCI ProTeam and later for . His first major win was the 17th stage of the 2008 Vuelta a España. He also won the 3rd stage of the 2010 Giro d'Italia...
in the Giro on the same day; in the role of race leader, Millar helped organise the tributes to Weylandt's during the subsequent day's neutralised stage. He later won the time-trial stage 21
2011 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21
Stage 12 of the 2011 Giro d'Italia took place on 19 May, and the race concluded on 29 May. The 2011 edition commemorated the 150th anniversary of Italian unification...
of the Giro, meaning that he became only the third British rider - after Robert Millar
Robert Millar
Robert Millar is a former Scottish professional cyclist who won the “King of the Mountains” competition in the 1984 Tour de France and finished fourth overall – sharing the highest Tour position for a British cyclist with Bradley Wiggins, and the first time a Briton had won a major Tour...
and Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish MBE is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam until the end of this season when the team is dissolved. He will join Team Sky at the start of the 2012 season...
- to achieve victories in all three Grand Tours during his career. In June he published his autobiography titled Racing Through the Dark, which Richard Williams
Richard Williams (journalist)
Richard Williams is a British music and sports journalist.As a writer, then deputy editor, of the weekly rock magazine Melody Maker, he became an influential commentator on the rise of new forms of rock music at the end of the 1960s. Williams and MM, as it was known, helped to promote and...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote was "one of the great first-person accounts of sporting experience". Millar was team captain of the Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
team that helped Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish MBE is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam until the end of this season when the team is dissolved. He will join Team Sky at the start of the 2012 season...
win the 2011 UCI World Championships road race
2011 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race
The Men's Individual Road Race of the 2011 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 25 September 2011 in Copenhagen, Denmark.In a sprint to the finish line, Great Britain's Mark Cavendish became world champion after making his move down the right-hand side of the course, and just...
.
Personality
Millar is known for blunt comments, and he quit the Vuelta in 2002 to protest against the route and the course, which he considered dangerous. He had crashed several times and ripped off his race number and quit metres from the finish of the stage. William FotheringhamWilliam Fotheringham
William Fotheringham is a sports writer specialising in cycling and rugby. As a newspaper journalist he writes for The Guardian. Fotheringham was a features editor for Cycling Weekly, and the first editor of Cycle Sport and Procycling magazine...
said Millar was always good for a piquant "if often foul-mouthed" quote full of "F and C words". He described his dress sense as "artistic grunge-chic".
Millar observed, when speaking about other riders:
The English author, Freya North
Freya North
Freya North is a British author.Her novels centre around strong female characters and their raunchy exploits. One of the precursors of Chick lit, her books have been critical and financial successes....
, met Millar for her book Cat. She said he didn't look like a cyclist, "more like a cross between a snowboarder and a member of a student indie rock group."
Personal life
On 9 September 2011, David Millar's wife, Nicole, gave birth to their son, Archibald Millar.Palmares
1997- 1st Prologue Tour de l'AvenirTour de l'AvenirTour de l'Avenir is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents. Riders competed in national teams...
1998
- 1st Prologue Tour de l'Avenir
- 1st Stage 6 Tour de l'Avenir
- 1st Stage 3B Three Days of De PanneThree Days of De PanneThe Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :...
1999
- 1st Manx InternationalManx TrophyThe Manx Trophy or Isle of Man International Road Race is a bicycle road race run annually on the Isle of Man. In the 1960s the race attracted the world's top professional cyclists including Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx....
, Isle of Man - 1st Mountains ClassificationKing of the MountainsThe King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race; usually and officially known as the Mountains classification...
, Volta a la Comunitat ValencianaVolta a la Comunitat ValencianaThe Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community , Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often used as preparation for the spring classics or the grand tours which take place later in the season.No editions of the race have been...
2000
- 1st Stage 1 Tour de France2000 Tour de FranceThe 2000 Tour de France was the 87th Tour de France, and took place from July 1 to July 23, 2000. It was won by American cyclist Lance Armstrong. The Tour started with an individual time trial in Futuroscope and ended traditionally in Paris. The distance travelled was 3662.5 km...
- 1st Stage 1B Route du Sud
- 1st
Youth classification, Circuit de la Sarthe
2001
- 1st Stage 1 Vuelta a España2001 Vuelta a EspañaThe 56th Vuelta a España , a long-distance stage race and one of the 3 Grand Tours, was held from September 8 to September 30, 2001...
- 1st Stage 6 Vuelta a España2001 Vuelta a EspañaThe 56th Vuelta a España , a long-distance stage race and one of the 3 Grand Tours, was held from September 8 to September 30, 2001...
- 1st
Overall Danmark RundtDanmark RundtDanmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, Post Danmark, and the race is therefore also known as Post Danmark Rundt. Currently 15 teams, with 8 riders...
- 1st Stage 5
- 1st Youth Classification
- 1st Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
- 1st Stage 4
- 1st Stage 5
- 1st Youth Classification
- 1st Stage 4B Bicicleta Vaca
- 2nd
UCI Road World Championship Time Trial2001 UCI Road World ChampionshipsThe 2001 UCI Road World Championships took place in Lisbon, Portugal, between October 9 and October 14, 2001. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women, men under 23, junior men and junior women.- Events summary :- External links :...
