David Millar has begun to consider how Great Britain and Mark Cavendish can win the Olympic road race on the opening day of London 2012 after being confirmed in the squad for the Games.
The 35-year-old Scot served a two-year doping ban from 2004 to 2006 after admitting using blood-boosting agent EPO and had written off hopes of competing in the Olympics.
Surprised when the British Olympic Association's lifetime ban for doping offenders was first challenged and then quashed, Millar then faced a quandary over whether he should – or even wanted to – be selected for London 2012.
Now – after being named alongside Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Ian Stannard – he faces another conundrum: how to help secure gold in a 250-kilometre race which will be challenging to control.
"The scale of it is daunting," said Millar, who was road captain when Cavendish won World Championships gold in Denmark last September.
"It's not like Copenhagen where we had a team of nine and it was a flat course and we could rely on Cav's undoubted genius to pull through in the finale.
"This one's going to be tactical and incredibly physical. I think it's going to be the hardest thing we'll ever do as a team."
Success revolves around Cavendish, with Millar adding: "Mark's our plan A, plan B, plan C."
"He never hid his emotions and his beliefs," added Millar, who took part in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. "He believed that I deserved to go and that went beyond his need for me.
"I owe it to him to pay that back in one way or another. I made the right decision to put myself up and I'm very proud that the team has seen that I won't be a hindrance and that I can be a positive influence. I want to help and I want to help Mark win the gold medal."
He is unfazed by any possible reaction to his selection, after he followed sprinter Dwain Chambers into Team GB.
"There was a risk that I might become a negative story in the build-up – all of a sudden it will be about 'Millar the drug cheat'," he added. My biggest concern now is doing my job on the day and not letting Mark down or the team down. That over-rides everything else."
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