David Millar (born 4 January 1977) is a Scottish retired professional

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most comm ...

. He rode for

Cofidis Cofidis (from the French: mpagnie nancière de tribution) is a French multinational consumer credit company owned by Crédit Mutuel. It was founded in 1982 by 3 Suisses, a company jointly owned by the Otto and Mulliez families, to provid ...

from 1997 to 2004 and Garmin–Sharp from 2008 to 2014. He has won four stages of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

, five of the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

and one stage of the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

. He was the British national road champion and the national time trial champion, both in 2007. Millar was banned for two years in 2004 after he admitted to taking banned performance-enhancing drugs.L'Équipe, France, 29 July 2007 Upon his return from his ban, Millar became an anti-doping campaigner, a stance which eventually resulted in journalist Alasdair Fotheringham describing him as an ' elder statesman' of cycling.

Early life and education

Millar is the son of Gordon and Avril Millar, both Scots. His father was a pilot in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and Millar was born in

Mtarfa Mtarfa () is a small town in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 2,572 as of March 2014. It was considered to be a suburb of Rabat until 2000, when it became a separate local council. History A number of historic silos were disc ...

, Malta, while his father was based there for a three-year tour of duty. His mother worked as a teacher. He has a sister, Frances (Fran) who also works in cycling, currently as the chief executive officer of

Team Ineos Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the Manchester Velo ...

. The family returned to the United Kingdom, 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 the airline

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...

, which is 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

BMX bike A BMX bike is a bicycle used for cycle sport, specifically racing or stunt riding. BMX stands for ''bicycle motocross''. Construction Though originally denoting a bicycle intended for BMX racing, the term "BMX bike" is now used as a generic ...

races in Hong Kong "and did pretty well."Cycle Sport, UK, May 2000 He bought a road bike in 1992 and raced at 6.30 in the morning before the roads began filling with traffic. At King George V School he chose mathematics, economics and geography as his

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

, 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 is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

, enrolled at an arts college. He started cycling with a club in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

, Buckinghamshire. His mother, Avril, took him there so that he would make new friendsSunday Times, UK, 27 June 2004 and have something to do. At age 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 Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

region, and won eight races.L'Équipe, France, 20 July 2004 Five professional teams offered him a contract. He signed with

Cyrille Guimard Cyrille Guimard (born 20 January 1947) is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and television commentator. Three of his riders, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, and Lucien Van Impe, won the Tour de F ...

because his team, Cofidis, was based in the area and he knew of Guimard's skill in recognising young talent.

Early career

2000–2003: early years

In his first professional season, Millar won the prologue of the

Tour 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. Felice Gimondi, Joo ...

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, or Parc du Futuroscope (), formerly known as Planète Futuroscope, is a French theme park based upon multimedia, cinematographic, and audiovisual techniques.Piriou, Jerome. The Tourist Region: A Co-Construction of Tourism Stakehol ...

. He held the yellow jersey as leader of the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...

for a few days. He failed to repeat his feat at

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

in 2001 after puncturing in a bend and crashing. He finished fifth in the prologue in 2002 on a rolling course at

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. 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 Shimano 600 front derailleur (1980) A derailleur () is a variable-ratio bicycle gearing system consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes, and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another. Modern front and rea ...

to save weight. He blamed his

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (, ) is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is seen as the equivalent to a field manager in baseball, or a head coach in football. At professional level, a directeur sportif follows t ...

, 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.Procycling, UK, July 2006 Bondue was demoted to logistics manager. MILLAR 20020715

Hopes of winning the

were fuelled by his stage win in the 2001

, when he was in a breakaway with

Santiago Botero Santiago Botero Echeverry (born October 27, 1972) is a Colombian former professional road bicycle racer. He was a pro from 1996 to 2010, during which he raced in three editions of the Tour de France and four editions of the Vuelta a España (th ...

on a mountain stage. Millar won a gold medal for

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in the 2001

Games of the Small States of Europe The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) is a biennial multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of nine European small state, small states since 1985. The Games a ...

, held in

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

. Millar was selected for the Scotland team for the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

, but withdrew to compete for Cofidis instead. In the

2002 Vuelta a España The 57th edition of the ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 7 September to 29 September 2002. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of , and was won by Ait ...

, stage 15 included the ascent of the

Alto de l'Angliru Alto de L'Angliru (; ) is a steep mountain road in Asturias, near La Vega-Riosa, in northern Spain. It is considered one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing and is often used in the Vuelta a España stage race. Origin ...

in rain. Team cars stalled on the steepest part, some unable to restart because their tires slipped on messages painted by fans.Procycling, UK, November 2003 Riders were caught behind them and others had to ride with flat tires because mechanics could not reach them. Millar crashed three times, and protested by handing in his race number a metre from the line, effectively abandoning from the race. The judges ruled he had not finished the stage and he was not reinstated, having already left for his home in Biarritz. He regretted his temper—he had been ninth—and later apologised to his team.

Doping

Millar was dining in a restaurant with

Dave Brailsford Sir David John Brailsford (born 29 February 1964) is a British sports director and former cycling coach. He is currently team principal of UCI WorldTeam , and was performance director of British Cycling from 1997 to 2014. He is also currently ...

Bidart Bidart (; )BIDARTE

, near

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

, on 23 June 2004 when he was approached by three plainclothes policemen of the Paris drug squad at 8.25pm. They detained Millar and took his watch, shoelaces, jewellery, keys and phone.Procycling, UK, September 2004 After searching his home for two and a half hours they found empty phials of Eprex, a brand of the blood-boosting drug

erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production ( erythropoiesis) in th ...

(EPO), and two used

syringe A syringe is a simple reciprocating pump consisting of a plunger (though in modern syringes, it is actually a piston) that fits tightly within a cylindrical tube called a barrel. The plunger can be linearly pulled and pushed along the inside ...

s. Millar claimed he had been given them as a gift at the Tour of Spain, and that he had taken them to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and used them there. After that he had kept them as a souvenir. The detectives took Millar into custody. The raid followed the arrest at the start of 2004 of Bogdan Madejak, a Cofidis

soigneur A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important in road bicycle racing, whic ...

. 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 (22 February 1973 – 17 May 2013) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He earned a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics, 100 km team time trial. In 1997, he won the Belgian classic Gent–Wevelgem and ...

, as he arrived at

Orly Orly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the center of Paris. The name of Orly came from Latin ''Aureliacum'', "the villa of Aurelius". Orly Airport partially lies on the territory of the c ...

airport on 20 January 2004. On 22 January 2004 the magazine, ''Le Point'', published transcripts of police phone taps. Gaumont said he had given Millar the drugs and syringes 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 that team doctor Menuet was the best person he had ever met and that he was "like a father to me at races." He denied Gaumont's claims that Millar had taken drugs by mixing Stilnox, a sleeping powder, with

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant and sympathomimetic agent that is often used to prevent hypotension, low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred ...

, a

stimulant Stimulants (also known as central nervous system stimulants, or psychostimulants, or colloquially as uppers) are a class of drugs that increase alertness. They are used for various purposes, such as enhancing attention, motivation, cognition, ...

. He called Gaumont a lunatic and said he was talking "absolute crap."Procycling, UK, July 2004 But Millar's phone calls had been tapped for four months and Millar eventually confessed to police on 24 June 2004.L'Equipe 91924 25 June 2004 Cyclisme – Dopage – Millar dans la tourmente
lequipe.fr; accessed 15 March 2016. Millar admitted using EPO in 2001 and 2003. He blamed it on stress, in particular losing the prologue in the 2003 Tour and being beaten by

Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...

in the 2001 world time trial championship. Under cycling rules a confession equates to a positive test.

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national sport governing body, governing body for cycle sport in United Kingdom, Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands a ...

suspended him for two years in August 2004. He was disqualified as 2003 world time trial champion, fined CHF2,000 (approx.

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

1250), and disqualified from the 2003 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and

2001 Vuelta a España The 56th edition of the ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance stage race and one of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, was held from 8 September to 30 September 2001. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of , and wa ...

. Cofidis fired Millar and withdrew from racing while it carried out an internal investigation. 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 The 2004 Tour de France was a multiple stage bicycle race held from 3 to 25 July, and the 91st edition of the Tour de France. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Ant ...

but later cleared. Millar failed in an appeal to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

to reduce his ban, but the court did backdate his suspension to the day he confessed, 24 June 2004. Millar was prosecuted in a French court in

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...