2002
- 1st Stage 13 Tour de France2002 Tour de FranceThe 2002 Tour de France started in Luxembourg on July 6, 2002, and ended in Paris on July 28. France was visited counter-clockwise, so the Pyrenees were there before the Alps...
2003
- 1st Stage 19 Tour de France2003 Tour de FranceThe 2003 Tour de France started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,427.5 km , proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages...
Millar's victory on Stage 19 of the 2003 Tour de France was removed from his record at his own request due to dopinghttp://sport.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=918&id=1063892006 - 1st Tour de Picardie
- 1st Stage 1 Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
- 1st Stage 4 Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos
- 1st Stage 17 Vuelta a España2003 Vuelta a EspañaThe 58th Vuelta a España , a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the 3 grand tours, was held from September 6 to September 28, 2003...
2006
- 1st
Individual Pursuit Champion British National Track ChampionshipsBritish National Track ChampionshipsThe British National Track Championships are held annually. Organized by British Cycling, they are competitions of various track cycling disciplines in age, gender and disability categories.-Senior :-Amateur :... - 1st Stage 14 Vuelta a España
2007
- 1st National Road Race Champion
- 1st National Time Trial Champion
- 1st Prologue Paris–Nice
2008
- 1st Stage 1 TTT Giro d'Italia2008 Giro d'ItaliaThe 2008 Giro d'Italia was the 91st running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It began in Palermo on 10 May and ended in Milan on 1 June. Twenty-two teams entered the race, which was won by Spaniard Alberto Contador of the cycling team...
- 2nd Overall Tour of California
2009
- 1st Stage 20 Vuelta a España2009 Vuelta a EspañaThe 2009 Vuelta a España was the 64th Vuelta a España. The event took place from 29 August to 20 September 2009. For only the second time in the race's history, it began away from Spanish soil, with the race not in fact reaching Spain until Stage 5....
- 1st Edinburgh Nocturne
- Combativity award
Stage 6, Tour de France2009 Tour de FranceThe 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...
2010
- 1st
Time Trial Commonwealth Games Time TrialCycling at the 2010 Commonwealth GamesThe cycling competition at the 2010 Commonwealth Games comprised two disciplines: road cycling and track cycling. The track events were held at the Indira Gandhi Arena. Track events were held from 5–8 October 2010.-Medal table:- Road:- Track:... - 1st Overall Three Days of De PanneThree Days of De PanneThe Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :...
- 1st Stage 3b ITT
- 1st Stage 3 Critérium InternationalCritérium InternationalThe Critérium International is a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932....
- 1st Chrono des NationsChrono des NationsChrono des Nations - Les Herbiers Vendée is a single-day time-trial bicycle race held annually in October in Vendée, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour....
- 2nd UCI Road World Championship Time Trial2010 UCI Road World ChampionshipsThe 2010 UCI Road World Championships took place in Geelong and Melbourne, Australia, over 5 days from 29 September to 3 October 2010. It was the 77th UCI Road World Championships and the first time that Australia had held the event...
- 3rd
Commonwealth Games Road RaceCycling at the 2010 Commonwealth GamesThe cycling competition at the 2010 Commonwealth Games comprised two disciplines: road cycling and track cycling. The track events were held at the Indira Gandhi Arena. Track events were held from 5–8 October 2010.-Medal table:- Road:- Track:...
2011
- 1st stage 21 Giro d'Italia2011 Giro d'ItaliaThe 2011 Giro d'Italia was the 94th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started on 7 May with a team time trial in Turin to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, when the city served as the first capital of the single state.The route was...
- Wore Pink Jersey on Stages 6–7
- 1st Stage 2 TTT Tour de France2011 Tour de France-Pre-race favourites:2010 winner Alberto Contador was suspended from cycling during a doping investigation from September 2010 to February 2011, during which time 2010 runner-up Andy Schleck was regarded as the favourite. When the suspension was lifted, Contador declared his desire to compete in...
- 2nd Overall Tour of Beijing2011 Tour of BeijingThe 2011 Tour of Beijing was the inaugural running of the Tour of Beijing cycling stage race. It started with an individual time trial around the Beijing Olympic Village on 5 October and finished at the Bird's Nest on 9 October....
- 2nd Stage 1 Tour of Beijing2011 Tour of BeijingThe 2011 Tour of Beijing was the inaugural running of the Tour of Beijing cycling stage race. It started with an individual time trial around the Beijing Olympic Village on 5 October and finished at the Bird's Nest on 9 October....
- 2nd Stage 1 Tour of Beijing
- 3rd Overall Circuit de la SartheCircuit de la Sarthe (cycling)The Circuit de la Sarthe-Pays de la Loire is an early-season short road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France. Since 2005, it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour....
- 3rd Overall Eneco Tour2011 Eneco TourThe 2011 Eneco Tour of Benelux was the seventh running of the Eneco Tour of Benelux cycling stage race. It started with an individual time trial in Amersfoort in the Netherlands on 8 August and finished on 14 August 2011 in Sittard-Geleen, also in the Netherlands.The race consisted of seven stages,...
See also
- List of doping cases in cycling
- List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences