- David Millar
- Sport: Cycling
- Age: 35
- From: Forrest
- Lives: Various
Biography
Born in Malta where his father, an RAF pilot, was based, David’s career has been an international one from the start. He spent his early childhood at RAF Kinloss, then moved to Hong Kong, where he began competing in local cycling races, when he was 13. After a period cycling in Surrey, he moved to France to race, aged 18.
In his first professional season, David won the prologue of the Tour de l’Avenir and in 2000 he won the first stage of the Tour de France, holding the yellow jersey for several days. His success continued until, in 2004, he received a two-year suspension for doping offences.
The author of acclaimed autobiography Racing Through the Dark, he returned to cycling having served his ban, for the 2006 Tour de France, and has used his personal experiences to support the campaign against doping since then, including holding a seat on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athlete committee.
Since his return, Millar has achieved stage wins in cycling's Grand tours, a gold medal for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, and captained the team which brought Mark Cavendish to World Championship victory in 2011.
His experience may be vital to the British road race team at the Olympics, as they bid to lead Mark Cavendish to Olympic gold.
The British Olympic Association’s life-time ban on athletes who had used performance enhancing drugs looked set to prevent Millar’s inclusion in the 2012 Olympic squad, but the way was cleared for him to participate when it was overturned this year.
London 2012 Events
Cycling: road race
When to watch
Saturday, July 28
Quote
The people who know about me know there's a lot more behind the drug cheat. I'd like to think that if people have an opinion, they know the full story before they judge me.
And another thing
Millar says the focal point of the road race will be the circuits of the steep Box Hill in Surrey. "It's going to be kicking off every time we go up that hill. It's going to be savage, because of the format and the smaller numbers of riders in each team. It's going to be a massive challenge for us and really hard to manage. It's going to really hurt."
HeraldScotland Interview - David Millar: Zero to Hero