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 lived in Spain, south of Biarritz and across the Pyrenees. Millar's statement to the judge stated that he had succumbed to the pressure of racing, the expectations placed on him by British fans, and an inability to make close friends. 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. Millar has claimed that doping gained him 25 seconds in the 2003 world time-trial championship. He toasted his championship in the Bellagio Casino in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

.Procycling, UK, January 2006 But the suspension cost Millar his job, his income and his house. Millar then began abusing alcohol for much of a year. He said he had scraped by with the help of family and friends.

Later career

2005–2007: post-suspension

Millar moved to Hayfield, on the edge of the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

of northern England, to be close to the

Manchester Velodrome Manchester Velodrome is an indoor Olympic-standard cycle-racing track in Manchester, England, which opened in 1994. Part of the National Cycling Centre, the facility has been home to British Cycling since 1994, coinciding with the nation's rise ...

where British cycling has its headquarters. He joined a Spanish team, . Its manager, Mauro Gianetti, had contacted him nine months into his suspension. Millar's suspension ended a week before the

2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Land ...

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 Óscar Pereiro Sío (; born 3 August 1977) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. Pereiro was declared the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, after the original winner Floyd Landis was disqualified for failing a Doping (sport), do ...

. In the

2006 Vuelta a España The 2006 Vuelta a España was held from 26 August to 17 September 2006, and was the 61st edition of the race. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of , and was won by Alexander Vinokourov of the cycling team. The Points classification in th ...

, Millar won in stage 14, a

time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

around the city of

Cuenca Cuenca may refer to: People * Cuenca (surname) Places Ecuador * Cuenca Canton, in the Azuay Province ** Cuenca, Ecuador, capital of Cuenca Canton and Azuay Province ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuenca Peru * Cuenca District, Huarochirí ...

. On 3 October, he won the British 4,000m

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. It is held at over for men and women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the rac ...

championship in 4m 22.32s at Manchester. He left to join an American team, run by

Jonathan Vaughters Jonathan James Vaughters (born June 10, 1973) is an American former professional racing cyclist and current manager of UCI WorldTeam . Racing career Vaughters started competitive cycling in the 1980s, racing in the Red Zinger Mini Classics yo ...

, 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 The Benelux Tour (previously known as the Eneco Tour and the BinckBank Tour) is a road bicycle racing stage-race that is part of the UCI World Tour. The race was established in 2005 and was originally known as the Eneco Tour, named after the ori ...

, 11 seconds behind José Iván Gutiérrez. His other victory of the year came in the

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

, during which he won the prologue.

2008–2014: career with Garmin

For the start of the 2008 season, Slipstream became known as Garmin Slipstream, and Millar took on part ownership of the team, in order to foster their anti-doping stance. He helped orchestrate 's victory in the Giro d'Italia opening

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

. Millar was part of a five-man winning break on stage five of the

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 cyc ...

when his chain broke in the last kilometre and he flung his bike to the roadside. In the

2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of Tour de France, the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, France, Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16t ...

, 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 Candil (; born 22 April 1975) is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer and winner of the 2008 Tour de France. He consistently achieved outstanding results in the Vuelta a España and in the Tour de France. Sastre establis ...

. His best results of the season came in the

2008 Tour of California The 2008 Tour of California was the third edition of an eight-day, 650-mile (1,045 km) stage race, which began in Palo Alto (Stanford University), then raced through the California redwoods, wine country and the Pacific Coast and finished in P ...

in which he finished second overall. Millar rode the

2009 Giro d'Italia The 2009 Giro d'Italia was the 92nd running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was held from 9 to 31 May 2009, and marked the 100th year since the first edition of the race. Starting in Venice and finishing in Rome, 22 ...

and then the

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 Nan ...

, finishing ninth overall. He competed in both the

and the

. His best performance in a stage was winning the stage 20 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 The Critérium International was a two-day Stage (bicycle race), bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in ...

and the

Three Days of De Panne 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

. De Panne also saw Millar gain his first multi-stage race victory since the 2001

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 H ...

. 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 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. The race visited th ...

and second in stage three of the

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycle sport, cycling road bicycle racing, road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during ...

. An injury in the Tour de France hampered the rest of his season, though he finished all three grand tours. Millar then matched his best clean placing at the Men's World Time-Trial Championships, finishing second behind

Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss people, Swiss cycling executive, businessman and former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He is known for being a qual ...

. Shortly after, at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

, he won a gold medal in the time trial and a bronze in the road race. DavidMillarRosaGiro2011

2011 saw Millar suffer from illness early in the season, missing many of the

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. His best performance was a 3rd-place finish in the overall of the

. He recovered in time for the

, finishing second on stage 3 to take the pink jersey as leader of the

. Millar's lead, however, was overshadowed by the death of

Wouter Weylandt Wouter Weylandt (27 September 1984 – 9 May 2011) 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 third stage of the 2010 Giro d'Italia. He ...

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 Philippa York (born Robert Millar on 13 September 1958) is a Scottish journalist and former professional road racing cyclist. York, who competed when known as Robert Millar, is one of Britain's most successful cyclists. York won the "King of ...

and

Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...

– 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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote was "one of the great first-person accounts of sporting experience". Millar was team captain of the Great Britain team that helped Cavendish win the 2011 UCI World Championships road race. Team GB Olympics Mens Road Race 2012

Millar fractured his collarbone in a crash in the

2012 E3 Harelbeke The 2012 E3 Harelbeke was the 55th running of the E3 Harelbeke single-day cycling race. It was held on 23 March over a distance of and was the sixth race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season. E3 Harelbeke was held as a UCI World Tour event for the f ...

one-day race in Belgium on 23 March. He returned to competition at the Tour of Bavaria and the

, where his best result was a 9th place on stage 4. Despite his injuries earlier in the season, Millar was selected to ride his 11th

. He won stage 12 by escaping with four other riders, arriving from the finish line in

Annonay Annonay (; ) is a Communes of France, commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the ...

–

Davézieux Davézieux (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Ardèche Departments of France, department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardèche department References

Communes of Ardèche Ardèche communes ar ...

with more than ten minutes of an advantage over the bunch. He took the win after much cat-and-mouse-play with

Jean-Christophe Péraud Jean-Christophe Péraud (born 22 May 1977) is a retired French cyclist who rode for and during his professional career. He was a member of the French team at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Career Péraud was European cross-country champ ...

of . He was the fourth British rider to win a stage in a tour, as

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road and track cycling, track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but ...

became the second British rider to win the event (

Nicole Cooke Nicole Denise Cooke, MBE (born 13 April 1983) is a Welsh former professional road bicycle racer and Commonwealth, Olympic and World road race champion. At Beijing in 2008 she became the first British woman to win a Gold Olympic medal in any ...

won the women's Tour in 2006). Millar was selected to race on the British Road Race Team for the London Olympics. He reprised his role of team captain from the 2011 World Championships, again aiming to steer Mark Cavendish to victory. Millar and GB teammates

Ian Stannard Ian Dexter Stannard (born 25 May 1987) is a Great Britain, British former professional Track cycling, track and road racing cyclist, who rode professionally in 2006 and from 2008 to 2020 for the , , and teams, before retiring after being diagno ...

and

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome, (; born 20 May 1985) is a British professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one Giro d' ...

were forced to set the tempo for the majority of the race, with little help from the other nations, and were eventually unable to reel back a thirty-man breakaway that had gone clear on the final climb of the Box Hill circuit, leaving Cavendish to come in forty seconds behind the winner,

Alexander Vinokourov Alexander Nikolayevich Vinokourov ( Kazakh and Russian: ; born 16 September 1973) is a Kazakhstani former professional road bicycle racer and the current general manager of UCI WorldTeam . He is of Russian origin. As a competitor, his achieveme ...

. Millar was not selected to make the

2014 Tour de France The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race included 21 stages, starting in Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, on 5 July and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July. The race ...

team, a decision that left him 'devastated and shocked'. Millar retired from professional cycling after the 2014 season with his last competitive start being at the Bec CC Hill Climb in October. The final year of Millar's career was captured by documentary maker Finlay Pretsell for the film ''

Time Trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

''. Intended as an insight into the world of professional cycling, the film took on themes of aging and retirement as it traced Millar's growing realisation that he was unable to perform at his previous levels. ''Time Trial'' was released to cinemas in the UK on 29 June 2018.

Post-racing career

In March 2015 Millar revealed he was coaching former teammate

Ryder Hesjedal Eric Ryder Hesjedal (; born December 9, 1980) is a Canadian retired professional racing cyclist who competed in mountain biking and road racing between 1998 and 2016. Hesjedal won a silver medal at the 1998 Junior, 2001 Under-23, and Elite world ...

, and he has taken a mentoring role with the Great Britain under-23 cycling squad. He represented the professional cyclists' body Cyclistes Professionnels Associes (CPA) on the UCI's working group to establish an Extreme Weather Protocol to provide clear guidance on procedures in the event of severe weather affecting a race; the protocol was first used at the

2016 Paris–Nice The 2016 Paris–Nice was a road cycling stage race that took place in France between 6 and 13 March 2016. It was the 74th edition of the Paris–Nice and was the second event of the 2016 UCI World Tour. The race took place over eight stages, ...

. In 2018, he announced that he would challenge incumbent CPA president

Gianni Bugno Gianni Bugno (; born 14 February 1964) is a retired Italy, Italian professional road racing cyclist. Biography Bugno was a versatile rider, able to do well in different types of races. He won numerous stages in the Tour de France, and the Mi ...

for the leadership of the organisation, running on a manifesto which advocated democratic reforms to the union's voting system, a financial audit of its finances, and improving communication with riders. This was the first contested election in the CPA's history: Millar was defeated by Bugno, winning 96 votes to the latter's 379. Millar launched his 'Chpt3' brand in 2015, collaborating with various partners to produce a range of cycling-related products, including bikes and clothing. He works as a cycling journalist and pundit, and since 2016 has been the co-commentator on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

's coverage of the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. Millar also co-hosts Never Strays Far, a "cycling-adjacent" podcast, with fellow ITV commentator

Ned Boulting Norris Edward "Ned" Boulting (born 11 July 1969) is a British sports journalist, television presenter and podcaster best known for his coverage of football, cycling and darts. Early life and education Boulting was born in Andover, Hampshire, b ...

and former pro

Peter Kennaugh Peter Robert Kennaugh Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 15 June 1989) is a Isle of Man, Manx former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2010 and 2019 for and . In 2012 he won the gold medal as part of the Great Brit ...

Personal life

On 9 September 2011, Millar's wife, Nicole, gave birth to their son, Archibald Millar, their second son, Harvey Millar, was born on 2 May 2013. Their daughter Maxine Millar was born on 31 December 2015. In 2013, while giving consultation to the production of the film '' The Program'', Millar hit his head on a low-hanging beam while walking through a hotel. The accident left him without a sense of smell. Millar's sister, Fran, was appointed CEO of the cycling team

in June 2019. He is not related to Robert Millar, now living as

Philippa York Philippa York (born Robert Millar on 13 September 1958) is a Scottish journalist and former professional road racing cyclist. York, who competed when known as Robert Millar, is one of Britain's most successful cyclists. York won the "King of ...

, a fellow road cyclist from the west of Scotland whose main success came in the mid-1980s.

Major results

Sources: ;1994 : 2nd Overall

Junior Tour of Wales The Junior Tour of Wales is an annual cycle race for junior male riders, held around Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, Wales. First held in 1981, the race is the final round of the British Cycling Junior Road Series – and as such attracts the best junio ...

;1996 : 2nd Paris–Évreux ;1997 : 1st Prologue

;1998 :

::1st Prologue & 6 (

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication *Tank phone, Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional typ ...

) : 1st Stage 3b (

)

: 2nd

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Road Championships : 2nd Overall

Tour du Poitou-Charentes Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine is a road bicycle race held annually in the former region of Poitou-Charentes (now Nouvelle-Aquitaine) France. It was first held in 1987 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI E ...

;1999 : 1st Manx International : 2nd

, National Road Championships : 2nd Overall

: 3rd

Tour de Vendée Tour of Vendée is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in October (Previously May) in the region of Vendée, France, finishing in a circuit inside La Roche-sur-Yon town. From 2005 until 2009, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the ...

: 3rd

Gran Premio di Chiasso The Gran Premio di Chiasso () was an annual road bicycle race held in Chiasso, Switzerland. It was a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by ...

: 4th Overall

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often used as preparation for the sprin ...

::1st

Mountains classification : 4th Overall

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a ...

;2000 :

::1st Stage 1 (

) ::Held

after Stages 1–3 ::Held Jersey green

after Stage 1 ::Held Jersey white

after Stages 1–3 : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships : 4th Overall

::1st

Young rider classification : 9th Overall

Route du Sud The Route d'Occitanie is a road bicycle race with 4 stages held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually held a week before the Tour de France ...

::1st Stage 1b (

) ;2001 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st

Young rider classification ::1st Stages 4 (

) & 5 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish multi-day professional road cycling race. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostNord Danmark Rundt. The race is sometimes called the Tou ...

::1st

Young rider classification ::1st Stage 4 (

) :

::1st Stages 1 (

) & 6 ::Held Jersey gold

after Stages 1–3 : 1st Stage 4b (

)

Euskal Bizikleta Euskal Bizikleta (Spanish: ''Bicicleta Vasca'', English: ''Basque Bicycle'') was an annual road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in June. From 2005 to 2008, the race was organized as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, it ...

: 1st

Time trial,

: 2nd

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

: 2nd

Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over t ...

: 3rd Overall

Tour de Wallonie The Tour de Wallonie is a stage race cycling race on the UCI Europe Tour. It runs in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium in the end of July. Between 1974 and 1995 it was reserved to amateurs. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a ...

: 4th Overall

Tour de Picardie The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a se ...

: 7th Overall

Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...

;2002 : 1st Stage 13

: 2nd Overall

Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas The Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas was a three-day professional cycle road race held in Spain in May. The event was first run in 1984 but was not held in 1988 and 1990. From 2005 until its final edition in 2008, the race was organised as a ...

: 6th

: 10th

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ...

;2003 : 1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
,
UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...
: 1st Stage 19 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication *Tank phone, Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional typ ...
)
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
: 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

: 1st Stage 17

: 1st Prologue

Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen Dwars door West-Vlaanderen is a road bicycle race through the Belgian province of West Flanders. History The race was originally created unter the name Omloop der Vlaamse Ardennen (''English'': Tour of the Flemish Ardennes) in 1945 as a one-day ...

: 1st Stage 4 (

)

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos (province), Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In ...

: 3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 3rd

Classique des Alpes Classique des Alpes was a classic taking place as a mountainous single-day cycling race. It took place in Chartreuse Mountains, beginning in Chambéry and finishing in Aix-les-Bains. It was held between 1991 and 2004, a day before the start of the ...

: 4th Overall

;2006 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Individual pursuit,

National Track Championships National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

: 1st Stage 14 (

)

;2007 : National Road Championships ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

: 1st Prologue

: 2nd Overall

::Held

after Stages 1–2 ;2008 : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

: 2nd Overall

Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the ...

: 3rd

, National Road Championships : 9th

;2009 : 1st Stage 20 (

)

: 9th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 10th Overall

Volta ao Algarve Volta may refer to: Persons * Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), Italian physicist and inventor of the electric battery, count and eponym of the volt * Giovanni Volta (1928–2012), Italian Roman Catholic bishop * Giovanni Serafino Volta (1764–1 ...

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, ...

Stage 6

;2010 :

::1st

::3rd

Road race : 1st Jersey white

Overall

::1st Stage 3b (

) : 1st

Chrono des Nations Chrono des Nations – Les Herbiers Vendée is a single-day individual time trial road bicycle race held annually in October in Les Herbiers, Vendée, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It was origi ...

: 2nd

: 5th Overall

::1st Stage 3 (

) ;2011 :

::1st Stage 21 (

) ::Held

after Stage 2 : 1st Stage 2 ( TTT)

: 2nd Overall

Tour of Beijing The Tour of Beijing was an annual professional stage bicycle road race held in Beijing, China. History Its first edition took place in October 2011, as the penultimate event in the 2011 UCI World Tour. The tour was a partnership between the U ...

: 3rd Overall

: 5th

: 7th

: 10th Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

;2012 : 1st Stage 12

: 5th

;2013 : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships ;2014 : 8th

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Major championship results timeline

Notes

References

External links

*
Cycling Base: David MillarGarmin-Sharp: David Millar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, David 1977 births British cycling road race champions British Tour de France stage winners Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland Commonwealth Games cyclists for Scotland Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland Cyclists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Doping cases in cycling British Giro d'Italia stage winners Living people Scottish male cyclists British male cyclists Scottish sportspeople in doping cases Tour de France prologue winners British Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Danmark Rundt winners 2012 Tour de France stage winners Maltese people of British descent Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games People from Mtarfa Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in cycling Commonwealth Games gold medallists in cycling

Early life and education

Early career

2000–2003: early years

Doping

Later career

2005–2007: post-suspension

2008–2014: career with Garmin

Post-racing career

Personal life

Major results

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Major championship results timeline

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links